Sunshine, blue skies, fledgling birds calling, and children laughing. Well... some children are laughing. The children who are looking forward to being with their families for July and August are excited and happy and enjoying all the end of the year celebrations, trips, and culminating activities. I want to write today about the group of children who are not laughing, the children who are perhaps screaming, growling, stomping their feet, or simply have gone silent.
Transition times are a time of stress as change is stressful. Please know I don't think all stress is bad! Stress is a part of life and learning to deal with stress in healthy ways is a powerful skill to learn. Many students can do this with the supports they already have in place in their lives. Others, just like some adults, are more sensitive to stress, endure intense levels of stress, have mental health challenges, physical health challenges, social challenges, and/or family challenges. For these children, summer coming means a sudden and significant break from their support network and the structure and routines they have grown with over the year. Imagine FEELING the message from the adults you trust, " We care about you, we are here for you BUT we are leaving you for two months."
How do we support these children throughout June so they are set up for a successful transition into July? I believe in the direct teaching of resiliency skills, teaching how to build positive mindsets, and utilization ofmindfulness strategies. June needs to be a time for reinforcing and practicing these skills. Direct teaching of metacognition. Set them up for success.
Please contact me or comment if you would like to discuss specific ideas for teaching these skills.