I had a conversation with a lovely young POW man today. He was sharing some of his worries about life. He was explaining how having ADHD, taking medicine, feeling his body change, struggling with certain aspects of academic pressure and relationships with siblings and parents could sometimes feel horrific and beyond overwhelming. We watched this video together and I think it might be valuable for many. This young woman has a great knack of empathizing and relating to others with ADHD and or anxiety. Have a look :-)
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During a lovely art project involving Q-tips, some felt compelled to stick a Q-tip in an ear, even though teachers instructed kids to refrain from such behavior. It is Art after all, not personal hygiene. This lead me to find this little clip on ear health and best practice for such ear health. This young woman has a great collection of clips on "How to ADHD". I highly recommend checking he videos out. This one helps us all remember how helpful journaling can be, ADHD or not. A wonderful parent from our POW community recommended this article. I thought I would share the information with all of you. Thanks for the great article!
Teach Kids to Nickname the Fears That Won't Go Away Michelle Woo When I hear from adults who live with anxiety (and that’s 40 million of us in America), many say that the only thing that helps is not trying to get rid of the anxiety completely, but learning to accept that it’s going to hang around, maybe forever. They begin to see it as just a thing, neither good nor bad. On a recent episode of The Hilarious World of Depression podcast, one guest said she deals with her anxiety by naming it “Steve” and then imagining Steve as this dumb friend who shows up once in a while. So whenever her anxiety acts out, she can say, “Oh, Steve. Cut it out.” And yet when children have crippling fears—say, of dogs, germs or talking to new people—adults often tell them “Stop it, don’t be afraid,” which not only makes them more anxious, but also feel like they’re disappointing those around them by being anxious. Just like adults, they need to learn how to live with their anxiety, rather than in fear of their fears. They can benefit from giving their worries a nickname, too. It’s actually a tool used by therapists, including Bridget Flynn Walker, a clinical psychologist who specializes in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to treat children with anxiety disorders. “When a kid has anxiety, it can feel like his or her brain is highjacked for a while by worry, sort of like when a horse takes off galloping with his or her rider when they are not supposed to,” says Walker, who writes about the strategy in her new book Anxiety Relief for Kids. “Nicknaming fosters a little objectivity in what can feel like a very scary moment. It’s like saying to yourself, ‘I know what you are doing, brain.’” Here’s how to help your child nickname the fears that won’t go away: Understand the anxious brain. Your child very likely knows, intellectually, that her worry is extreme or even completely irrational, but as long as her amygdala is activated—the part of the brain that gives us that jolt of panic—that intellectual understanding is dissolved. So instead of trying to talk the child out of feeling anxious, it’s more effective to offer a technique to face the fear. That’s where the nickname comes in. Ask your child to come up with a nickname. Walker writes that the nickname should be “lighthearted, and not frightening or negative.” A child who’s afraid of germs might name the fear “Germ Worm,” she explains. Practice using it. The goal is to have the child simply greet the fear when it comes around, according to Walker. “You don’t want her to think things such as Go away, Germ Worm! or I hate you, Germ Worm! or You suck, Germ Worm!” she writes. “The idea is to remain objective, without adding more negative thoughts.” You want the greeting become a natural response, and that takes some practice. Role play different scenarios by pretending to be the worry. Walker plays this game with her patients. She’ll say something like, “John, if you touch this shopping cart, you’ll get germs on you!” And then John will respond by saying, “Hi, Germ Worm!” Later on, your child can greet her worry silently in her head. Prod when necessary. If you see your child becoming anxious, Walker writes that you can ask, in a calm voice, “Is that Germ Worm?” Your kid might get annoyed and say “No!”—at that point, don’t try to convince her otherwise. You’ve gotten the idea into her head, and she can sort the rest out herself. Realize that this is a long‐term tool. Some kids may worry that nicknaming a fear will make them think about the fear even more. Walker writes that it might, at least at first. Cognitive behavioral therapy, which is said to be the most helpful form of therapy for treating anxiety in children, requires for kids to move closer to a fear. And that is hard. But as they become more comfortable with it, as they learn to accept it as just one thing in their great big lives, the less power it will have over them. Want to keep our Prince of Wales community healthy? Wash wash wash your hands every time you sneeze! NEVER cough into your hands... you touch everything with those hands. Have you ever watched someone sneeze or cough into their hands and then reach into a bowl of popcorn that is being shared with others? EEEWWWW Watch this clip and maybe you will remember the elbow technique. A regulation tool to use anywhere any time. It works. Want to learn more? Come pay Room 10 a visit and I will tap it out with you. Try this meditative practice "Kirtan Kriya". The health and wellness benefits are outstanding. And it is fun and easy. Good for calming at bedtime or when you are just DONE! Try it :-) Hello Room 10 families,
Tomorrow we are going on a walking field trip to Calgary Coop in Deervalley Mall. We will be meeting with a Coop produce worker for a brief presentation on the produce department. We will be selecting fruit to create a healthy snack kabob. We will be calculating how to spend our donated gift card and then use mental math to predict how much we will spend. We will continue to utilize a variety of math procedures to figure out the value of each kabob. We will also use patterning and sorting rules while building our kabobs. We will utilize healthy life skills that connect to our CBE Results, as we cooperate and conduct ourselves in an expected matter throughout the trip. A special shout out to Jill Birch, COMMUNITY COORDINATOR for Brown Bagging for Calgary's Kids, for generously donating Calgary COOP gift cards to support our Friday Healthy Choices Program. If you have any questions or concerns please contact Lauren Purkiss at 403 777 6880. |
AuthorI am Lauren Purkiss, teacher at Prince of Wales School. I work out of Room 10 as Lead teacher for the Bridges Program as well as a Learning Leader for the school population. I have three children of my own, two boys ages 24 and 21, as well as my daughter, 16. My passion is to support our reluctant learners and their families. My door is always open. Come for a visit anytime. Archives
June 2018
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