Happy New Year!  I hope everyone had a wonderful break filled with many blessings!  January is usually a time when we reflect on the past and set new goals for the future.  Personally, I have never been very successful at doing this.  I seem to set my mind to doing something at random times.  Sometimes it's the beginning of the school year.  Sometimes it's in the middle of some random week that's not really related to anything.  But which is more important: setting a new goal at the beginning of the year or just setting a goal and working towards it?  Maybe it depends on the particular goal or the motivation to reach it.  Either way, I have found a great article for setting a goal regarding prayer.  I think it's a good one to read at the beginning of the year and then reread as needed.  Since it talks about "asking Him to wreck your plans and to replace them with HIS," I will probably reread it weekly and sometimes daily.  So set your goals!  Work hard to reach them.  If you mess up just pick your self back up and keep going.  As I have told the students repeatedly, no one is perfect except God.  And remember the phrase, "We plan, God laughs."  Oh, He can have a very amusing sense of humor at times!  Here is the link to the article: https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/how-to-pray-even-bigger-in-the-year-ahead
     It is hard to believe that the first half of the school year is over. The students are getting back into their routines and the learning continues.  This month in guidance class, we are learning about coping skills.  In the guidance world, this is sometimes referred to as "mindfulness," which is knowing where your body is in space and time as well as what you are feeling and doing.  Often times, when a child gets upset, we will tell a student "You can't do that" or "You can't do this."  My goal is to teach them what they CAN do when they are upset, angry, sad or however they are feeling.  Now does that mean that they will automatically using these skills when needed?  The answer is "No."  That is where we, as adults-parents, teachers, coaches, youth ministers, etc. have to help guide them.  Think about your New Year's resolutions.  Are you doing your resolutions naturally, with no reminders?  My guess is "No."  If you were, they probably would not be considered New Year's resolutions?  My hopes are that we, as the adults, will remind them of whichever skills they need to/want to use.  And when I say remind them, I mean over and over and over...I think you get the picture!  So here is what we are learning.
     *Kindergarten will be reading the "Worry Mammoth," learning about "bubble breathing," drawing about their concerns and using "worry eggs" to store their worries.  "Bubble breathing" is slow, deep breathing as if the person is blowing bubbles.  The longer and slower the breathe, the bigger the bubble.  (We might even be blowing some actual bubbles!)  A "Worry Egg" is an Easter egg, that can be decorated and can "hold" worries for a person.  By writing/drawing the worry down and putting it in the egg, it is giving the person "permission" to not think about the worry because it is safely stored in the egg.  They can come back to talk about the worry, at an appropriate time.
     *Kindergarten Transition will talk about the Incredible Hulk and what happens to him when he gets really mad.  Then they will learn breathing exercises that can help them calm down.  We will use a cartoon illustration of the Hulk to identify what happens to our bodies when we get upset.  We will learn and practice deep breathing and "bee breathing," which is making the sound of a bee when exhaling.
     *First Grade will learn and practice four different coping skills, taught by their safari friends, that can help them when they are upset.  There is "buffalo breathing, giraffe journaling, parakeet positivity and chimp chatting.  "Buffalo breathing" is a deep breathing technique.  "Giraffe journaling" is imagining that you are high above the situation and looking at it from a different perspective.  "Parakeet positivity" is using positive affirmations to help overcome the situation.  "Chimp chatting" is talking with a trusted family member, adult or friend about the situation causing distress.
     *Second grade will be doing coping skills centers where they will learn about various ways to cope with stressful situations.  The stations are listed below:
          -Helicopter View-Looking at the situation from a different viewpoint.
          -Imagery-Visualizing a calm and peaceful place and immersing all your senses into that image.
          -Art-Creating art as a way to express feelings.
          -Grounding-Using your senses to pay attention to your surroundings.
          -Body Scan-Learning how to figure out how your body is feeling at that moment.
          -Breathing Deeply-Practicing breathing using bubbles and pinwheels.
     *Third grade will learn specifically about anger, what triggers angry feelings and what to do when feeling angry.  The students will play a "scoot" game to help determine what triggers their anger and then skills to calm down, which are the following:
          -Counting backwards
          -"Hocus Pocus" breathing
          -Pushing on a wall
          -Squeezing a stress ball
          -Listening to music
          -Writing in a journal
          -Doing some exercises
          -Picture a peaceful place
I think all of the lessons will be fun and interactive for the students.  Make sure to ask you child/children what they learned in guidance class!
      May God bless you and your family throughout the year!  As always, please contact me if you have any questions or need any help.  kim.bennett@owensborocatholic.org or (270) 684-7583