The Week Ahead 20180316

The Week Ahead – this week, let’s promote resilience in our children……..

  

It’s not possible to protect our children from the ups and downs of life. No matter how superhuman we feel our parenting or educating skills may be, it is a fact. Whilst we can’t protect them, we can provide them with the tools they need to respond to the challenges of childhood, adolescence and young adulthood and to navigate successfully in adulthood. Despite our best efforts, we cannot prevent adversity and daily stress, but we can support children to learn to be more resilient by changing how we think about challenges and adversities. When faced with a tragedy, natural disaster, health concern, relationship, work, or school problem, resilience is how well a person can adapt to the events in their life. A person who is resilient can bounce back more quickly and with less stress than someone whose resilience is less developed. Bear in mind, everybody has the potential to be resilient. It’s just a question of how much and how well it is put it to use in life. Being resilient doesn’t mean that the intensity of a problem or an event is not felt, it simply means that a way has been found of dealing with it more effectively. https://psychcentral.com/lib/what-is-resilience/ As parents, we want and aim to provide our children with a solid foundation for their futures. We wish them to be healthy, happy, educated, intelligent (not just academic), successful global citizens who can cope in the modern world. We want them to make the right choices, deal with consequences for their choices, recover from hardships and be prepared for future challenges. We want them to be successful in life, and to do so, our children need to be resilient. Resilient children become adults who can cope in today’s world. Promoting resilience in children starts with the family, it starts at home and it starts early (although it is never too late to try). A Parent’s Guide to Building Resilience in Children and Teens: Giving Your Child Roots and Wings penned by Dr Kenneth Ginsburg, an American paediatrician identifies seven ‘Cs’ of resilience: which can be used to support children in recognising their abilities and inner resources:

   

 Competence Competence describes the feeling of knowing that you can handle a situation effectively. We can help the development of competence by:

• Helping children focus on individual strengths
• Focusing any identified mistakes on specific incidents
• Empowering children to make decisions
• Being careful that your desire to protect your child doesn’t mistakenly send a message that you don’t think he or she is competent to handle things
• Recognising the competencies of siblings individually and avoiding comparisons

  Confidence A child’s belief in his/her own abilities is derived from competence. Build confidence by:

• Focusing on the best in each child so that he or she can see that, as well
• Clearly expressing the best qualities, such as fairness, respect, persistence, and kindness
• Recognising when he or she has done well
• Praising honestly about specific achievements; not diffusing praise that may lack authenticity
• Not pushing the child to take on more than he or she can realistically handle

  Connection Developing close ties to family and community creates a solid sense of security that helps lead to strong values and prevents alternative destructive paths to love and attention. You can help your child connect with others by:

• Building a sense of physical safety and emotional security within the home
• Allowing the expression of all emotions, so that children will feel comfortable reaching out during challenging times
• Addressing conflict openly in the family to resolve problems
• Creating a routine where the family can share time (not necessarily TV / screen time)
• Fostering healthy relationships that will reinforce positive messages

  Character Children need to develop a solid set of morals and values to determine right from wrong and to demonstrate a caring attitude toward others. To strengthen your child’s character, start by:

• Demonstrating how behaviours affect others
• Helping your child recognise himself or herself as a caring person
• Demonstrating the importance of community
• Encouraging the development of spirituality / wellbeing
• Avoiding negative, racist or hateful statements or stereotypes

  Contribution Children need to realise that the world is a better place because they are in it. Understanding the importance of personal contribution can serve as a source of purpose and motivation. Teach your children how to contribute by:

• Communicating to children that many people in the world do not have what they need (food, shelter, sanitation)
• Stressing the importance of serving others by modelling generosity (not just money, but time, energy and effort)
• Creating opportunities for each child to contribute in some specific way

  Coping Learning to cope effectively with stress will help your child be better prepared to overcome life’s challenges. Positive coping lessons include:

• Modelling positive coping strategies on a consistent basis
• Guiding your child to develop positive and effective coping strategies
• Realising that telling him or her to stop the negative behaviour will not be effective
• Understanding that many risky behaviours are attempts to alleviate the stress and pain in a child’s daily life
• Not condemning your child for negative behaviours and, potentially, increasing his or her sense of shame

  Control Children who realise that they can control the outcomes of their decisions are more likely to realise that they can bounce back. Your child’s understanding that he or she can make a difference further promotes competence and confidence. You can try to empower your child by:

• Helping your child to understand that life’s events are not purely random and that many things that happen are the result of another individual’s choices and actions
• Learning that discipline is about teaching, not punishing or controlling; using discipline to help your child to understand that his actions produce certain consequences

Dr. Ginsburg sums up his thoughts around resilience, ‘Children need to know that there is an adult in their life who believes in them and loves them unconditionally. Kids will live ‘up’ or ‘down’ to our expectations’. Adapted from https://www.healthychildren.org/English/healthy-living/emotional-wellness/Building-Resilience/Pages/Building-Resilience-in-Children.aspx There is no simple method to guarantee resilience in every situation. However, as adults, we can challenge ourselves to help our children develop the ability to negotiate their own challenges and to be more resilient, more confident, more capable and ultimately happier human beings.

   

  Lucky Green Day The setting became a verdant wonderland today with shades of green everywhere. For those with a connection to the emerald isle, we wish you a happy St. Patrick’s Day for 17^th March – may the luck of the Irish be with you always!

