April 24, 2020

o April 22nd- Earth Day

Other Ideas

Math: Teach your child to play War with cards, play

a few games with him/ her. The game works on

number recognition, higher and lower number

amounts, fair play, and turn taking

Reading: Ask your child to retell the story after

reading a book together. Help them put the

beginning, middle, and end in the correct order.

Reuse & Recycle: Make a homemade kite. You need 1

plastic grocery bag, a stick and a few yards of string.

Tie the string to the middle of the stick, wrap the

string around the stick until all the slack is wound up

and use the end of the string to tie the bag handles

together. Voila! Go outside and unwrap some string

and throw the bag in the air- windy days are best!

Play Dough 2 cups flour ¼ cup cream of tartar ½ cup salt 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil 2 cups water Food coloring Pour all ingredients into a pan. Whisk until smooth. Drop food coloring to desired color. Cook until a ball forms in the middle and most moisture is gone. Remove from pan and knead into a ball. Store in airtight container.

Lesson Focus Reading and Writing

Letter/ Sound- Kk the k makes a

/kuh/ sound as in kitten. To write a K

always start at the top, straight line

down. Jump up diagonal line to the

middle and out to the bottom. Follow the

arrows on the Kk writing worksheet.

Beginning Sound- identify words with

beginning sound k

Concept- Spring, Kites

Writing: Draw a picture of…

1. something you see in the spring

2. you flying a kite

3. something you can do to help the

Earth

…… and write about it

Story Questions: Ask your child to

recall story details and retell the story

in order beginning, middle and end.

Math: addition and subtraction within

10. Practice counting aloud to 20, then

to 50 then to 100.

How to contact us!

o Email: msrandle@gladwinschools.net

msgary@gladwinschools.net

o Remind App

o Facebook: Randle Young 5’s

MrsGary Youngfives

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Apps for Home

ABCya.com

Spring/Kites Science: 1. Talk about Spring changes.

Ask children to look at trees, plants and

even farm animals (drive by a farm).

Look on YouTube Kids for a video called

the science of spring.

2. Plan an activity for the family to do in

honor of earth day. Some ideas are to

clean up garbage, plant plants or trees,

recycle, build something by reusing

boxes, egg cartons, toilet paper rolls.

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Writing Prompts

Draw a picture and write words to match your answer. Remember to

use your kindergarten spelling, and write down the sounds you hear.

Parents: students should write at least the beginning sound of each

word.

1. Something you see in the spring

2. You flying a kite

3. Something you can do to help the Earth

Extra Writing Ideas

1. Look for K words. Write as many as you can. Look around the

house, go for a walk, go for a drive, look in books….

2. Rainbow write your sight words, letter Kk, and your first and last

name. Use markers or colored pencils to write each letter

repeatedly over top of each other.

3. Make a homemade bird feeder with a pine cone rolled in peanut

butter and birdseed or dry cereal. Hang it outside where you can

see it from the house. Make a list of birds that come to visit your

feeder.

Emotion regulation is the ability to manage emotions and behaviors, especially in these times of uncertainty and

stress. This can help bring consistency to daily life routines that have been disrupted. Examples of times when

emotion regulation may be a useful skill include :

asking a child to stop playing a video game

asking a child to come in from outside

asking a child to work on school work

asking a child to get ready for bed

Below are activities that can assist in helping enable your child to:

calm themselves when upset

handle a frustrating situation without an outburst

avoid an extreme emotional reaction to upsetting situations

Emotion regulation is a skill that requires practice and support from others in order to master it.

Activities: Complete a deep breathing activity (inhale through your nose to the count of five, hold for the count of five,

exhale through your mouth to the count of five and then hold again for the count of five, repeat using the count

of 4,3,2, and 1. Repeat starting at five as needed) or look online for a deep breathing activity

Complete a form of physical exercise such as walking, running or yoga

Think of your favorite place in the world, see it in your mind, think of all the sounds you can hear, the smells

around you, feel the breeze or the sun on your face. Concentrate on every detail you can remember and stay

here for a few minutes focused on the feeling of being in your favorite place in.

