MOST RECENT VIDEOS

• 4:50 Sleep Hygiene for students

  This 4 minute video for students features Elk Ridge Elementary School Counselor Jonathan Andrus sharing about sleep hygiene.
  
  Sleep hygiene is taking care of ourselves at night. Sleep helps our mood, makes us more alert during the day, and helps us store information we learned during the day.
  
  Getting exercise each day helps your body get ready for sleep.
  
  If you take a nap during the day, it should be no more than 30 minutes.
  
  Try to make your bedroom as cool and dark as possible.
  
  If you can, make your workstation different from your sleep station.
  
  Have a bedtime routine and try not to use any screens 30 minutes before bed.
  
  Challenge: Try turning off screens 30 minutes before bed for amazing sleep!

  Uploaded Jun 04, 2020
• 4:06 Sleep Hygiene for caregivers

  This 4 minute video for caregivers features Elk Ridge Elementary School Counselor Jonathan Andrus sharing about sleep hygiene.
  
  The purpose of sleep hygiene is to help us get deep sleep. This will help your mood, increase your mental health, and keep you more alert during the day.
  
  Getting outside and getting sunlight helps the body prepare for sleep. Daylight regulates your body's internal clock.
  
  A bedtime routine is important for the whole family and save your bed just for sleep if you can.
  
  If it takes longer than 20 minutes to fall asleep, get up and do something relaxing in another room. Resetting outside of the bedroom is better than staring at the time or worrying about falling asleep.
  
  Challenge: If you are having a hard time going to sleep - quickly jot down the thoughts that are overwhelming you so that you think about them later, or do something from your night time routine to reset.

  Uploaded Jun 04, 2020
• 2:20 Routines

  This 2 minute video for families features Glacier Middle School 6th Grader Miles Birklid and teacher Amy Birklid sharing about routine.
  
  We know how hard it is to do schooling online at home!
  
  Kids fight it sometimes, but their brains love structure. Try using a checklist.
  
  Short sustained focus: one strategy is set a timer for different tasks and take lots of breaks.
  
  Try different ways of doing things, there is not one right way.
  
  If nothing else, READ!
  
  Challenge: Think about the routine you have tried so far, what is working for your family and what is not? Revise the plan and be flexible!

  Uploaded May 28, 2020
• 00:58 Doing Something Good for Yourself

  This 1 minute video for students features White River High School Counselor Sarra Pierotti sharing about doing something good for yourself.
  
  We are all feeling drained right now!
  
  Try to interact yourself with people that will help restore your energy.
  
  Do things that feel good for your body like be outside, go on a walk, relax at night time
  
  We are here to help if you need us!
  
  Challenge: Notice when you are feeling particularly drained this week, take a break, and do something good for yourself.

  Uploaded May 28, 2020
• 1:13 Dealing with Stress

  This 1 minute video for families features Foothills Elementary School 5th Grader Jeremiah Smith sharing about healthy ways to deal with stress.
  
  Play with magnets, try a new recipe, take a bath, paint a rock, do a puzzle, read a book, write in a journal!
  
  Challenge: Try to do something fun or creative this week when you are feeling stressed

  Uploaded May 22, 2020
• 2:31 Perfection - Caregiver

  This 2 minute video for caregivers features Elk Ridge Elementary School Principal Nina Markey sharing about perfectionism.
  
  Distance learning is hard and you might be feeling defeated.
  
  You may think other families have it “all together” and are playing the comparison game.
  
  Perfectionism is holding ourselves to an unattainable perfect standard, this is not a time for perfection! It is hard to not feel like you have control over things.
  
  Doing the best you can is good enough!
  
  It’s OK if you or your student don’t know something, you are not alone in that. Reach out to your school! We want to help.
  
  Challenge: Don’t feel like you need to do everything alone, when you are struggling this week reach out for help! Try to drop that expectation for perfection in that moment.

  Uploaded May 21, 2020
• 3:10 Why Belly Breathe

  This 3 minute video for students features Wilkeson Elementary School Counselor Carla Burgi sharing about how belly breathing really works!
  
  In our Second Step program, we teach students when they are upset to stop, name what they are feeling, and do a calm down strategy.
  
  Belly breathing is a type of calming strategy where you take a slow deep breath in through the nose and exhale out the mouth. It is called a belly breath because you should see your stomach expand.
  
  Deep breathing activates something in our body called the vagus nerve; this is the biggest nerve in our body and is super powerful!
  
  Breathing during the day and when we are upset helps our mental and physical health! Research shows it improves our sleep, reduces headaches, helps our memory and thinking, and reduces anxiety.
  
  Challenge: Try doing some belly breathing every day this week, even if you aren’t feeling upset. It is a great practice to do daily.

  Uploaded May 21, 2020
• 4:31 Control and Acceptance

  This 4 minute video for students features Glacier Middle School Teacher Bailey Plumb sharing about control and acceptance.
  
  With so many unknowns, it is hard to feel like you don’t have control in our life.
  
  When you are stressed, stop and think, “Do I have control over this?”
  
  If we don’t have control, it is better for our mental well being to try to accept and try not worry about it.
  
  Acceptance means accepting things for what they are, even when we don’t like it.
  
  Shift from “Why me?” to “It is what it is.”
  
  Challenge: Try to shift your focus this week on what you can control - how you spend your time, the effort you put into things, what media you look at, and asking for help.

  Uploaded May 12, 2020
• 3:14 Trauma, Resilience and Connection

  This 3 minute video for caregivers features White River School District Social Worker Carianne Sellers sharing about trauma, resilience, and connection.
  
  This pandemic has been a collective trauma for all of us; a trauma is a distressing and confusing event we don’t have control of. You may be concerned about your student’s stress and reactions.
  
  Research on Adverse Childhood Experiences (or ACE’s) tells us the common thread of resilience is a loving and supportive caregiver.
  
  Spending time with our students doing something they are interested in, validating their feelings, and encouraging them when they want to give up will all help.
  
  We can all do hard things and we are not alone, take this time to strengthen relationships!
  
  Challenge: Spend some intentional quality time with your student and reach out to someone you have been missing!

  Uploaded May 12, 2020
• 2:44 Being a Bucket Filler

  This 3 minute video for students features Wilkeson Elementary School Counselor Carla Burgi sharing about being a bucket filler.
  
  We each have an invisible bucket inside of us. When we are having hard emotions like feeling sad, our bucket feels low and when we feel happy, our bucket level feels high.
  
  We have the power to help fill up other people’s buckets. We can do something kind, be helpful, say something nice; all these things make others happier.
  
  The cool thing is when we fill up someone else’s bucket, it doesn’t take anything from ours but rather ours gets fuller too!
  
  Scientists have researched this and we know it is true, our brain chemicals and physical health change when we are kind to others.
  
  
  
  Challenge: Be a bucket filler this week! Think of something you can do for someone else, it can be small! Notice how the other person reacts but also notice how it impacts how you feel.
  
  If you are interested in the books that inspired this post, check out “How Full Is Your Bucket?” by Donald Cliffton and Tom Rath and “How Full is Your Bucket? For Kids” by Mary Reckmeyer and Tom Rath

  Uploaded May 06, 2020