WellREDS

On world mental health day, and always, I’m very proud to work in a school that prioritizes the wellbeing and development of the whole child, including mental health. REDS Reset aims to provide both interventions and a primary level of prevention where all students have access to education on social and emotional components of health and wellbeing. ❤️

Our world is full of beauty, but hardships and stressors abound. Here’s hoping you feel a bit of joy everyday and find some time to regularly take care of yourselves. So grateful to be in this community with you. 🌎🙏🏻🙌 ❤️❤️❤️

I join you in the heartbreak, anger, anxiety, disbelief, despair, and general flood of emotions that comes with news of yet another tragic school shooting. We lift up the Covenant School community and pray that there will be an end to these senseless school violence tragedies. 🙏🏻💔

If your children are aware of the events or if you have chosen to talk to them about this news, continue to check in with them and be vigilant of any emotional or behavioral changes. Children may show signs of anxiety, fear, numbness, distraction, or disorganization in response to tragedies. Encourage them to reach out to me, their teachers, and other school staff if they are feeling anxious or fearful at school. 💙

These events are immeasurably hard on all parents, so please continue to also take care of yourself. Violence in the schools is overwhelming. It is easy to feel paralyzed, enraged, and helpless. If you feel particularly called to explore what you can do when you feel this way, please do not hesitate to reach out. We are happy to provide additional stress management strategies, as well discussing action-oriented outlets for your anger and distress when these tragedies occur. Please also see the letter sent to your email for strategies and additional resources and readings that provide information on working through this with your children. Sending love and light. ❤️❤️❤️

Holiday season mindfulness moments ~ what are your children’s most beloved, meaningful holiday traditions? What do you do in your family at this time of year that celebrates your culture and/or is something that connects you to previous generations? Or, what traditions do you have where you feel the most present-focused and mindful? 🎄❤️

This month’s wellness lesson will focus on a discussion of these traditions. By taking some time with your kids sometime over the next couple of days, hopefully you’ll feel a bit of a mindful, peaceful moment and enjoy a conversation hearing their perspective on what matters most to them this season! 🍪👩‍🍳🎄✨

In our family, we sometimes get a second, smaller Christmas tree and decorate it with my grandmother’s old and very fragile ornaments. The simple act of listening to Christmas music from her generation, slowing down and being cozy at home, and hanging these family heirlooms on the fragrant evergreen evokes a visceral feeling of Christmas - connection to family, tradition, spirituality, and an awe-inspiring wonder and appreciation for how children view all of the little details of this season. Your favorite traditions may be something simple and quiet at home in pjs with bed-head or a dressy brunch at the Jefferson with extended family…all of these traditions make the holidays magical! 🪄✨⭐️💫

The hustle-bustle of this season can spark joy and excitement, but it can also come with stress and pressure to do ALL the THINGS and be the magic maker of the family. We can feel harried and hurried when we’d rather feel light, joyous, and grateful. So, whether this season is as joyous and wondrous as you had hoped or if you are having a tougher time, feeling stressed, or missing lost loved ones, here’s hoping you have a few opportunities to enjoy some slow, mindful, meaningful time with your families over the next few weeks. Wishing you and yours peace, comfort, a very Merry Christmas spent with those you love the most, and a happy, healthy 2023! 🎉 🥳🌱

We’re well into November all of the sudden and we have officially entered the season of gratitude! We are so thankful for our incredible REDS community! 🏫❤️

The third graders took an amazing field trip to Shalom Farms last month and have since been honoring and showing gratitude for the earth with their composting project. Shalom means peace…this reminder of the power of mindfulness in nature, an appreciation for our beautiful surroundings, and the added meaning that comes from sharing this with those closest to you has been resonating with me recently and adding some peace to the days. 🙏🏻 🌍

The REDS Reset theme this month is Family and Relationships - A Spirit of Gratitude. We will be focusing on Gratitude for Self - Strengths Search and Self Esteem in our wellness classroom lessons and writing or drawing about these amazing individual traits in our wellness journals. A new, brief small group will emphasize friendships and healthy, assertive communication with all of our 4th and 5th grade girls this month. Social skills games and movement activity small groups across grade levels are also ongoing. I remain available for one:one support for your child and parent meetings as well, of course, so please do not hesitate to reach out anytime! 👯‍♀️📓🏫

