Happy Holidays from Mindful Moose and Friends

Kathy HegbergGratitude, MindfulnessLeave a Comment

Managing the “wiggles” during the holidays. Focused Friends have some ideas!

Hi everyone! The holidays are upon us and with them comes the excitement and attendant stress.  How can a family have fun without spinning out of control…or when that happens how does it recover?
We’ve attached some ideas from FocusedKids along with other resources to give you ideas about how to use “time in” instead of “time out.”  Both co-regulation and self-regulation are challenged when there is a lot to handle.  The best way to recover from dysregulation is to come back to the body using focus.  The following may help.  Click here to download the coloring page.

“Elf on the Shelf” can be Very Stressful!

Can you imagine as an adult thinking that your every move is being watched?  Your child’s brain is trying to manage everything that comes up at this time of year with limited skills, so additional stress doesn’t help!  The jury is out on the Elf, but if you use it with your kids, help them use their self-regulation skills so they can have success.

Click Here for more info on the Elf.

Share Memories

Start by remembering how you felt as a child during the holidays. They can be happy, sad, excited, anxious, or even mad.   Notice what’s happening in your body while you remember.  Give yourself a hug (Hug the Monkey).  Share your memories with the children in your life, and talk about how they make you feel.  Explore with the children how they are feeling about the holidays.  Ask them what would help to manage those feelings, and create a list.  Post it somewhere easy to see, and agree that when emotions are overwhelming, you will help them pick from the list something that might help.
Resources to help you navigate the holidays…
Download the coloring page.

What’s new for FocusedKids?

1.  This Fall semester we:

  • are working in  41 classrooms
  • have trained 74 preschool and elementary teachers
  • have trained 206 parents        h
2. We continue to collaborate with the Roaring Fork School District to provide training both in elementary school classrooms and for families this year.
3.  We have started a short iteration of evaluation of our program starting with post surveys from parents and teachers.
4.  We continue our work with kids, teachers, and families to foster healthy self-regulation skills.  We know that these skills are essential for successful learning and for social-emotional balance.  
Schedule a FocusedKids Training

A fun, easy book for families to use at home. Great with children ages 3 and up. Parents and caregivers learn the basics about the developing brain, and mindful activities to use together with children in their care to support the critical developmental step of self-regulation. Children and adults practice together to enhance their ability to calm and focus their brains using the breath, the senses, and the body. Informed by current research in the field of developmental neuroscience, regular daily use of activities can build a strong foundation for the brain to move into more complex learning, and effective social skills.  Order

Next FocusedFamilies training:
February 12, 19, 26, 5:30pm-7:30pm
Launchpad, Carbondale, CO

Sign Up Here
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