Thank you very much to everyone who attended our GSB Developmental Coffee on "Six Gifts to Enhance a Child's Resilience." We appreciated you taking the time to come and speak with us. Our conversations are so important as we are continually learning from each other. Below is some of the information we spoke about at our workshop.
Thank you so much for being with us!
Best wishes for a wonderful day!
Sincerely,
Kimberly Borin
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| Playful Elements for Resilience Photo by Kimberly Ann Borin, Copyright 2012 |
In our discussion we explored an article called, "Six Gifts to Make Your Children Strong." This article, written by Ruth Stafford Peale, was condensed from The Saturday Evening Post for Reader's Digest. In the article they discuss six gifts that help children become more resilient in the world. The six included:
Self- Confidence
EnthusiasmCompassion
Respect
Resilient Moments
Hope
Simple ideas for “bouncing back” included:
Enhance your child’s self-confidence…
• Validate their strengths
• Affirm their ability to learn something new and to strengthen new skills
• Help them to make connections between skills they are learning now and those they can use later
Strengthen your child’s resilience in easy ways…
• Affirm moments of strength and resilience (the ability to “bounce back”)
• Ask them to note times when they have overcome a difficulty and were stronger because of it.
• Ask them to help others undergoing a difficult time
Bring hope and positive thinking…
• Life affirming words
• Challenging a negative viewpoint – thinking positively and creatively
Help children feel calm and centered by using...
• Awareness and mindfulness
• Breathing
• Simple stretching and moving
• Visualizations
Helpful Websites:
• Goldfish Website: www.fishfulthinking.com
• Video on Resilience: http://www.goldfishsmiles.com/Home/ActivityDetail/717
• Dr. Robert Brooks: www.drrobertbrooks.com
• Celebrate Life-Long Learning Blog Posts on Resilience: http://celebratelifelonglearning.blogspot.com/search/label/Resilience
Children’s Books On Resilience:
• Owen and Mzee by Isabella and Craig Hatkoff with a discussion about resilience for the book at: http://www.scholastic.com/discussionguides
• Looking for Miza, The True Story of the Mountain Gorilla Family Who Rescued One of Their Own, Told by Juliana Hatkoff, Isabella Hatkoff, Craig Hatkoff and Dr. Paula Kahumbu
• Nubs, The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine and a Miracle by Major Brian Dennis, Kirby Larson and Mary Nethery
• Christian the Lion by Anthony (Ace) Bourke and John Rendall
• Molly the Pony by Pam Kaster
• Knut, How One Little Polar Bear Captivated the World, Told by Juliana Hatkoff, Isabella Hatkoff, Craig Hatkoff and Dr. Gerald R. Uhlich
• Winter's Tail, How One Little Dolphin Learned to Swim Again, Told by Juliana Hatkoff, Isabella Hatkoff, and Craig Hatkoff
• Tiger Pups by Tom and Allie Harvey
• Tarra & Bella, The Elephant and Dog Who Became Best Friends by Carol Buckley
• Oh the Places You’ll Go by Dr. Seuss
Resources
-Christine Gorman, "The Importance of Resilience", Time, January 17, 2005.
-Karen Reivich, "What a Soldier Taught Me", from: http://www.goldfishsmiles.com/Contributors/989, Retrieved on 11/14/2012.
-Kristin Bock, "The Think-Positive Plan", Family Fun Magazine, March 2010.
-National Public Radio Staff, "'Children Succeed' With Character, Not Test Scores", Morning Edition, September 4, 2012, from: http://www.npr.org/2012/09/04/160258240/children-succeed-with-character-not-test-scores, Retrieved on 11/27/2012.
-Paul Tough, How Children Succeed, excerpt from: http://www.npr.org/books/titles/160257688/how-children-succeed-grit-curiosity-and-the-hidden-power-of-character?tab=excerpt, Retrieved on 11/27/2012.
-Ruth Stafford Peale, "Six Gifts to Make Your Children Strong", The Saturday Evening Post, June/July 1974, Reprinted for Readers Digest.
“LIFE is not about how fast you run or how high you CLIMB but how well you BOUNCE.”
-A sign found in the Country House Calalog. www.TheCountryHouse.com