This is a busy season and the hustle and bustle of the holidays will be upon us before we know it. Whether things are stable or in a state of change for you right now, here’s hoping that regardless of current circumstance, you have some time over the next few weeks to slow down a bit with your children and the rest of your families to notice and acknowledge what you are most grateful for - for families, friendships, our amazing REDS community, all that the earth gives us, and so much more! 🌎🌱🌳

Looking forward to an amazing season of gratitude with you and your sweet kiddos! 🥰🙏🏻🌱❤️

Photo credit: ._williams

Getting excited to see everyone at our first wine & wellness event this evening at 6:30! Cheers!

Today I got to visit all K-5th classrooms to talk about and practice mindfulness! 🌱🧘‍♀️👍

We talked about how this concept is both simple and complex and takes plenty of practice. With practice, the benefits are numerous. Research specifically on using mindfulness practice with children indicates decreased stress, improved attention and focus, improved emotion regulation, improved social skills, a decrease in testing anxiety, and overall improved sense of well-being and increased compassion. Pretty impressive! 👏

The children were amazing in sharing their understanding of mindfulness and how it might benefit them. Ask your child if they remember the seed planting symbolism from the book we read. When we read the book I Am Peace, we talked about planting seeds of mindfulness, nurturing our practice so that it grows big like the tree in the book, and how it can become our anchor when riding our waves of feelings. 🌊

We practiced a mindful check-in and pretended our thoughts were clouds floating by. We talked about key concepts of mindfulness ~ noticing and being aware of the here and now by paying attention to what’s happening inside our bodies and minds and noticing our outside surroundings by using our senses. This paying attention is done with a curious and kind mind. ☺️❤️💭

We will continue to nurture this practice, watch it grow, and notice the benefits this year. Can’t wait to continue to the journey! There will be ups and downs to navigate, but as we discussed today ~ the expert on Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction, Jon Kabat-Zinn, says “You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf.” 🏄‍♀️🏄‍♂️🌊

Today I got to visit all K-5th classrooms to talk about and practice mindfulness! 🌱🧘‍♀️👍

We talked about how this concept is both simple and complex and takes plenty of practice. With practice, the benefits are numerous. Research specially on using mindfulness practice with children indicates decreased stress, improved attention and focus, improved emotion regulation, improved social skills, a decrease in testing anxiety, and overall improved sense of well-being and increased compassion. Pretty impressive! 👏

The children were amazing in sharing their understanding of mindfulness and how it might benefit them. Ask your child if they remember the seed planting symbolism from the book we read…When we read the book I Am Peace, we talked about planting seeds of mindfulness, nurturing our practice so that it grows big like the tree in the book, and can become our anchor when riding our waves of feelings. 🌊

We practiced a mindful check in and pretended our thoughts were clouds. We talked about key concepts of mindfulness ~ noticing and being aware of the here and now by paying attention to what’s happening inside our bodies and minds and to our outside surroundings by using our senses. This paying attention is done with a curious and kind mind. ☺️❤️💭

We will continue to nurture this practice and watch it grow and notice the benefits this year. Can’t wait to continue to the journey! There will be ups and downs to navigate, but as we discussed today ~ the expert on Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction, Jon Kabat-Zinn, says “You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf.” 🏄‍♀️🏄‍♂️🌊

What an honor and privilege to work with this amazing school community! ❤️🏫🌱

It was a thrill to kick off the day with a Cardinal Crew (whole school assembly) introducing these sweet kids to the new REDS Reset program! 🎉

The events of the last few years have left us excited and hopeful for a “normal” school year. We talked about how living through the pandemic’s impact on these kids’ last few school years taught us that we CAN do hard things and that it’s okay to ask for help when we need it. We talked about student wellbeing across many domains - academic, social, and emotional- and coping skills…we agreed how special it is to be part of such a cohesive school community…we finished the morning with a whole school Loving Kindness Meditation. Not a bad start to a Tuesday morning! 🙌🧘‍♀️🧘‍♂️🫶🏾

