Hello Oakbrook Families,
I hope you are all well and able to make things come together as we are all adjusting life through school closures. I cannot count how many times I have heard "these times are unprecedented" and it is a new experience for each of us.
I wanted to take a minute to reach out, let you know that the OB staff and I miss you and to share a few tips that may be helpful as you are supporting learning from home.
I know that you might be concerned about how your child will continue to learn and grow despite not going to school. The learning packets that the district has shared will support you in helping your child retain and review learning. Teachers will not grade them, but please hold on to them and have students bring completed work back when they return to school so teachers can have get an idea of what learning activities students have completed while at home.
Here are some tips that you might find helpful:
- Only watch the news one or two times during the day. Allow yourself to hear what is going on in the outside world at two preselected times during the day. The rest of the day turn off the news. It will be less stressful for you and your children.
- Make sure you and your children go outside for a total of 30 minutes every day. Especially when the weather is cooperative. Take a walk together and get some exercise. There is a large amount of research that shows exercise can improve your mood and lower stress.
- Have a schedule. Get up and go to sleep at the same times every day. Plan the time you will go outside for the same time every day. Eat your meals at the same time every day. Schedule the time to work on the school packet for the same time every day. Again, there is a great deal of research that shows having a schedule helps to reduce anxiety. That is why we go over our daily schedule with the students at the beginning of every day.
- Limit snacking and eat meals at the same time every day. Stress eating causes you to feel lethargic and tired. Then, it's harder to follow a schedule, which can cause stress.
- Listen to your children about how they feel about what is going on in the world. Let them know that you will take care of them and that eventually, things will go back to normal. Allow them to feel the way they are feeling. Avoid giving them a set date of when things will be back to normal. We do have a tentative return date of April 27th but we will need to follow the directives of Governor Inslee when we will be able to return to our regular routines. Researchers have found that when people hang their hopes on something happening on a specific date and then that thing does not happen, people can lose hope. It is alright to say that we will be back to normal as soon as we can.
I hope these tips help you in these times ahead, and please know that you are not alone. If there is anything that you need from me, please let me know. Take care and know that Oakbrook staff and I miss you very much and look forward to seeing you again soon!
Lisa Boyd,
Proud Principal of Oakbrook Elementary School
Lboyd@cloverpark.k12.wa.us
253-640-1428