Message from the All Kids Belong Program Manager

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

Mindfulness 2

Stress and The

Brain

3

Stress and Self

Regulation

4

Classroom

Strategies

5

Books and Apps 6

Hello,

We hope this newsletter finds you well during these challenging times! The global pandemic has impacted all of us in so many ways. We hope that this issue will help to provide you with some strategies to help you and your family cope during these uncertain time, and learn some skills that will continue to benefit us all once things return to normal. Specifically, this issue is all about mindfulness.

From the Canadian Mental Health Website: “Mindfulness is a way of being. It’s also a skill developed by deciding to slow down and taking the time to pay attention and be curious about things that we’re experiencing and things that we see around us. Each of us can be mindful—we just don’t do it often….Research shows that mindfulness can help improve well-being and quality of life. It may help people reduce stress and anxiety, manage symptoms of some mental illnesses and substance use problems, and improve physical health. Mindfulness can help us look at our own lives more clearly. It can help develop a different relationship with our experiences and it can give us space to look at problems from all perspectives, without getting tangled in difficult thoughts or feelings that only make us feel worse.”

We hope that this issue helps you to learn more about mindfulness, and that it contains some useful resources. We wish you all the best and look forward to a bright and healthy future together.

Your feedback, comments and questions are important to the All Kids Belong program. Please feel free to contact me (Lee-Anne Cross) at any time at 519-434-8247 or lcross@merrymount.on.ca

When a flower doesn’t bloom, you fix the environment in which it grows, not the flower!

Alexander Den HeiJer

APRIL 2020 N E W S L E T T E R N O. 5 6

Message from the Program Manager

A P R I L 2 0 2 0

N E W S L E T T E R N O . 5 6

Hello,

We hope this newsletter finds you well during these challenging times! The

global pandemic has impacted all of us in so many ways. We hope that this

issue will help to provide you with some strategies to help you and your family

cope during these uncertain times, and learn some skills that will continue to

benefit us all once things return to normal. Specifically, this issue is all about

mindfulness.

From the Canadian Mental Health Website: “Mindfulness is a way of being. It’s

also a skill developed by deciding to slow down and taking the time to pay atten-

tion and be curious about things that we’re experiencing and things that we see

around us. Each of us can be mindful—we just don’t do it often….Research

shows that mindfulness can help improve well-being and quality of life. It may

help people reduce stress and anxiety, manage symptoms of some mental ill-

nesses and substance use problems, and improve physical health. Mindfulness

can help us look at our own lives more clearly. It can help develop a different re-

lationship with our experiences and it can give us space to look at problems from

all perspectives, without getting tangled in difficult thoughts or feelings that only

make us feel worse.”

We hope that this issue helps you to learn more about mindfulness, and that it

contains some useful resources. We wish you all the best and look forward to a

bright and healthy future together.

Your feedback, comments and questions are important to the All Kids Belong

program. Please feel free to contact me (Lee-Anne Cross) at any time at 519-

434-8247 or lcross@merrymount.on.ca

We will soon be launching our social media accounts, so look for All

Kids Belong on Facebook and Instagram!

I N S I D E T H I S

I S S U E :

Mindfulness 2

Mindfulness

Activities

3

Resources

Covid-19

4

Learning and

Play

5

Books and

Websites

6

P A G E 2

Mindfulness

Making Mindfulness Matter: New pilot study to support growth in self-regulation for preschool children

Making Mindfulness Matter (M3) is a universal, evidence-informed program that has been adapted specifically for preschool children in their classes. It is a social-emotional learning (SEL) and mindfulness-based program. Mindful awareness is paying attention to our thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations and environment in the present moment (Grossman, 2015). SEL refers to abilities such as managing thoughts, regulating feelings, making healthy choices and taking the perspective of others (CASEL, 2019). M3 teaches us how the brain works when children feel strong emotions with simple lan-guage and hands on activities to facilitate the growth of self-regulation. Mindful breathing, sensing and movement are taught, in addition to perspective taking, optimism, kindness, and gratitude.

In this pilot program, Early Childhood Educators in some centres may be trained by AKB Resource Con-sultants to deliver the program in preschool classrooms. Mindfulness and SEL skills will be practiced throughout the day. Feasibility of the program within the childcare classroom will be measured, along with pre and post measurement of ECE stress and ECE self-reports of classroom behavioural manage-ment.

