Twain Counselor Kernels
October/November 2021
Some themes I heard in conferences from a variety of parents and caregivers included screen time concerns and students struggling with big emotions at home. I hope to provide a few resources for you to read if you have a brief moment.
Screen Time
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends:
Children under the age of five have 1 hour or less of screen time that is high quality and educational.
Children five and older have sensible limits to screen time
Other Recommendations
- Watch things with your child
- Set limits with "screen free zones" such as bedrooms and the dinner table
- Use Common Sense Media to see if an app or show is appropriate for your child
- Encourage other activities including getting outside, physical exercise, and playing with toys they can manipulate
- Review what your child is doing on their Chromebook using the Securly app and have open, calm conversations with them about anything you feel concerned about
- Reach out for support if you feel your child is to reliant on screens/games/etc. and you need help with how to go about setting limits
Big Emotions
All children (and adults!) can experience big emotions. We can set healthy examples for how to handle frustration, anger, sadness, grief, and anxious feelings by modeling and explaining out loud some of the steps we take as adults. We highly encourage you to utilize the posters below from our social emotional curriculum. All students are taught these strategies. Have your child point out times they feel big feelings often (like when a sibling takes their toy or they have to stop playing a game) and remind them of their strategy before the event takes place.
September 2021
PBIS and Social Emotional Learning
We have had a wonderful start to our school year and we are so excited to have students back in person with us. Below, you will find some updates about our Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports (PBIS) program. You will also find information about our social emotional learning program and some simple tips (both in English and Spanish) about how you can support your scholar at home!
PBIS
Our Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports program is called PBIS Rewards. To help students succeed at school we teach them different expectations in different areas (lunchroom, hallway, classroom). At Twain, our three big expectations are all about being Respectful, Responsible, and Caring. After we teach our students the expectations, teachers can acknowledge students using a tool called PBIS Rewards. Students can then spend those points on things in their classroom store, school store, or on a raffle. We are currently running a raffle for a sweatshirt from Iowa Hawkeye player and Coach Linderbaum's son, Tyler Linderbaum. We enjoy recognizing when our students follow expectations and show others the Tiger Way.
Second Step
Our social emotional learning curriculum is called Second Step. I teach Second Step lessons to each class once each week. We cover topics like having a growth mindset, managing big emotions, and solving problems calmly. Please look at the grade level for your child to learn some of the language and strategies we are currently using!
If your family or child ever needs support, please use the contact information below and I would be happy to assist you!
Eric Hunerdosse - Twain School Counselor
Email: hunerdosse.eric@iowacityschools.org
Location: 1355 Deforest Avenue, Iowa City, IA, USA
Phone: 319-688-1165
August 2021
Welcome Back!
My name is Eric Hunerdosse and I am the school counselor at Twain Elementary. We are so happy to have you back to school for the 2021-2022 school year. I plan to use this newsletter to share updates about our school counseling program at Twain and all of the wonderful social/emotional skills your children are learning. I will also share tips and ideas on how to enhance your child's social/emotional skills at home.
One of the greatest gifts you can give your child when it comes to their social and emotional health is a restful sleep. This article provides best practices when thinking about sleep for your child. Some data we have from our last school year is that many students were feeling tired and reported not getting enough sleep the night before. We encourage you to talk about healthy sleep habits with your child and do everything you can to encourage healthy sleep habits at home! If you need suggestions or support, please reach out to myself, our Student Family Advocate (Kayla McKee) or our school nurse (Jen BarbouRoske)
Warm regards,
Eric