Being a student can be incredibly stressful; remember all those important test dates looming over you? All the pressure of social and educational activities?
While we at Kate's Tutoring firmly believe in the importance of education, we also take a well-rounded approach to our tutoring programs here. Your child's mental health is important to us, so we've come up with a few suggestions for some of our stressed-out kids.
For our littles...
Blow on a pinwheel. It helps slow breathing down and distracts from whatever is causing anxiety.
Blow bubbles! It's a similar idea to the pinwheel, albeit a bit messier.
Create a calm down box with your child; include fidget toys, a stuffed animal, a lollipop, stress balls, snow globes, etc. Use the box when things start to feel overwhelming.
For the middle/high schoolers...
Name your feelings. When you start to feel stressed, stop and say "I feel stressed". Then remind yourself why. "I feel stressed because of this big math test." Ask yourself what you can do RIGHT NOW to help stop that feeling. "I feel stressed because of this big math test; I can spend 10 more minutes studying, then give myself a break."
TAKE A BREAK. Seriously, stop working and go outside. Read. Just chill. It's okay.
Write a letter to someone you appreciate. It can help us calm down to think about the people we care about.
When you get really lost in a spiral, stop everything and ask: WHAT IS THE WORST THING THAT CAN HAPPEN TO ME IF I FAIL? For example: if you bomb the ACT , what could happen? Well, you might not get into the school you want. Okay. That could suck. But where would you end up? Probably not in a ditch somewhere, right? You might go to community college for 2 years and ...oh, hey, transfer to the school you wanted in the first place. That's possible! It's not all doom & gloom, you see?
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