Activities for week of 4/20 - 4/24

Activities for week of 4/20 - 4/24


We've just finished our sixth week of the school closure, with Gov. Baker's announcement just this week of the continued closure through the end of this school year in June. With his news, I experienced various different feelings this week: sadness, disappointment, frustration, resignation, among others. I'm sure I'm not alone. Here is a great discussion given by Julia Mozeika, the school psychologist for Abbot, Crisafulli and the Day Schools, talking about an "emotional rollercoaster" and how people may experience different emotions throughout the day. In the next episode (coming soon), she will give some additional strategies on how to calm these emotions. 

So what can we do when you're on an emotional rollercoaster?  
When you're riding those emotional waves, one of the best things to do is find a place where you can calm your feelings. A great way to find some calm is to create a Calm Corner in your house. A calm corner allows you or your child to calm down when they are in an emotional state. This article explains the ins and outs of calm corners: what they are, the benefits and how to set one up in your home.

Other calming strategies that can be included in your calm corner or on the go include:

• a fidget or squishy items, such as a stress ball,  or even a sock or balloon filled with rice
• making a calming jar (instructions here)
• Look & find pages, I Spy or Where's Waldo books     
• Listening to calming music or nature sounds
• Watching Zen Den videos, such as:
•  Be the Pond 
• The Bye-Bye Boat

In addition, below is also a handy chart of various feeling faces that can be used to express how you feel when it's hard to find the words. 

Kindness 101

Steve Hartman has continued to create new videos for his Kindness 101 class. Here are his latest episodes: Gratitude and Optimism. 

Activities for the week of April 13 - April 17th

Did you know?????

...Our Westford School Psychologists have created an awesome, informative, new website for all Westford families! You can find the link here!!

...This week Mrs. Reynolds shared 2 different read-aloud in 2 different places!! These read-alouds are shared here in our blog as a bonus!

Read-aloud #1 was the book ONE by Kathryn Otoshi.

Read-aloud #2 was on every single Google classroom for Nabnasset School. The book she read there is called Alphabreaths: The ABC's of Mindful Breathing written by Christopher Willard. 

We have all been learning new things...adjusting to the challenges of remote learning... coping with Google classroom and Google meeting glitches... working from home...developing new routines ...finding new ways to have fun....having virtual playdates....and missing each other so much! 

Below is a poster with some great reminders of things we can say to ourselves when we feel discouraged...and believe me, this is for ALL OF US!!!!

Lisa Flynn, the founder and CEO of Yoga 4 Classrooms, has made a very generous offer to help support us during this most trying time. She has offered a Mindful Activity of the Day option free of charge to help keep us grounded and healthy. Her only request is that she is properly credited with the material. Here are a few more days of these daily yoga activities! Don't forget to check into our older posts for the other daily yoga and mindful activities.

Day #14: Do my best!

Day #15: Bumble bee Breath

These may be the final Yoga shares from Lisa Flynn but you can explore more yoga designed for kids at:

Yoga

Follow the link to Cosmic Kids Yoga and pick your favorite Yoga Adventure.

As always,

Take care!

Mrs. MacKinnon and Mrs. Reynolds

Activities for the week of April 6- April 10

Daily Yoga activities for this week!!

Lisa Flynn, the founder and CEO of Yoga 4 Classrooms, has made a very generous offer to help support us during this most trying time. She has offered a Mindful Activity of the Day option free of charge to help keep us grounded and healthy. Her only request is that she is properly credited with the material. Here are the final few days of these daily yoga activities! Don't forget to check into our older posts for the other daily yoga and mindful activities.

Day #11:  Chair Pose

Day #12: Outside In - Mindful Listening

Day #13 Exhale the week


On the road...

Well, the first week of our new school learning model is behind us. It's been a steep learning curve and everyday I am still learning something new. I have been hearing from both staff and parents alike that it's been a little overwhelming trying to figure out the workings of Google Classroom or Seesaw. When things are new to us, it can seem daunting and can make us anxious, especially in these trying times. Taking things slow, doing some deep breathing and yoga can help to bring calm to the chaos.

One of things that I look forward to is Steve Hartman on Friday nights. He hosts a segment on the CBS Evening News (Channel 4) called "On the Road With Steve Hartman". During this segment, he interviews and tells the story of different people across America. The stories he tells involve those who have shown kindness to others, such as an adopted boy who finds homes for senior dogs in the shelter or a school who gifted a bus driver with a new car. These stories always bring a smile to my face. I feel like I need it more during this "new normal". His segments always seem to bring a smile to my face.
Recently, Steve Hartman has created an online kindness class geared for kids on YouTube, called "Kindness 101". These classes feature some of the stories he's told over the years (with the help from his three children). Each class is 30 minutes and features a different topic: Character, Empathy, Friendship, Altruism and Courage. These are some of the core values we emphasize at Nab with our "RISE to be a Nab Star" motto. I hope you check them out....and that they bring a smile to your day.

Mrs. Reynolds and Mrs. MacKinnon

Activities and resources for March 30 - April 3rd

Happy Friday to all our friends!!

We thought you might like to know that while you have been learning at home, we have also been learning at home! We did not know how to use Google classroom so we have been participating in many tutorials at our "home offices" to learn how we can share fun things with you during this time when our schools are closed. Unfortunately that has meant we spend a lot of time on our computers, and that is quite exhausting (even though we are sitting). If you have that same feeling, then a great idea is to make sure that you are taking breaks and doing something active. Below we are including more links to some daily yoga activities (the first set of links was in our blog post on 3/25). 

Daily Yoga activities for this week!!

Lisa Flynn, the founder and CEO of Yoga 4 Classrooms, has made a very generous offer to help support us during this most trying time. She has offered a Mindful Activity of the Day option free of charge to help keep us grounded and healthy. Her only request is that she is properly credited with the material.

Here are the links for the activities shared so far:

Day #6: Warrior series of poses

Day #7: Magic Massage

Day #8: Tree Pose

Day #9: Power Breath

Day #10: Gratitude relaxation

Taking some walks outside is also a good way to get some fresh air and exercise! Here is a link to taking a mindful walk from Cosmic kids zen den, and a great visual to remind you of some of the things to look for when you are walking!

Mindful Walking

Go outside and take a slow, mindful walk. During your walk use your senses….

Listen for→

           

Smell

  

Look for→

Touch/feel

   

Finally, Here is another great link we found for some nature activities from Mass Audubon (click here)!  Check out the "bird of the day" videos, Nature Bingo game, the nature activity sheets and maybe the neighborhood scavenger hunt (just keep you physical distance, and do this with a grownup).