Alyssa Mueller-MA Student MA Student and Melissa Read Phd Student– School and Applied Psychology Western University

WEBSITES OF INTEREST: Mindfulness for Kids International: http://www.mindfulnessforkids.net/

Just breathe video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVA2N6tX2cg The Brain poster: http://teacher.scholastic.com/products/mindup/pdfs/MindUP_K-2_Sample_Poster.pdf The Goldie Hawn Foundation Mind Up: https://mindup.org/

Merrymount M3

This concurrent parent and child (4 – 8 years)

program supports parents by offering a new

approach to parenting in stressful situations and

helps children build skills to regulate their

emotions and behaviours. Through exploring how

both adult brains and children’s brains work, we

look at how we can pay better attention to

feelings and behaviours through mindfulness and

respond with kindness and gratitude to help

reduce the stress in our lives. This program is run

in partnership with the Mary J. Wright Research

& Education Centre. For more information on the

M3 program call Merrymount at 519-434-6848.

P A G E 3

Mindfulness Activities

Adults can teach children of all ages what it means to be mindful and learn to regulate their emotions and body

actions through fun activities and games. The adult models for the child how to complete the action and talks

about it in a soft voice. They use a variety of tools or visual cues to help the child develop their own calm down tool

box or a collection of personal calm down strategies.

Here are some sample activities to help your preschool child calm their body down and be mindful of what is hap-

pening and what they are feeling:

Teaching breathing techniques such as buddy or focused breathing. Use a visual cue to help the younger child

focus on their breathing, helping them take deep calming breaths in and out.

Breathing Buddy- Put a small stuffed animal on their tummy while lying down. Take a big breath in and watch the breathing buddy move up and down.

Focused breathing- Use a pinwheel, cotton ball, etc and move them with a big breath.

Four square breathing - this technique requires you to inhale and exhale in equal proportions.

Practicing simple yoga poses with a visual cue (book, yoga card, etc)

Have the child find a quiet space away from others. Teach the children to slow their body movements down

by copying a yoga pose. Hold the pose and breathe for a few seconds.

Listening to a chime.

Have an adult ring a chime and focus on the one sound as it gets quieter and quieter.

Emotional Check-ins throughout the day; Some children have a hard time naming their emotions.

Use pictures of emotions and have the child pick how they are feeling at the moment. Talk about why they

might feel that way to help them explore their emotions. For example, “I feel____ because _____”.

Large body movements like an elephant stampede.

The adult gives guidelines on how the elephants are moving. Stamp your feet fast and hard, moving

gradually to slow and soft. Talk about how their body feels.

Here are some sample activities to help your school age child calm their body down or be more mindful of what is

happening and what they are feeling:

Awareness of your senses, focusing on one sense at a time while your body is still.

Chew gum or suck on hard candies with a sharp flavour if applicable.

Feely boxes where they have to feel an object without seeing it.

Smelling different scents in enclosed containers.

Listening to a chime as the sound slowly fades away.

Colouring mini mandala patterns.

They don’t take long to colour, and this gives you time to calm your body.

Muscle relaxation; focus on how your body feels as you move through the exercise.

Tightening and relaxing one body part at a time.

Grounding exercise.

Talk about what you see, hear, feel, smell and think one sense at a time.

P A G E 4

Here are a few suggestions to help build the resilience that we all need to get through this:

There will be many opportunities to continue the conversation with your children over these next days and

weeks. Aim to provide them with realistic reassurance. Times will be tough but life will go on.

It always does.

Tips & Tricks about COVID–19 with your Children

Wash Your Hands: Make it a family routine before every meal and snack to wash hands. If you do it together, you can model for them how to use soap, rub your hands together and rinse. Try slowly singing the ABC’s together while you scrub.

Catch that Cough: When children cough or sneeze they tend to do it right into their hands and then they use those hands to touch everything in sight! Instead we can encourage coughing, and sneezing into our elbow. Make it a game with children. Can they catch the cough in their elbow? Cheer when they do, “You caught it! That’s what germ busters do!” If they accidentally catch it in their hands they can simply wash their hands with soap and water and start the game again.

Rest is Best: Let children know that when we are sick we can stay home and rest our bodies. We can be germ busters. As parents we can keep ourselves and our children home if we have a fever or other symptoms.

Practice Healthy Habits: Remind children that sleep, exercise and eating healthy foods are ways to strengthen our bodies.

How to Talk to your Children about COVID–19

1. Be reassuring. As a parent it is normal to be anxious about the uncertainty that lies ahead, both with re-

gard to our collective health and the economy.

