“Fill Up” with Mrs. Fuller
This week we focused on creating our own happy place with images, words, photographs, or drawings. Students shared where their “happy place” would be, and explored how they can recreate that space. We took inspiration from Ellen Schwartz and tried to “memorize the moment” with all our senses, so at any point we can go to that place in our minds and feel the happiness it brings us.
“What’s the Buzz, Mrs.🐝 ?”
During this time of constant uncertainty, it is to be expected that we all feel more down…we are living through a pandemic! However, when we begin to notice that this negative mood prevents us from enjoying ourselves, it is a “red flag” which needs to be addressed.
We may not always be able to enter the arena as calmly as we had before. As adults, we have a fully developed brain. For the most part, most of us are able to recognise that we are stressed, and we need to “power down”. Children, however, primarily function from their amygdala (the “child” brain), and as such, are not as able to process this new normal. It is very important to connect with your child, and provide a sounding board for their many questions and concerns at this time.
Many children become very hard on themselves when they are feeling out of sorts, and need to be reminded to avoid harsh self-assessment and negative self-talk.
We can support ourselves and our children by offering the option of “taking a breath” in order to find peace.
This week we read “I am Peace” in all the primary classes. This delightful story allows children to recognize and practice mindfulness. Your child might want to share the story with you too. Here is the link.
The older students have been sharing nature photography, and beauty in our environment. This week we had Mr. Cumner and Ms. Hektor join us to talk about “citizen science”. Mr. Cumner shared several of his fabulous “photographic techniques”. This is using a “fisheye lens”. Remember to stop and “smell the flowers”!
Crestwood Cares…
An Initiative to Help Save Wild Birds in Ontario
My name is Aaron Kluge, and I am in Grade 3 in Ms. Offman’s class. Two weeks ago, a sapsucker woodpecker flew into the back window of my house. It had mistaken the reflection of a tree in the window for a real tree. The impact killed the bird. This event spurred me to do something to help save the wild birds of Ontario. In my house, my family put hawk shadows on windows. But I wanted to do more, and ask my Crestwood community for help.
Right now, students can help our birds by doing a few things:
- Get bird feeders to feed hungry birds.
- Get hawk shadows so birds don’t fly into windows.
- Buy a bird card that I propose to create. You can give the card to someone else who loves our environment too.
When we’re back at school, if we together raise $500, each class can have a free pajama day and the class who raises the most money can adopt Thomas the Broad-winged Hawk! (https://conservationhalton.ca/meetthomas).The money we raise will be split between two organizations that help wild birds in Ontario: the Ottawa Valley Wild Bird Care Centre (https://www.wildbirdcarecentre.org/) and the Mountsberg Raptor Centre (https://conservationhalton.ca/mountsbergraptorcentre).
Thank you so much for your support.
FULL Family Challenges from Mrs. Fuller
Here are some ideas to enjoy the weekend with your family, while physically distancing from the world. You can also look at last week’s newsletter for some additional FULL Family Challenge ideas. Feel free to take a picture of the final product and send it to amy.fuller@ohp.crestwood.on.ca so we can feature you in the next newsletter.
- Outdoor relaxation – Of course, we need the outdoors to walk, jog and bike. Using the outdoors to relax can be a great mood lifter. Hearing the leaves rustle in the wind and the birds chirping are a great natural soundtrack to help calm our bodies. Create a space outdoors to relax and enjoy some much needed quiet time.
- Get Active – Encouraging your family to be active together helps everyone’s physical, emotional and mental well being. Anything that gets your body moving and your heart rate up, counts! Create family goals (time, distance, new skill) and achieve them together!
PARENT “PICK UPs”
With more home responsibilities than ever, taking care of ourselves has fallen to the bottom of the list. We create to-do lists like crazy, but activities of self-care are rarely on there! Practice some self care this weekend. Self care looks different for everyone, but 3 months into this whole process, we have to make sure to carve out time in our non-stop schedules to care for ourselves so we can care for others. Find what works for you, and carve out time to make it happen.
