Friday Feeling!

It’s Friday! Well done to all those who have survived the first week of isolation and home-learning, and to those with a few weeks behind you – congratulations and keep it up!

I’ve seen pictures of treasure hunts, indoor picnics, lots of reading and writing, online maths practice, problem-solving, baking, some beautiful artwork, amazing LEGO creations, and lots and lots of P.E., much of it with Joe.

What has worked well? What has been a disaster? Any tips you would like to share? It is always useful to reflect, mindful we learn more from our mistakes than our successes.

One of my mantras for this time is that we acknowledge the pressure we are under and try to avoid adding to it. I found this ‘Emotional First Aid’ infographic from Gwent Attachement Services online and it echoes many of the sentiments in my recent blog posts. (Apologies it is not the clearest; zoom in to read).

1. 1. We are aiming for good over perfection.

   2. Maintaining elements of our old routine and fostering new habits for this time provide us with a sense of stability.

   3. Regular movement breaks are important.

   4. Let’s reach out and support one another, embracing the spirit of community-mindedness we are seeing all around us.

I really like the focus on self-care (under the umbrella of self-regulation) shared here. What can you do you look after yourself this weekend? How can you ease your worries even if only for a brief moment?

It is helpful to think of the oft-quoted adage,

How can you refill your cup this weekend? What can we do to refill our children’s cups?

Take the weekend to rest and recharge. Try to plan some fun activities. You might like to create a family bucket-list for isolation and check some items off it or use the Action for Happiness Coping Calendar for well-being inspiration.

I will post another CardEd 5 day Activity Guide over the weekend, as well as another 5 + 5 planner with independent and cooperative learning ideas for the week ahead. Fridays are infamous for the “Friday Spelling Test” and I will be making some suggestions on how we can better teach and assess spelling, so look out for that post as you may wish to make some changes for next week.

Until then, friends, take care and stay well and don’t forget to…

Wash those hands!