Journal or draw your feelings

Talk to a friend or a trusted adult or anyone willing to let you vent frustrations and feelings.

Mindfulness This is ais tool to assist with emotion regulation. Make it fun! Find a favorite small treat. A Hershey Kiss. A

Skittle. A LifeSaver.

Activity: Get your treat.. Pop the first piece into your mouth and count backwards silently from one hundred to zero as it

dissolves.

With the next piece engage all of your senses. First, describe the look of the treat to yourself in your mind. Use

details.

Smell the treat. What does it smell like? Explain the smell of it to yourself in your mind.

With the treat in your hand, explain to yourself in your mind how it feels.

Put the chocolate in your mouth, but don’t bite into it. Tell yourself how it tastes; explain it in your mind with detail.

Pay attention to the consistency of the treat as well.

Finally go ahead and eat the treat (if it hasn’t dissolved yet). Tell yourself how it tastes. What is happening in

your body as you digest it. When you swallow it, feel it go all the way from your both to your belly. Remain silent

and count backward from 10.

Progressive muscle relation (PMR) This is an exercise that reduces stress and anxiety in your body by having you slowly tense and then relax each

muscle. This exercise can provide an immediate feeling of relaxation tWith this exercise, each muscle should

Emotional Regulation

Community Mental Health for Central Michigan – Clare County – 989.539.2141 Community Mental Health for Central Michigan – Gladwin County – 989.426.9295

Community Mental Health Crisis Hotline – 800.317.0708

be tensed, but not to the point of strain. If you have any injuries or pain, you can skip the affected areas. Pay

special attention to the feeling of releasing tension in each muscle and the resulting feeling of relaxation

Activity: Sit back or lie down in a comfortable position. Shut your eyes if you’re comfortable doing so.

Begin by taking a deep breath and noticing the feeling of air filling your lungs. Hold your breath for a few

seconds (brief pause)

Release the breath slowly and let the tension leave your body.

Take in another deep breath and hold it (brief pause)

Again, slowly release the air.

Even slower now, take another breath. Fill your lungs and hold the air (brief pause)

Slowly release the breath and imagine the feeling of tension leaving your body.

Now, move your attention to your feet. Begin to tense your feet by curling your toes and the arch of your foot.

Hold onto the tension and notice what it feels like (5 second pause)

Release the tension in your foot. Notice the new feeling of relaxation.

Next, begin to focus on your lower leg. Tense the muscles in your calves. Hold them tightly and pay attention

to the feeling of tension (5 second pause)

Release the tension from your lower legs. Again, notice the feeling of relaxation. Remember to continue taking

deep breaths.

Next, tense the muscles of your upper leg and pelvis. You can do this by tightly squeezing your thighs

together. Make sure you feel tenseness without going to the point of strain (5 second pause)

And release. Feel the tension leave your muscles.

Begin to tense your stomach and chest. You can do this by sucking your stomach in. Squeeze harder and hold

the tension. A little bit longer (5 second pause)

Release the tension. Allow your body to go limp. Let yourself notice the feeling of relaxation.

Continue taking deep breaths. Breathe slowly in, noticing the air fill your longs, and hold it.(brief pause)

Release the air slowly. Feel it leave your lungs.

Next, tense the muscles in your back by bringing your shoulders together behind you. Hold them tightly. Tense

them as hard as you can without straining and keep holding (5 second pause)

Release the tension from your back. Feel the tension slowly leaving your body, and the new feeling of

relaxation. Notice how different your body feels when you allow it to relax.

Tense your arms all the way from your hands to your shoulders. Make a fist and squeeze all the way up your

arm. Hold it (5 second pause)

Release the tension from your arms and shoulders. Notice the feeling of relaxation in your fingers, hands,

arms, and shoulders. Notice how your arms feel limp and at ease.

Move up to your neck and your head. Tense your face and your neck by distorting the muscles around your

eyes and mouth (5 second pause)

Release the tension. Again, notice the new feeling of relaxation.