2. Bring children into the conversation. Children watch and observe their parents and caretakers. They

watch your face, hear your tone of voice and listen to your conversations.

3. Help children sort facts from fiction. Find out what your children know and understand about what is

happening.

4. Help children have some control. They need to feel empowered in order to protect themselves in

whatever way they can. This includes appropriate and frequent handwashing (show them how and when)

and sneezing into their elbow then washing their hands.

5. Be mindful of media. Be especially thoughtful about exposure to television and media. Model good media

consumption habits.

6. Be creative and grateful. There is a silver lining to being together as a family. As you settle in to this

“new normal” you can strengthen existing connections with family, friends, and neighbours virtually.

Please check more information at: https://www.cps.ca/en/blog-

blogue/how-can-we-talk-to-kids-about-covid-19 & https://

www.wpbstv.org/how-to-talk-to-your-kids-about-coronavirus/

Dr. Jean Clinton: https://www.youtube.com/channel/

P A G E 5

Learning and Play

During this pandemic, with millions of children out of

school and child care, life is going to look significantly

different than it did just a month ago.

What we need is a solid daily routine, a schedule to help

us find our footing. In a few weeks you might not need

this as much and you’ll have developed your own routine

for the days at home.

A few tips:

Instead of looking at large time blocks make the day

into short, manageable chunks (30 minute blocks).

Be flexible! Don’t stick to time increments. It’s more

about flow. If children are playing nice, don’t stop them

because the schedule says it’s snack time. Let it be.

Adjust this to fit your child – you know your child(ren)

and what they need. You know how long they can

tolerate certain activities. Adjust for them.

Don’t rely on screen time to save the day. Use screens

as your tool and reserve it for when it’s crucial.

If your child doesn’t play well independently you may

need to give them more of your time. This is a great

time to focus on independent, child-led, free play time.

The Importance of Play

Play is a word that usually means fun but in a child’s

world play is learning. Through play children

experience and make sense of the world around

them. Play influences every aspect of a child’s

development.

Make the most of the time you have with your child by

setting aside some time to play. This will provide

predictability and build your connection. It will make

your child feel safe and secure. Your role is to follow

their lead and actively participate; give them your

undivided attention. This will help your child learn,

grow and develop in all areas.

Children Activities

Paint with Q-Tips

Thread pasta with straws

Plastic cups and popsicle sticks to build

Colour on sandpaper

Drop watercolours onto coffee filters using a medicine

dropper

Connect-the-dots with letters

Sensory messy play

Beads with pipe cleaners

Shape art: draw shapes on paper and let your child

colour or paint within the shapes

Sink or float: what can sink, what can float ·

Card sorting: sort colours, suits, and numbers

Scavenger hunt inside/outside and walks Every day may not be good but

there’s something good in every day.

The All Kids Belong Bulletin is published by Merrymount Children’s

Centre for child care programs, early learning programs and families

throughout London/Middlesex & St Thomas/Elgin.

Send comments, suggestions, or submissions to:

Lee-Anne Cross, Program Manager, All Kids Belong

Telephone: 434-8247 Fax: 434-6851 Email: lcross@merrymount.on.ca

Books and Learning Websites

Have you tried…Four Square Breathing?

P A G E 6

Books:

Peaceful Piggy Meditation by Kerry Lee Maclean

What Does It Mean To Be Present? by Rana DiOrio

Good Night Yoga: A Pose-by-Pose Bedtime Story by

Mariam Gates

Angry Octopus: a Relaxation Story by Lori Lite

The Lemonade Hurricane: a Story of Mindfulness

and Meditation by Licia Morelli

Moody Cow Meditates by Kerry Lee MacLean

What’s Your Spaghetti by Leah Dilley

Listening To My Body by Gabi Garcia

Mindful Monkey, Happy Panda by Lauren Alderfer

Self-Reg: How to Help Your Child (And You) Break

the Stress Cycle and Successfully Engage with Life

by Dr. Stuart Shanker

Teach independent breathing techniques so children can focus on

their breath and how their body feels in the moment.

www.anxietybc.com

Learning Websites for Children:

Switcheroo Zoo: https://switchzoo.com/ Watch, listen, and play games to learn all about amazing animals Math Prodigy: https://www.prodigygame.com/ Science: Mystery Doug https://mysterydoug.com/ National Geographic https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/ Typing Club: https://www.typingclub.com/ Reading: Into the Book https://reading.ecb.org/ Squiggle Park https://www.squigglepark.com/ Social Studies: History for Kids https://www.historyforkids.net/