It’s short notice, but here’s an opportunity for parents being offered this afternoon by Burnaby Family Life:
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Girls between the ages of 11 – 13 are invited to check out the online version of the Go Girls program! It’s free to join and parents/guardians register directly through Big Sisters. There are a few online programs already scheduled to start at the end of May, and they will be adding additional programs as interest grows.
If you’re interested, you can find the registration form here, or contact me at cristina.dann@burnabyschools.ca
Check out this new mental health and well-being video series by clinical psychologist, Dr. Hayley Watson! She gives a powerful message and she has provided these free video resources for educators and families in BC and beyond.
COVID-19 Well-being Video Series
This video series provides families with practical tips and strategies for coping with the current COVID-19 crisis. There are tools for soothing emotional reactions, generating short and long-term well-being, staying focused and hopeful, and keeping kids entertained. These videos were created by Dr. Hayley Watson, a leading clinical psychologist with 15 years’ experience working with children and families, and the founder of Open Parachute – an online mental health curriculum program that is being used in schools globally.
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- COVID-19 Well-being Tips for Parents
- COVID-19 Well-being Tips for Teens (Ages 13-18)
- COVID-19 Well-being Tips for Tweens (Ages 8-12)
- COVID-19 Well-being Tips for Kids (Ages 4-7)
- COVID-19 Well-being Tips for Educators
Support Your Child’s Learning, Keep Your Sanity and Preserve Relationships in the time of COVID19: Does this sound like a tall order? It is! Most parents right now and struggling to find ways to balance all the demands and various needs of their family. To get ideas for managing this monumental task, consider this opportunity being offered by Burnaby Family Life:
What to know about home learning: “Supporting your kids’ learning while keeping your sanity and preserving your relationship.”
When: May 7, 2020 03:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Topic: Burnaby Family Life – Weekly Expert Talks families “What to know about home learning: “Supporting your kids’ learning while keeping your sanity and preserving your relationship.”
Register in advance for this webinar:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_YVNDT7JbTL608poUzACZdg
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
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Webinar Speakers
Gayle Beavil (Community School Coordinator @Second Street Community School (and supporting Armstrong Elementary & Cariboo Hill Secondary))
Gayle Beavil, BEd, MA, is a Burnaby educator who has been an elementary teacher in Burnaby classrooms for 15 years, as well as been a Faculty Associate at Simon Fraser University, where she taught student teachers in the Professional Development Program for two years. For the past 13 years, Gayle has been a Community School Coordinator, working with community partners and school staffs to enrich the curriculum, support and strengthen families with responsive programs and services, as well as create and build community in Burnaby, through hosting groups, connecting folks and building understanding. One of Gayle’s passions and strongest beliefs is: “If the family is connected and happy, then the kids are more likely to be connected and happy — and connected and happy kids are more ready, and able to learn.”
This May 7th is National Child & Youth Mental Health Day! It’s an opportunity to explore ways we can enhance our thinking patterns, emotions, behaviours and relationships to strengthen our well-being. Helping kids have strong mental health also means looking after the mental health of the adults in their lives. Check out these local opportunities for kids and adults:
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Lisa Dion, play therapist and founder of Synergetic Play Therapy, has some helpful tips for parents about talking to their kids about COVID 19. In fact, this video is helpful for any parent who wants to learn some of the foundational principals for talking about any difficult matter!
There can be many gifts and challenges with the extra time families are sharing under a single roof during this pandemic. One moment you might feel fortunate for the new ways you’re getting to know one another, while the next you may be wringing your hands in anger and desperately trying to get your personal space. One thing is for certain, it can be a roller-coaster of emotions: both the pleasant and the unpleasant ones!
Sibling relationships, like relationships between partners and other folks living in the home, have likely changed a lot. Siblings are spending more time together than usual, “schooling” under the same roof, caring for each other while parents work from home, and/or drawing from each other for the social contact they’re used to getting from same-age peers at school or in childcare settings. There may be additional stressors for kids when they bear witness to the “adult problems” that can spill over into the shared living space in ways they didn’t before.
Here are a few ideas that might help:
Ideas for preventing excessive sibling conflict:
- Build time in the day for each child to have alone time and unstructured playtime with each other (e.g. it might mean they make a mess, but it’ll also help them release some of their relational energy in healthy ways).
- Keep kids learning with structured activities (school and hobby related) that stimulate them mentally
- Make sure you’re getting outside daily for some fresh air and exercise, even if it’s just a walk around the block
- Once a week, if you can, have one-on-one time with each child and just listen to their thoughts and feelings (remember: listening and validating doesn’t have to mean agreeing…but this isn’t a time for arguing). Let the child choose the activity if you can.
- Create opportunities for children to connect with same-age peers for social chatting using video, audio or text platforms.
- Make sure you, as the caregiver, are getting healthy outlets for your stress too! Model kindness to yourself and other family members much as you can.
- This is a daunting list: remind yourself all the time that you’re doing the best you can and don’t sweat the small stuff.
What to do when there’s conflict:
- There’s a time to let the kids “sort it out” on their own, but please, intervene if there is violence or name-calling/put-downs
- Stop the conflict and set “ground rules” to “keep the conflict safe” for everyone (e.g. no name-calling or hitting). Say: “can you both agree to this so we can keep the conflict safe and work toward a solution together?”
- Model and teach the kids how to name the problem without blaming (e.g. we don’t agree whose turn it is vs. Sammy stole the toy!)
- Validate feelings (e.g. I can see this is making you both feel angry)
- Brainstorm solutions together (e.g. What could we try that might solve this problem?)
- Praise them (& yourself!) for working through the difficult emotions!
- It won’t work perfectly, but keep trying!
Remember, there’s help available if family conflict is getting in the way of people’s ability to feel safe in the home. Please connect with me by email or by clicking on the link to the right for a video or phone appointment.
Even though we are expected to do our part to help stop the spread of COVID 19 by staying home, getting some daily exercise and fresh air for children is critical for their mental health, and can be done within the physical distancing guidelines of keeping 2 meters apart from those who aren’t in your household and maintaining good respiratory hygiene (e.g. cover that sneeze with your elbow). Here are a few ideas:
- go for a bike ride along the Central Valley Greenway
- take a walk in the neighbourhood
- supervise your kids as they climb a tree
- walk to a nearby park for a game of frisbee, tag or just to smell the flowers
- play an outdoor Scavenger Hunt (e.g. Find something green, take a picture of a flower, find something soft, etc…)
Please share your ideas in the comments section so we can support each other to keep our kids healthy, inside and out!
British Columbia is creating a new information hotline solely dedicated to answering non-medical questions about COVID-19.
Service providers at the new phone line will help answer questions about travel recommendations, social distancing, and what kinds of support, resources and assistance are available from the provincial and federal governments.
The new hotline, which can be reached by calling 1-888-COVID19 or 1-888-268-4319, will be staffed from 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day with information available in more than 110 languages.