In the Nest
from Mme Dale, School Counselor
Hey Kids
Schools out soon! Got some time on your hands? Here are a few fun things to do:
Start by solving these riddles. The answers are at the very end of this section.
1. Riddle: What is always in front of you but can’t be seen?
2. Riddle: There’s a one-story house in which everything is yellow. Yellow walls, yellow doors, yellow furniture. What color are the stairs?
3. Riddle. What can you break, even if you never pick it up or touch it?
4. Riddle: What goes up but never comes down?
5. Riddle: A man who was outside in the rain without an umbrella or hat didn’t get a single hair on his head wet. Why?
Do you like smoothies? So do I! Here are a couple good recipes. Just put these ingredients in the blender.
Cherry/ Grape/ Yogurt
-a couple handfuls of frozen cherries
-about half a cup of plain yogurt
-about half a cup of grape juice
Strawberry/Banana/Orange
-a couple handfuls of frozen strawberries
-half a frozen banana
-about half a cup of orange juice
answers to riddles: 1) the future 2) there aren't any, it's a one story house 3) a promise
4) your age 5) he was bald
What is coming up in your veggie garden? Do I have these veggies labeled correctly?
Some Fun Things to Do
Make a Calming Glitter Jar
-first take a clear jar and fill it almost all the way with water.
-next, add a big spoonful of glitter glue, or glue and dry glitter to the jar.
-put the lid on, screw tightly and shake to make the glitter swirl.
Now imagine that glitter is like your thoughts when you are stressed, mad or upset. See how they swirl around and make it hard to see clearly? That's why it is so easy to make silly decisions when you are upset-because you are not thinking clearly.
Now let the glitter jar be still. It is like your mind when you are calm, your thoughts settle and you start to see things more clearly.
Slow Mo Balloons
-the aim of this game is to keep the balloon off the ground. In order to keep it in the air, work together to touch the balloon very gently imagining it is very fragile
-try doing this and doing it in slow motion
Stomp the Balloon
-blow up several medium or small balloons
-tie a short string to each balloon and then to a person's ankle
-say "go" and try to pop the other peoples' balloons by stomping on them.
Create a Touch Bag
-place several small, interestingly textured objects in a bag like a pillow case
-offer the bag for your partner who, with closed eyes, can feel what is in the bag and try to guess what it is.
Blindfold Taste Test
-have a partner blindfolded, and holding their nose, taste a variety of spoonfuls of food
-see if you can confuse them with a variety of textures, without smell it is hard to tell some foods apart.
For Kids and Parents
Have you listened to any of these wonderful soothing bedtime podcasts? Peace Out is a mindfulness source for children for slowing down, relaxing and feeling calm.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/peace-out
Looking for some nice stories to read together? In these lovely recordings the books are being read aloud.
– Books About Feelings:
– Books About Kindness:
It could be useful and fun to talk about your habits with your family. You know each other so well, and notice each others' every habit. The current situation has a tremendous amount of repetition built in as options for activities have been closed down, and most of us are doing fewer things, and doing those things more often. That creates a really good time for setting up healthy routines and building in habits we desire to have. Good habits are precious and have a huge impact over a person's well being over time.
When I was living up in Seattle, I picked up a habit of going to a lot of estate sales. There I was often in the house of an elderly person or couple who had lived there for as much as 40 or 50 years, and one could not help but see the impact of their habits. Those habits ranged from quite touching and beautiful to being very sad. It made me feel that it is quite important to have a handle on one's habits. Be conscious of your habits, and know how to work with them.
It is easy to feel stuck and this time can present a lot of that feeling with the daily repetition. To escape that feeling of being stuck, you can identify what you want and what might be a step in the right direction. Take that step down in size to a mini step, something very doable and start doing that mini step as a new routine till it becomes a habit. The repetition we are experiencing this spring really presents a profoundly great time to build good habit. Conversely, bad habits are distressing and though we can pretend we are oblivious to them, they sap our energies. Knowing how to work with our habits is a life skill, empowering us to get what we want to to be well.
Two Supports This Summer
Parents-
If you think you or your child may benefit from some counseling this summer, consider contacting Roseburg Therapy's local office. They do online (telehealth) counseling with 4j families and are easier to access for help than many other counselors because of a partnership with the district. You can call them at (971)267-2116. They have an office in Springfield. They will be happy to tell you if any insurance you may have will work. There is usually no wait time for services. This is an easy way to bring some additional support to your family as we navigate the pandemic.
The district has put together a Wraparound Team, which is pooling resources for families who have taken a financial hit due to the pandemic. You can access these social services with offerings like food and housing help, EWEB bill credits, pandemic insurance assistance, etc by letting one of us know you could use some resources. Let a teacher, Mme Courtney or myself know confidentially and we will be happy to connect you to these services.
Take care, Laura Dale