Whole Child Newsletter
June 22nd, 2020
Learning Snapshot: Prioritize Your Body to Maximize Productivity
Participants will learn to identify activities that contribute to a balanced physical wellbeing and how healthy habits can lead to better cognitive abilities.
Theme: Self Care/Staff Wellness
Audience: For use by teachers, parents and students of all ages.
Presentation: Prioritize Your Body to Maximize Productivity (voice-over), Prioritize Your Body to Maximize Productivity (slides)
Additional materials: Discussion Questions , Visual Summary, Wellness BINGO Board, Screen Time Break Tips
Food Distribution Sites
Our schools and community have come together to ensure that all of our students are fed during this time of crisis. Click here for a list of school district food distribution sites.
Michigan Department of Education also released a map showing food sites across the state.
Summer Self-Care for Teachers: How to Relax, Recover, and Prepare for Fall
1. Before you go, take note
2. Take care of you
3. Get ahead
4. Shut down, unplug, reboot
A Focus on Empathy During Distance Learning
"As educators, our top priorities at this time should include the goals of keeping connected with students and cultivating hope. We can best accomplish these by trying to place ourselves in our students’ shoes in all of our instructional decisions."
Read more about how teachers can help students who are struggling with distance learning overcome barriers while creating a safe space for them to learn.
Kids These Days
"Kids These Days, a new podcast from Michigan Radio, offers an insider’s perspective on what it’s like to be a teenager today.
This limited-run podcast is hosted by teens and is a collaboration between Community High School in Ann Arbor and Michigan Radio’s Peabody Award-winning podcast team. Topics range from vaping to questions about virginity and how queer teens fit in, to what it’s like to be a 15-year-old living with anxiety. And unlike so much of the reporting that’s been done on these issues, Kids These Days is written by teens, about teens and goes right to the source to bring you an unfiltered look into teenage life."
Supporting Families with Stress Management Webinar
Happy, healthy kids start with happy, healthy adults.
We know that now more than ever, educators are working tirelessly to support students and their families in navigating stress and uncertainty around COVID-19. In order to help you help others, you need to know how to support your own well-being.
Presented in partnership with Kaiser Permanente and Sanford Harmony, our recent webinar, “Stress Management for Educators,” focused on self-acceptance and self-awareness of stress patterns and provided ways to help build acceptance and awareness of others.
Healthier Generation Parent Resource
A Response to Constructive Criticism of Social and Emotional Learning
A Response to Constructive Criticism of Social and Emotional Learning
Unconscious Bias in Spoken Student Responses. (Incredible and eye-opening read!)
Summer Activity Resources
- Slimy summer: What child doesn’t love gooey slime? For safer slime, check out this recipe made from contact solution.
- Explore science at home: The Connecticut Science Center offers a Science at Home series for children, complete with STEM challenges and virtual field trips. Check it out!
- Enjoy art around the world: Enjoy virtual tours of exhibits at world famous museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, the Louvre Museum in Paris and the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, just to name a few.
- Attend virtual day camps: Many organizations that offer traditional summer camps have switched to offering virtual versions. Reach out to your favorites and ask!
- Summer reading and math challenges: Check with your school district to see if they are making optional summer reading and math challenges available for students. There are also challenges available online. Just search “summer reading challenge” or “summer math challenge.”
- Summer subscription services: Many companies offer subscriptions for summer learning and fun. Just search and order online, and they’ll send supplies right to your home!
- Outdoor picnics and hikes: Enjoy the great outdoors this summer at a local park. Just check ahead to make sure the park you want to visit is open to the public. Be sure to bring masks and hand sanitizer and adhere to social distancing guidelines.
- Create a stay-at-home sleepaway camp: Keep your kids busy with art adventures, science adventures or cooking lessons. (Here’s our pediatric dietitian’s 8 Tips to Get Kids Involved in the Kitchen – Plus 3 Healthy Recipes to Start.) Just search online for fun activities and create your own curriculum. Spice it up by pitching a tent in your backyard or family room for a stay-at-home sleepaway camp!
- No Child Left Inside: The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection offers plenty of fun ideas on their website, including the Great Backyard Pursuit, which they modified from the Great Park Pursuit due to COVID-19.
- Letterboxing: Follow online clues to find a hidden container with a special stamp inside. Once you find it, you can stamp your book and add your family’s stamp to the container’s hidden book. Find out more information from Atlas Quest or the above-mentioned Connecticut No Child Left Inside websites.
- Geocaching: It’s known as the world’s largest treasure hunt! Similar to letterboxing, this fun activity involves locating hidden caches through an app on your phone. You can mark that you found the cache on the app. Some caches even leave trinkets inside to take or trade. Check out this geocaching website for more information.
Mystery Strings and Counting Things!
Mr. Alden and Mr. Owens become mystery detectives who journey to the Kenyan savannah to count different wild animals, aided by songs and your imagination!
(Recommended for students in Pre-K and Kindergarten)
For More Videos Visit: https://www.yamd.org/arts-learning-kids/
Contact the Whole Child Team
Janelle Buchler: Whole Child Consultant (janelle.buchler@jcisd.org)
Eric Swihart: Whole Child Coordinator (eric.swihart@jcisd.org)
Caitlin Williams: Attendance and Homeless Program Coordinator (caitlin.williams@jcisd.org)
Rebecca Hurst: Behavior Health Project Coordinator (rebecca.hurst@jcisd.org)
Kelsea Jabkiewicz: Data Integration and Medicaid Cost Recovery Coordinator (kelsea.jabkiewicz@jcisd.org)
Angela Maddox: Whole Child Secretary (angela.maddox@jcisd.org)