I feel so far behind lol .... I have been tired the last couple of nights and just didn't have the energy to post.
So I will work backwards:
Today I am woohooing:
The ability the work from home - I am loving it. As well as the opportunity to catch up on paperwork and just breathe a little work wise after being off for most of term 1. My job can get pretty crazy sometimes and I feel like I am chasing my tail - this imposed different working style, with kids mostly not in schools and therapists confined to base or work from home is creating a positive space - if embraced the right way,
Sunset walk at the beach with DD - we ran into one her friends and her mother doing the same thing - so got to have a brief in person socially distanced chat.
The weather - it is wonderful here
Easy Buttons: Chocolate, napping, tv.
Reset Buttons: A good chat with a friend, beach, a good cry when its just needed - sometimes you don't even you know you need it and end up really crying in a movie or tv show - I did that this week (i can't even remember the show now) but I just gave into it and then I felt better. My newly found meditations.
@MickeyMom76 your deck and yard looks fantastic
I feel for all of you in the school - teaching/learning struggle at the moment. Mine aren't too bad being 16 - in year 11 they are fairly motivated as they actually start their year 12 work in term 4 this year - so they have that motivating them not too lose too much preparation time. In a supportive way I just want to say to make sure you have appropriate expectations of yourselves as parents, teachers and even of your own kids - we all tend to put alot of pressure on ourselves to excel but don't set that bar to high at the moment - be kind. I say this as someone who has had to work hard in the past 6 months to really - rethink the expectations I place on myself.
@piglet1979 - glad to hear you have make some progress - I was thinking about it and I know your DD experiences some anxiety - I am wondering if it is like all of us a reaction to the changes in learning styles and the worry in the world right not but also partly about knowing how to organise themselves to get the work done at home, feeling anxious about less teacher reassurance/contact/organisation etc. This style of learning at the moment does require some more mature independent learning for some of our kids. There is a psychologist I like who likes to really involve the kids in problem solving - he gets you to ask specific questions like "I have noticed you are having trouble getting started on your book report for english, whats up with that?" then give space for the child to answer - don't throw out any of your 'thoughts about why yet' sometimes you need to let some silence sit while they think and then respond - the key here is that we are giving space for the kids to tell us their perspective and often the problem may not be what we thought it was. Repeat it back to them to make sure you have understood - and it helps them feel like they were heard - they may have several reasons - make sure you get them all out. Then we clarify our concern e.g. "I am concerned you won't get your book report done by the due date and you might lose marks if its late" - now that you have heard what the kids see as the roadblock and clarified that with them - now invite them to problem solve with you "I wonder if there is a way to help you get the report started..." - again they may need some thinking space - or you might need to model some ideas if they really don't have any ideas- but don't let all the ideas be yours - one of their ideas may even be to ask you for help
When I have used this approach with kids I am so impressed even with quite young children e.g. grade 2 as to their personal insight and ability to help problem solve. We ask the specific questions rather than the big "why aren't you doing all of your school work at the moment - as it is too big for the kids to think about and respond to - so by breaking it down specifically we have more of a chance for them to interact with it. The best thing my kids school communicated to us as parents was that it was not our job to answer all of the kids questions about their learning at the moment but for the kids to write down their questions of they had any and to ask their teacher - even if it was via email, or during their learning online learning sessions. Anyway that is my stab at being a supportive friend from far away at the moment - I know you will sort it out you are a wonderful mother
@Oneanne - I have done a morning meditation each day this week and then I get out of bed and wait about 10 minutes and do my morning BP - it has been really good this week so far - not sure if the meditation is helping yet .... last week it had been up a bit (before the meditations) - but I'm not sure if that was hormonal cycle - will be interesting to see if I can keep up the meditations for over a month including during that same hormone cycle to see if it stays lower than it has been. I am trying really hard to remember to do my evening BP at the moment too - I am usually worse at tracking that when I am working as it gets lost in the business of the day - but am doing better this week - I have done a walk each afternoon and my evening BP is looking pretty good as well
So I am really wondering about the stress relief benefits of the meditation and sleep visualisations...
Well I think I have more than made up for not posting the last couple of nights lol - have a great day everyone
