The Wellness Newsletter
Barrington Middle School - Vol. 4
A Message from Your School Counselors
Dear Parents and Guardians,
We're back with our weekly newsletter. We hope you have been enjoying them and finding the information useful and practical. This week, we wanted to focus on self-care. We have included a variety of links to self-care resources, a list of 45 simple things you can do for yourself, and some mindfulness and wellness apps that might be helpful for you and/or your children. We have added some new virtual field trips you can take at any point for a good brain break!
If there is anything specific you would like to see in a future newsletter please complete the short survey at the bottom of this week's newsletter and let us know more. As always, we are available to help in any way we can and we look forward to hearing from you and your children!
Your School Counselors,
Ms. Rouleau & Ms. Doran
Nurse's Corner
Self-care is not selfish!
Self-care is not selfish; it's one of the best things you can do for your kids. Being on and at the ready for your children at all times can cause burnout and make things that could be everyday treasures feel like everyday chores. That's why it's important that all parents and guardians start taking time for themselves.
Check out this 30 Day Parent Self Care Challenge:
These challenges range from physical things, like going for a walk with your child – walking refreshes the brain and gives you time to think – or taking care of your feet, which are often one of the most neglected body parts. It also involves actions for mental or emotional well-being, like being honest about the challenges of parenting, and knowing when to say no to your child in favor of your own needs.
Kelly Faul, BMS School Nurse
Social Emotional Learning 5 Minute Challenges
SELF CARE RESOURCES
Stress and Anxiety
Tips on how to manage Stress and Anxiety
Stress Management During the Coronavirus
**Connect with your friends, watch comedy...whatever works for you!
Fitness
Get outside and take a walk. Fitness + nature = stress relief!
Journaling
Get your thoughts out on paper, end each entry with 5 things you're grateful for.
Do you ever forget to take care of yourself?
I know. You’re busy, and finding the time to take proper care of yourself can be hard. But if you don’t, it won’t be long before you’re battered from exhaustion and operating in a mental fog where it’s hard to care about anything or anyone.
Self-Care Isn’t a One-Time Deal
The strep throat was a harsh reminder that self-care isn’t something you do once and tick off the list.
It’s the constant repetition of many tiny habits, which together soothe you and make sure you’re at your optimum—emotionally, physically, and mentally.
The best way to do this is to implement tiny self-care habits every day. To regularly include in your life a little bit of love and attention for your own body, mind, and soul.
The following ideas are tiny self-care activities you can fit into a short amount of time, usually with little cost.
Pick one from each category, and include them in your life this week.
Tiny Self-Care Ideas for the Mind
1. Start a compliments file. Document the great things people say about you to read later.
2. Scratch off a lurker on your to-do list, something that’s been there for ages and you’ll never do.
3. Change up the way you make decisions. Decide something with your heart if you usually use your head. Or if you tend to go with your heart, decide with your head.
4. Go cloud-watching. Lie on your back, relax, and watch the sky.
5. Take another route to work. Mixing up your routine in small ways creates new neural pathways in the brain to keep it healthy.
6. Pay complete attention to something you usually do on autopilot, perhaps brushing your teeth, driving, eating, or performing your morning routine.
7. Goof around for a bit. Schedule in five minutes of “play” (non-directed activity) several times throughout your day.
8. Create a deliberate habit, and routinize something small in your life by doing it in the same way each day—what you wear on Tuesdays, or picking up the dental floss before you brush.
9. Fix a small annoyance at home that’s been nagging you—a button lost, a drawer that’s stuck, a light bulb that’s gone.
10. Punctuate your day with a mini-meditation with one minute of awareness of your thoughts, feelings, and sensations; one minute of focused attention on breathing; and one minute of awareness of the body as a whole.
11. Be selfish. Do one thing today just because it makes you happy.
12. Do a mini-declutter. Recycle three things from your wardrobe that you don’t love or regularly wear.
13. Unplug for an hour. Switch everything to airplane mode and free yourself from the constant bings of social media and email.
14. Get out of your comfort zone, even if it’s just talking to a stranger at the bus stop.
15. Edit your social media feeds, and take out any negative people. You can just “mute” them; you don’t have to delete them.
Click here to read more about Self Care ideas for the body and soul.
Mindfulness and Self Care Apps
Ascent Affirmations
Mantra Daily Affirmations
Lyftly Wellness
Virtual Field Trips
Monday, Apr 6, 2020, 08:00 AM
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Your School Wellness Team
Tamrah Rouleau, School Counselor (7th/8th)
Kelly Faul, BMS School Nurse
Website: http://bmsschlcnslng.weebly.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Barrington-Middle-School-BMS-Barrington-NH-407593242631099/