Reminder from Mr Roberts

This is just a reminder that when dropping your child off to school or, when collecting them at the end of the day, you need to do so without lingering for a conversation with other parents and please don’t let your child run off to play. I would like to thank you for the effort you have made to cooperate with this request over the past few weeks and ask that you continue to be diligent in this approach – we are blessed that we don’t have a front gate you can’t go past or the situation where we need to do a ‘drive-thru-and-drop’ like many other schools. I guess the rain and the cold weather makes it a bit easier to leave quickly too!

School Banking – Message from Commonwealth Bank

We have been continually monitoring the situation with Coronavirus in each state and territory, with regards to the easing of restrictions. The health and safety of communities and people remain our priority. While School Banking is still paused, we are now considering how best we can deliver the program in a Coronavirus-safe environment.

In the meantime, Start Smart Parent Resources have been created to assist parents and carers in improving their children’s money management skills. These free, short videos and worksheets can be accessed from home and are designed to give students the confidence and skills to make smart decisions about money. To find out more, visit commbank.com.au/parent

As mentioned in my previous Blog, what I value most as a parent is to see my daughter happy. Circumstances of life can no doubt impact on people’s “level of happiness”, but I’ve learnt (and still learning) that the more resilient children are, the happier they will become as adults, even when facing adversity. It is how a person sees and deals with a situation that will determine how quickly they will “bounce back”.

It is extremely difficult to see your children sad or upset, but I have learnt, over time, that my role as a parent isn’t to “try to make life perfect” for my daughter. The world is unfortunately not a perfect place and challenges (small and big) will always come about. It is therefore better for me to support my child to “problem solve” rather than “do it for her” (even in adulthood!). This helps her to become more and more resilient.

“The Danish Way of Parenting” believes in 6 principles which I would like to explore with you this Term:

P for Play

              A for Authenticity

           R for Reframing

        E for Empathy

                 N for No ultimatum

               T for Togetherness

P for Play

Like the authors, I believe that free play teaches kids to be less anxious and more resilient. Resilience has proven to be one of the most important factors in predicting success as an adult. Play is crucial for learning how to cope with stress. The more children play the more resilient and socially adept they will become. As a school, we believe in the value of play. Play-based learning and Nature-Play form an important part of our fabric and we believe is essential for the development and well-being of our children. Here are some pieces of advice found in the book in relation to Play:

• Turn it off!!! Imagination is essential…
• Create an enriching environment. Having a variety of materials that can stimulate all the senses enhances brain development during play.
• Use Art. Don’t show children how do do it, just put out the art supplies and let them create spontaneously.
• Let kids explore the environment.
• Mix children of different ages. Children learn to participate as well as challenge the game. This is teaching the self-control & negotiation skills. Also helps them see that everyone has positive qualities and that everyone needs to help each other reach the next level.
• Let them be free and forget the guilt! Free play is what they are missing!
• Be real! A little “real” play time with your kids on their level is worth more than any toy you could buy.
• Let them play alone! Great for developing their fantasy, imagination and they can reenact what is happening in the real world which is hugely therapeutic!
• Create an obstacle course. Let them be free to play, climb, explore and create and don’t stress about it!
• Avoid intervening too quickly. Learning how to deal with others provides kids the biggest lessons in self-control and resilience.
• Let go. When you feel the need to “save” them, step back and take a breath. They are learning some of the most important skills to take them through life.

 Some food for thought.

Madame Pilote