These kiddos were incredible. Their attention was superb and it is evident how happy they all are to be a part of this wonderful school. We all have a hand at the end for a great school year ahead! 👏👊🏼👍🏽

Hi there! 👋
For those of you I haven't met, I'm Claire - the new Wellness Coordinator! 🌿❤️🤸‍♀️🧘

How is everyone feeling about the kiddos going back to school after almost a three month break? Excited? Nervous? Ready? Not sure how your brand new preschooler will handle the transition (or even be able to leave her shoes on?) 🙋‍♀️🤦‍♀️

I would love to chat with you about it ~ or anything else ~ so please come find me tomorrow night at back to school night! I won't have my fabulous three little helpers with me 😉, so I'll be free as a bird 🐦and so very ready to get to know you all. I can't wait! 💯

See you all tomorrow evening and I hope you and your wonderful children are ready for a RESET and a great school year ahead!
🎉🏫📓🔤

Apparently, it is National Relaxation Day! Who knew!? The things you learn on social media...🤷‍♂️

Whether it is taking time for yourself or building in some quality relaxation time with your kiddos, a rainy Monday seems like the perfect time to celebrate National Relaxation Day! ☔

Hopefully you can take time with some favorite ways to unwind and take care of yourself today (and prioritize your own relaxation on a regular basis, which is also great modeling for your kids to witness the importance of self care)!

Here are some of our favorites ~
1. Curling up with a good book
2. Spending time in nature - everyone in the REDS community knows we like to say there is no bad weather, only bad clothing. So, grab your rain coat and boots and take a stroll!
3. Doing a short yoga practice
4. Meditating, praying, or simply taking time for stillness
5. Belly breathing! This is a great way to relax by engaging the parasympathetic nervous system (the part of the nervous system responsible for controlling your ability to relax -- also sometimes called the "rest and digest" part of your autonomic nervous system).
- Simply find a safe place to sit and relax. Gently exhale. Place one hand on your belly. Inhale through your nose while your belly expands and pushes your hand out for a count of four. Exhale gently out of your mouth as your belly contracts and your hand pulls back in for a count of six. Repeat for four cycles of breathing and see if you notice a difference in your body!
🧘🧘‍♂️🌳

Here’s just a little, tiny sneak peek at the makings of the classroom REDS Reset Toolkit! Starting in September, we will be introducing some techniques and tools for coping with emotions, managing stress, improving communication, and resolving conflict. 🧰👏🧘‍♀️

We will provide demonstration and opportunities for practice of various coping strategies to students. All classrooms will have a toolkit on hand for daily use. Everyone is different, so each child might vibe with different tools and exercises! 👌🎯

Students can then "choose their own adventure" when they want to pick a coping strategy whenever they are in need of a little reset. Teachers will use the Reset Toolkit when they feel the class needs a brain break, too. We're so looking forward to seeing these kiddos shine in their growth in self-efficacy and self-agency in problem solving! 🧭🏋💪

Anyone sometimes need a friendly reminder of this? 🙋‍♀️

A little fun mental health history fact: Carl Rogers was an immensely influential psychologist during the 20th century. His hallmark traits, among many, included active listening and the importance of the therapeutic relationship and unconditional positive regard for his clients. 👏

He started his career intending to join the ministry, but then became one of the most renowned psychologists of all time – he was responsible for starting person-centered therapy, worked as a professor, and researched the effectiveness of therapy intensively. He was ALL about RELATIONSHIPS as the healing mechanism for helping people actualize their full potential. 💯

How does this quote sit with you? We often look at ourselves with an expectation of perfection….in parenting, in working, in social relationships, in keeping up with our homes and yards, and on and on. Social media can be an informative and fun space, but it can also be a bit of a pressure cooker. We hope to provide wellness and mental health education, but also add some of the joy back for you with ! 🤸

Our kiddos may also need lessons in self-acceptance, growth mindset, and taking the pressure off of themselves a bit. Where do they look for these lessons? 😉 So, in case you needed to hear this today…you are enough and you are the perfect parent for your child!

Cheers to looking forward to the end of the heatwave and savoring the last bits of summer before school starts up in just a few weeks…we can’t wait to RESET with you! Be well...🌱💖🧘