Finally, tense your entire body. Tense your feet, legs, stomach, chest, arms, head, and neck. Tense harder,

without straining. Hold the tension (5 second pause)

Release Allow your whole body to go limp. Pay attention to the feeling of relaxation, and how different it is

from the feeling of tension.

Begin to wake your body up by slowly moving your muscles. Adjust your arms and legs.

Stretch your muscles and open your eyes when you’re ready.

Many people are having a difficult time right now, you are not the only one struggling.

We are in this together!

Miscommunication and arguing can become more frequent during this time of everyone participating in the Stay Home Stay Safe directive. Let us help you to improve communication between you and your family.

Activities

Telephone Everyone sits in a circle and one person chooses a phrase such as “I like green bananas.” That person whispers the message into the person to their left’s ear only one time. That person then whispers what they believe the message was into the ear of the person next to them one time. This continues around the circle until you reach the first person. The message is then stated out loud. Was the message the same? Did something get lost in translation? Were they different words but the same meaning? What WE are trying to say, and what other people HEAR, can be two different things. Pictionary I The family comes together to draw a picture.

Example: Someone sets a timer for one minute and the family will draw a picture of a house without talking or communicating at all. Someone then sets a timer for another minute and the family will once again draw a picture of a house, this time everyone gets to talk and work together. At the end compare the houses. Which drawing was easier? Why? Pictionary II The family comes together as a group to draw a picture. Example: One member of the family will give instructions on how to draw the picture while the rest of the members draw their own picture without talking or looking at the other members pictures. The family member giving the instructions will draw their picture as they give the instructions. At the end, each family member will show the picture they drew and compare it to the instruction givers picture. Was everyone’s picture the same? How were they different? How did people interpret the instructions differently? Good Listening Skills I When someone talks to you, repeat back what you heard the other person say Example: if they said “I’m really sad today, my best friend was mean to me.” You could repeat back “Your best friend was mean to you and your sad.” This demonstrates to others that you are listening. This ensures your understanding of what they said. Practice this with your whole family. Good Listening Skills II Play the classic game Simon Says as a family. One family member is Simon and gives instructions such as “Simon says touch your nose” “Simon says jump on your left foot” or “Simon says pat your belly three times”. Occasionally throw in a command that Simon didn’t say, for example “Stop jumping on your left foot” or “Spin in a circle”. Simon needs to watch the family members completing the instructions to ensure they are done correctly.

I Feel Statements That Help Us Communicate When we are trying to communicate, often times we find ourselves trying to make the other person understand what they did WRONG instead of how we are FEELING or how we are AFFECTED. Here is a simple tool:

I feel _______________________________________________ (emotion word)

Communication

Community Mental Health for Central Michigan – Clare County – 989.539.2141 Community Mental Health for Central Michigan – Gladwin County – 989.426.9295

Community Mental Health Crisis Hotline – 800.317.0708

Because ____________________________________________ (what made you feel that way? Try not to be accusing)

What I need is _________________________________________ (what are you attempting to get from the interaction?)

The person then responds with an I statement as well. Now you both know how you are feeling and what one another needs and you can move forward with helping to meet that need. Always be aware of body language when using I feel statements and be sure that the words you are using are matching up to your nonverbal cues (or body language).

Nonverbal cues:

Communicating well with others involves more than the words that are said. Non-verbal communication includes:

facial cues

tone of voice

eye contact

body language

Posture If nonverbal cues and spoken words do not match up, it can make your message hard to understand. Example: someone may say “sure, that sounds great” while rolling their eyes. The verbal portion of this statement would lead someone listening to believe the speaker agrees, however, the nonverbal cue could lead someone to believe the speaker is indifferent or disagrees. Try this game to build this skill:

Charades This game will help build the ability to both read and use nonverbal communication. Ideas of items to include: Emotions:

Happy

Sad

Mad

Hurt

Frustrated

Confused

Proud

Disgusted Or Activities:

brushing teeth/hair

fishing

driving a car

cooking

eating

mowing the lawn

Remember it is good to take a break if people are getting upset. Sometimes walking away to separate spaces and taking some deep breaths can be really helpful. If someone says they need a break then give them the space to take their break and come back to the talk once everyone is calmed down.