    

  Classroom News for week beginning Monday 19^th March 2018 EY1 – Erica Ni writes about the theme My Dad My Mum EY1 is going to do activities to welcome spring this week. In mark making and art area, teachers will provide resources such as markers, glue, sponge, hole-punchers, and paint to inspire children to paint trees, flowers, grass or people in spring. Children will also try to mix colours and talk about how colour changes after their experiment. In construction area, children will be challenged to use lego blocks, recycle boxes or wooden blocks to build cars, houses, boats or any other thing they like. We will keep reviewing numbers, shapes, and positions in logic area. Children will have go outdoor with magnifying glasses to explore the environment and talk about details features of objects they see. We are reading: 我爸爸、小白兔玩颜料、画了一匹蓝马的画家、My Dad We are singing: 春天在哪里、小燕子、丢手绢、我爱洗澡、Finger family, Feeling the beat, Pat a cake Special date: March 23rd  Bloom & Blossom Day (non-uniform day, floral patterns, flower costumes, flowers in your hair... etc)   EY2 – Vivian He writes about the theme Handa’s Surprise Next week, the children in EY2 will have the opportunity to begin doing a simple research project. At first, we will talk about our favourite fruit and vegetables. Then, we will experiment with tally sheets and pictographs where children will have the opportunity to ask their peers about their favourite fruit. Children will have the opportunity to tally up the total number of fruit that their peers like and we will discuss the results as a class. We are reading: Handa’s Surprise Goldilocks and the Three Bears 看我，看我！ 动物摇摆舞 一份特别的礼物 We are singing: Who stole the cookie from the cookie jar There were ten in the bed 五只小猴子 大狮子 Special date: 23^rd March Bloom & Blossom Day (non-uniform day) A note from the EY2 team: Please remember to let your child wear the proper school uniform to school. To prepare for EY3, at home, we want parents to encourage their children to do things independently such as:

1. eating and dressing by themselves
2. as well as using the restroom and using tissue properly.

  EY3 – Nicole writes about the theme Space Part 2 On Friday 16^th March the children began making papier-mâché planets. This week we will continue to work on these by decorating them. We will also begin to investigate the planets Mars and Jupiter.  We will find out if there could be life on Mars and find out what makes the beautiful colours and patterns we can see on the surface of Jupiter. We are reading: 《我的影子》 My very first Space book by Emily Bone We are singing: 《八大行星》 The Planet Song Special date: Friday 23^rd March is Bloom and Blossom day (non-uniform) please wear flowery or plant themed clothing/costumes. A note from the EY3 team: If your child already knows any facts about Mars or Jupiter please encourage them to share their knowledge with the class. Maybe they could make a poster? Peacock/Flamingo: Please send any photographs of anything special you might have done at the weekend to Miss Charlotte ready for our weekend diary activity which will take place on Monday or Tuesday.   EY4 – Emily Gu writes about the theme We Are the Explorer of the World Part 2 EY4 Children have been very busy designing and developing the outdoor areas. Each class has been working on a specific area, learning how to plan and resourcing the activities and exploring the different ways of playing with natural things, such as mud, sand, stone, plants, water and recycling things. Children will also introduce their areas to children from other classes, and they will be responsible for the areas they developed. We are reading: 小海狸系列 Not a Stick and Not a Box The Paper Bag Princess The Curious Garden by Peter Brown The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter We are singing: Days of the week 今天天气好吗? 双语儿歌《彩虹儿歌》 Special date: March 23  Bloom & Blossom （Non-uniform） A note from EY4 team: Please remember to bring the raincoat and rain boots for your child, we would spend lots of time outdoor next week despite of the wet day. We would love it if families could help with our outdoor play area by donating some recycled materials such as-

• Old pots, pans and kitchenware (please nothing sharp)
• Clothes, shoes and bags that could be used for role play (adult clothes are great as they are nice and big)
• Plastic boxes, bottles, containers, jugs, etc.
• Recycled craft materials- egg cartons, toilet rolls, bubble wrap, fabric.

There will be a collection box in the EY4 hallway. We thank you in advance for your support.   Music and Movement – PeiHua and Sarah write about life in the music space EY1 – This week we will continue to celebrate our families with music. The children will review some now familiar songs. Exploring steady beat with wooden instruments and comparing the timbres will also be a highlight. EY2 – This week the EY2 children will pick more of their favourite fruits. Animal inspired dancing to African beats has also been planned. We will practise the call and response drumming song ‘Che Che Kule’. EY3 – Our EY3 children will reach for the stars again. We will extend 太阳家庭 with an exciting chant about the planets. We will continue our expressive movements to an excerpt from Gustav Holst’s. We’ll carry on learning the last verse of Blue White Planet. EY4 – The musical adventure continues for EY4! The children love dinosaurs and we will keep working with movement and singing like our prehistoric friends. Body isolation and movement will be extended through the Dinhe, a harvest folk dance from Zimbabwe. We’ll also explore rhythms in an ensemble instrument activity. We are singing: EY1 – 我要亲亲你, The Finger Family, That’s My Family EY2 – 摘水果, Shake Shake the Apple Tree EY3 – 太阳家庭, Ring Around the Rocket Ship，春晓 EY4 – We Are the Dinosaurs，恐龙时代/Long Ago There Were Dinosaurs (bilingual) Special dates: The end of term is coming soon and we are excited to share your child’s music learning with you once again. Please check below for your child’s assembly time. We look forward to seeing you soon! EY1 Wednesday March 28th, 10:00 a.m. EY2 Thursday March 29th, 10:00 a.m. EY3 Thursday March 29th, 2:30 p.m. EY4 Wednesday March 28th, 2:30 p.m. Special notes: Spring is here and we are expanding the Music Kitchen. Pots, pans, spoons, plastic bottles, biscuit tins, chopsticks, ladles, cups… We would love to have those odd pieces from the back of your cupboard for our children to make joyful noises with!  Please drop your items in the Music Kitchen box in Reception. Should you have any questions please e-mail peihua.wang@wellingtoncollege.cn or sarah.peel@wellingtoncollege.cn for more details.