When
Different Happens
March
4, 2013
By
Vida P. Anthony Gomez
I am just returning from what I will lovingly call
my Health and Wellness Sabbatical. I am recovering from pneumonia. It was
definitely an unexpected event in my life. In addition to me being very ill, my
husband was out of town! It was a time of different in my home. We experience
different in our classrooms all the time! Student illnesses, new students, staff
absences, and unexpected fire drills are all things that contribute to a
different day. I didn’t even mention flying bugs or drizzling rain!!!! There
were definitely some tools I used in my home to help us get through this “time
of different.” We can also use these
tools in our classrooms.
When “different” happens in our classrooms, we can
utilize tools to help maintain routines for our students. We can help them feel
safe and help them keep learning. WE CAN:
·
Maintain routines and schedules
·
Discuss Changes
·
Do Our Favorite Things
·
Give ourselves downtime, grace and love
Maintain
Routines and Schedules
Children thrive on
routine! This comes naturally to our young children and is a way to reduce
anxiety for our students on the autism spectrum. Even if the schedule is
different in some way, try to maintain all parts of the school day. Our young
students may not understand that circle time occurs at 9:15, but they do
understand that first we have breakfast, then we have circle. If something
interrupts circle, like career day or a fire drill, try to have a mini-circle,
so that the students still get to experience all the parts of their day. Let
the students know that circle may be shorter or that some songs may not be
sung. This helps children understand their day and help them deal with other
changes in the day.
Discuss
changes
There are a variety of
ways to show students change will happen. We can tell them verbally. We can
show them on the classroom schedule. We can use visuals to show our students on
the schedule and calendar. Are you unsure how to teach changes in schedule? The
Picture Exchange Communication System has a wonderfully effective way to teach
schedule changes to all students. I would be happy to share this strategy. It
helps reduce anxiety and teach our children how to be resilient in times of
change.
Do
Your Favorite Things
In times of change or “different”,
it is comforting to do things we love. It helps the feel good chemistry of our
brains combat the stress of different. During my Wellness Sabbatical, I lit
candles, crocheted and read books. I love to do those things! What activities or
books do your students love? My class loved dough, scissors and chenille stems.
They loved newspaper and masking tape, in blocks. They loved the books Cookie’s
Week, One Duck Stuck and Stephanie’s Pony Tail. They loved The Three Little
Pigs by Greg and Steve. I always had our favorite things ready, so that if a
time of different was upon us, I could take out books, songs, activities or
other things the students loved. They could do these activities independently,
with success and with joy. When we do our favorite things in time of change, it
helps the stress chemistry of change decrease.
Give
Yourself Downtime, Grace and Love
Sometimes things are
different and don’t go as we plan. This is as good a lesson for us to learn as
our students! Some days during my Health and Wellness Sabbatical, I was worried
that my children were late to school. Instead, I could be thankful that my
children had completed their homework, were clean and fed. Tardiness was ok for
that day. Maybe we are not able to do the assessment we planned at centers,
because a friend needed us to sit and read a book with them. That is ok. In
that moment, our students are still learning. We are supporting all the parts
of their development, when we can slow down and follow their lead and needs.
In times of different
in our classrooms or our lives, we can use a variety of strategies to continue
our student’s growth. We can maintain routines and schedules so that students
are less anxious and understand what is happening during their day. When we
discuss changes, we let students know what is happening and help them learn how
to deal with change. We can do our favorite things to help decrease stress
chemistry. Importantly, we need to give ourselves time, grace and love to help
us get through times of “different.”
Wishing you a healthy
and nourishing Spring Break!
Vida
