Tips for Student and Family Wellness During Virtual School

These first tips are addressed directly to students and scroll down the page for the student and family tips. 

• Work with your parents to design a daily schedule that supports your virtual school schedule. Take little breaks away from your device every 25 minutes to give your eyes and your body a rest. Schedule in longer breaks during the day to eat, rest, get outdoors and to exercise. 
• Get physical! Schedule outdoor walks and other types of physical activity for at least an hour a day to help you stay healthy. Take turns with your family members to come up with activities from bike riding to dog walking to our older students trying workouts from our very own SSIS Dragon Energizer website.
• Work with your parents to make sure you have healthy meals and snacks to fuel your body and brain to better help you do your schoolwork. It is important to keep sugary foods out of reach. Eat protein and healthy fats to keep you from getting sleepy during the day.
• Sleep Sleep Sleep! Your teachers talk to you a lot about getting enough sleep each evening. Make sure your daily schedule has an early bedtime. You also need to stop looking at screens by 7 PM or earlier. 
• Be responsible and grow your independence. After virtual school in the spring, many of you said you became more independent in your learning. You also took on more responsibilities around your homes. Take steps to become even more independent during this second virtual experience.
• Make time to think about how you are feeling. Stop and ask yourself each day “How am I doing? How am I feeling?”. You can draw pictures, write a story and talk to someone in your household about your thinking and feelings. You don’t need to do anything with your feelings. Just become more aware of them. This is a healthy thing to do. 
• Many of you have practiced being mindful in your classrooms. Mindfulness is all about being present in the moment which helps us be calm and healthy. We can be more present by focusing on our breathing. Listening to the sounds around us also helps us be more present. Your teachers will help you practice being more mindful.  
• Make time for gratitude sharing. Having gratitude is all about appreciation of the people, things and activities in our lives. Talk to your family about having a gratitude wall with Post-It notes for all family members to share moments of appreciation during the day..  
• Spend time with your family and friends. This means being proactive to plan times to sit down with your family to talk about your day. It also means using technology to talk with your friends and family who do not live with you. 

Support Strategies for Families During COVID-19  

We all respond differently to crises. It is normal. We can experience feelings of sadness and frustration. During this time, some of us feel stuck, others lonely, as we may spend more hours of the day away from our normal circle of support. Students are no doubt missing friends and teachers. 

And although we may not know it, during this time we are also growing, as we learn how to be resilient and how to persevere. 

However, growth is not always easy. Particularly not “forced” growth, during times of crises. That’s why we have collected some strategies for you, as a parent, to use at home. They are inspired by the article “Ten Strategies for Educators’ Wellbeing”.

Encourage Reflection

Virtual School students are likely going through a range of emotions. This is healthy and normal. Talk to your child about how they are feeling. It is not unusual that children are angry about the school closure, and about the coronavirus. There is so much they do not understand, and that can cause them to feel frustrated. Ask them to reflect on how they feel about their accomplishments and their efforts. 

Create Routines

In school, there are clearly defined routines. Routines help us feel calmer and in control. We know what to expect. Currently, teachers are working on helping students establish those routines within Virtual School. See how those routines can be expanded to include ways to support your health and wellness, too. Connect with friends, go outdoors, find ways to exercise and of course, get plenty of sleep. 

Set Limits on News Consumption

We are all naturally curious about what is happening with the coronavirus in Vietnam and the world. We hear news from our friends and from news sources. Older students connect to each other and news sources via social media. But do not get caught in checking constantly. This is not healthy for ourselves, or our families. A daily routine can be to set aside time to check the news and then return to your tasks at hand. 

Get the Facts

Another part of our digital lives is knowing where to get factual information that we can trust. Our Middle School and High School students know all about questioning news sources to make sure the information is true and valid. Our elementary students are just learning about media literacy. Work with them. Discuss what they are reading and where they are hearing things that they are bringing up. 

Listen to Your Emotions

It is really important to reflect and think about how you are doing. For our Elementary students, we call this self-awareness. Self-awareness is a life skill that helps us understand our feelings and needs. The more you understand about yourself, the more you can take steps to take care of yourself. One helpful way for our children to grow their self-awareness is to keep a journal and, or to take time to speak with a parent or friend about their day.

Here are some questions that you, as a parent can ask, or in some cases prompt your children to ask themselves. 

• What went well today?
• What is one thing that you appreciated today?
• An emotion I experienced today was…, and I felt this way because…
• One thing that inspired me today was…
• What didn’t work today? What can you learn from that?
• One thing I learned about myself today is…
• A small win today was…

Ask Your Family to Share Stories of Challenges They Overcame

Hearing grandparents’ and parents’ stories about how they overcame challenges, can give you the strength to overcome your own difficulties. Ask them to share their stories with you. When we are resilient we draw on many character strengths such as courage, hope and gratitude. Also, hearing stories from our family members is also a great way to get to learn more about the history of our family.

Take a Brain Break

Charge your batteries with a break away from your daily routine of work or schoolwork. Creative activities are great for that: doodling or drawing, singing, dancing, going out to take pictures. Try to incorporate something creative into each day.

Don’t Underestimate the Importance of Physical Activity

There are many advantages to maintaining our physical health during times like these. It helps us focus and it keeps us fit. Come up with ways that you can exercise indoors and outdoors – the PE teachers in each division have shared great resources and are always happy to share more. Also, when you exercise with friends, you will have the additional benefit of strengthening relationships.

Be Proactive

Don’t wait for someone to suggest something to you. Why not take the initiative and be the planner? Pull out a board game for your family to play after dinner, plan a surprise for your sister or best friend, meet a classmate in the park. Being proactive in making plans, makes us feel more in control while experiencing the positive emotion of hope. 

At the end of all of our efforts and strategies, probably one of the most important things for our wellbeing centers around the emotional support that we give and receive from those around us. 

Our school community is a big part of our lives and it is important to remember that we are all in this together. There are others going through the same emotions as you are. You are not alone. Seek help from any of the school resources, tell someone how you are feeling. Reach out to a friend. 

Together, we can keep our community happy and healthy.

Photo by Jude Beck on Unsplash