{"id":119,"date":"2022-08-31T13:51:15","date_gmt":"2022-08-31T13:51:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.scholastic.ca\/scholasticblog\/?p=119"},"modified":"2023-02-14T19:39:00","modified_gmt":"2023-02-14T19:39:00","slug":"helping-kids-regain-social-emotional-stability-as-they-return-to-the-classroom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.scholastic.ca\/scholasticblog\/2022\/08\/31\/helping-kids-regain-social-emotional-stability-as-they-return-to-the-classroom\/","title":{"rendered":"Helping Kids Regain Social-Emotional Stability as They Return to the Classroom"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left has-small-font-size\"><em>Originally published by On Our Minds on August 24, 2021<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Karen Baicker, Executive Director of the Yale Child Study Center \u2013 Scholastic Collaborative for Child &amp; Family Resilience; and Scholastic Publisher for Family and Community Engagement, offers critical insights for families on how to help children regain social-emotional stability as they return to the classroom.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many families are also poised for a unique \u201cback-to-school\u201d experience as they prepare to support kids through the school year. And like students, parents and caregivers can be filled with a mix of anticipation tinged with anxiety about what this next season holds. Some of the same insights we are providing for educators can also be helpful for families as they navigate back-to-school and changing guidance in their own lives, jobs, and activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>We\u2019ve shared with educators the metaphor that <\/strong><strong><em>we\u2019re all in the same storm, but we aren\u2019t in the same boat \u2014 <\/em><\/strong><strong>to recognize that each student has experienced the pandemic in a unique way.<\/strong> Some may have suffered family loss and hardship; social isolation and uncertainty will have affected many; and nearly all have found their academic and social-emotional learning disrupted. Of course, this is true for all of us and it\u2019s important to recognize that we are each changed in different ways by this storm.&nbsp; Beyond that, we are also now struck by the realization that the storm we are in continues to change direction and strength, with new information emerging daily about the pandemic\u2019s twists and turns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Our children look to us for certainty and guidance that can be hard to give when we ourselves feel shaky. In these cases, educators and parents alike can focus on the knowledge that our presence in children\u2019s lives is constant and reliable; assurance that we will share frequent and honest information about what we do know; that we will keep to a predictable but flexible routine; and that we will give them choices about their learning and activities within the overriding concern for physical and mental wellbeing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Data on the impact the pandemic has had on children reveals an enormous spike in emergency room visits for mental health symptoms and an exponential increase in referrals for mental health services. These facts and figures are crucial indicators for educators who are welcoming students into their doors \u2014 but they\u2019re also our kids! They are our first grader who attended kindergarten remotely and doesn\u2019t know what to expect; our middle schooler whose previously shaky organizational skills have now unspooled; our teenager who has been attending virtual class from bed and who won\u2019t come to the table for dinner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Emotional needs must come first.<\/strong> Children may have difficulty recognizing if they are anxious, stressed, or depressed. For your children, place your focus on their mental wellbeing rather than on math and reading scores and view the first few months of this school year as a time to build confidence and self-esteem. Districts will likely be providing extra resources for helping children \u201ccatch up,\u201d with individualized learning plans, tutors, and extended hours. Let your child know that there will be plenty of time and support for catching up \u2013 more than ever!&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Kids need routines \u2014 but also extra independence. <\/strong>&nbsp;For many of us, it\u2019s been a long time since we practiced a normal school or workday routine. Packing a backpack, making lunch, saying goodbye. Returning home, kicking off your shoes, having a snack. These routines matter for all of us, and they matter differently for kids at different developmental stages. Create morning routines this fall for yourself and your children that allow for some extra time and begin implementing them soon. At the same time, be aware that your child has had a lot of independence and decision-making ability taken away by the ever-shifting protocols of the pandemic and the need for safety. Where possible\u2014perhaps in the time afterschool\u2014allow some independence and choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Positive growth can come from challenging experiences. <\/strong>There is no doubt that we have been experiencing collective trauma from the impact of the pandemic, the effects of which will be with us for a generation or more. The education community has made great advances in recognizing and addressing the toll that adversity and toxic stress can take on children\u2019s development and learning. There is an emerging field that we are focusing on at the Collaborative known as post-traumatic growth. Post-traumatic growth research suggests that adversity and trauma can provide unique opportunities for growth and resilience that wouldn&#8217;t have otherwise occurred.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>During the pandemic, we\u2019ve seen our remarkable ability to adapt and pivot, in ways and at speeds that we never would have thought possible before. Schools were able to shift to remote learning; many of us have gotten more work done perched at our kitchen tables over video calls than we ever could have imagined. And our kids, too, have continued to learn in their amazing and brilliant ways. Recognizing our strength, our flexibility, and the ways we\u2019ve supported each other can give us confidence in our own resilience to continue moving forward.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Originally published by On Our Minds on August 24, 2021 Karen Baicker, Executive Director of the Yale Child Study Center \u2013 Scholastic Collaborative for Child &amp; Family Resilience; and Scholastic&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":120,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[8,5,6,12,7,34,20],"class_list":["post-119","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-whats-happening-this-month","tag-back-to-school","tag-book-clubs","tag-book-fairs","tag-classroom","tag-parents","tag-september","tag-social-emotional-learning"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Helping Kids Regain Social-Emotional Stability as They Return to the Classroom | Scholastic at School Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www2.scholastic.ca\/scholasticblog\/2022\/08\/31\/helping-kids-regain-social-emotional-stability-as-they-return-to-the-classroom\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Helping Kids Regain Social-Emotional Stability as They Return to the Classroom | Scholastic at School Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Originally published by On Our Minds on August 24, 2021 Karen Baicker, Executive Director of the Yale Child Study Center \u2013 Scholastic Collaborative for Child &amp; 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