Blog

Throughout a fun-filled year of learning how to “Bring Your A-Game,” Aaron School students have finally made it to their last character quality just in time for summer… ADAPTABILITY! In Social Skills and Peer Group classes, students are learning what it means to be adaptable and how to adjust to new situations. As summer quickly approaches, we know that students will be engaging in many new experiences with new friends and new environments. Some friends will be going off to camp for the first time or vacations to new places with their families. Then in the fall, students will be in new classrooms with different teachers and friends! We know that all of these changes can be super exciting, but might also be very stressful, especially when we are so comfortable in our current routines. Through hands-on activities, videos, role-plays, games and more, the counseling department will be creating engaging lessons to help students become more ADAPTABLE when faced with unknown, exciting or difficult situations.

In addition to learning about what ADAPTABILITY means, students will be learning how to use effective coping skills and strategies during times of stress or unease. Students will also be developing the mental power and courage needed to face and overcome new, scary, or challenging situations. By becoming more ADAPTABLE, students will find it less difficult to say goodbye to classmates and teachers, start at new camps or schools, and be willing to try a new activity or learn a new skill! Within this curriculum, students will understand the benefits of being flexible, looking on the bright side, making compromises and being open to trying something new. Our goal is for all students to feel confident so that they can adjust to new or unexpected changes, even when it is hard!

Lastly, we know that being ADAPTABLE for both adults and children is not always easy… so we wanted to provide some tips and strategies to make the upcoming summer break and transition back to school in the fall as seamless as possible:

• Preview a visual representation of the daily schedule with your child, including built in opportunities for him/her to select from two options.
• Review expectations for different settings (vacations, summer camp, restaurants, etc.).
• Balanced mix of structured and unstructured activities within each day.
• Keep consistent routines as much as possible (morning routines, bedtimes).
• Get outside and move – take advantage of the specialist newsletter for activities around the city.
• 30 minutes of daily child focused 1:1 play time, fully engaged in his/her preferred activity.
• Supervised, structured and time limited play dates.
• Limit screen time.
• Follow a normal and regimented diet plan with opportunities for healthy snacks.
• For more challenging moments, providing a calming, safe place for the child to deescalate is very helpful. Soft music, dimmed lighting and a five minute cool down before processing what occurred is beneficial.
• Ask counselors to modify any behavior plans currently in use to adapt to the change in structure and environment.

Throughout the year, Aaron School students have impressed their counselors and teachers by becoming experts in Bringing Their A-Game through showing Appreciation, Acceptance, Awareness and Adaptability! We are so proud of each and every student for working so hard to be the best person they can be. We can’t wait to see what our students will accomplish next.