What’s the song…Rain, Rain, Go Away! This month sure did come with a lot of rain, however, soon enough, we will see more sunny days, warmer weather, flowers blooming, and the sounds of bugs, birds, and butterflies. This month, we focused on the topics: All Things Weather Related, like Rain, Snow, Ice, and more as well as Seasons, more specifically springtime.
We also celebrated St. Patrick’s Day by wearing green and having fun-themed activities, art, games, and more!
Specials included Show ‘n Tell Book Day where each child was encouraged to bring in one of their favorite books from home to share with their friends at school as well as Pajama Day, which is always a favorite for the kids and teachers.
During our Positive Education Focus and all month long, we focused on the topics: Growth Mindset, Stress, and Worry! Having a Growth Mindset is the belief that we are capable of working hard to increase our potential and intelligence. We believe we can become smarter and are open to learning. We can learn from our mistakes and even be comfortable making mistakes. We speak positively to ourselves.
Along with having a Growth Mindset, we worked on ways to approach stress and worry. Too much of either can hurt our everyday and even our health. We all worry, the key is to not allow those worries to grow to the point that they ruin our day.
The children wrote their worries on a piece of paper and fed it to the worry Monster or on clouds to drift away. Whether you choose to write your worries to the worry Monster or on a cloud, be sure to not allow them to ruin your day. Other ideas on how to eliminate stress and worry are to write or draw in a journal and practice Yoga and breathing techniques (blowing bubbles helps with this!).
Lastly, some exciting news to share! We are working with Elizabeth Harris with Elizabeth Harris Nutrition and Wellness to do a yearlong wellness program with our teachers and Admin to better support their overall health and wellness. It is education and training on how to best fuel our bodies, practice self-care, increase overall health satisfaction, and model health-promoting behaviors to the children we work with. *This is NOT a diet program or incentive to lose weight.
This month was our first kickoff workshop! These statistics of negative health effects on caregivers/teachers are staggering and studies show that when employees feel that their health and wellness are supported, job satisfaction increases while absenteeism and lack of motivation decrease.
Elizabeth Harris offers incredible corporate wellness programs and is especially passionate about working with organizations that work with children. She also works with individuals and families and has an incredible program called “Raising Intuitive Eaters”. Be sure to reach out to her directly to learn more about her and her services and programs!
https://www.facebook.com/elizabethharrisnutrition
Be sure to come back next month as we dive into new topics, including Purpose, Habits, Rituals, and Strengths!
