Wellbeing

Welcome back to Term Three! 

We are looking forward to continuing our wellbeing journey this term and are especially excited for our Whole School Wellbeing Celebration Day next week on Wednesday, 21st July. If you haven’t had a chance yet, please log on to Compass and ensure you have given your children permission and payment to participate in the Super Circus session which promises to be really good fun and highly interactive!

We always love hearing the stories and adventures from the kids when we return from school holidays! One of the things that we always hear from families is that the holidays are ‘not quite long enough’! So, today I thought I would share an idea on how to savour those precious two weeks for just a bit longer through gratitude.

Gratitude is about being aware of and thankful for the good things that happen in your life. Gratitude can be a positive emotion you experience in a particular moment, like being thankful when someone holds the door open for us. It can also be a way of life, like regularly appreciating the important things and meaningful people in your life.

Although gratitude comes more naturally to some than others, and we each feel and express it in our own way, we can all choose to be grateful. Research shows that gratitude helps us more fully enjoy our life experiences, protects us from stress and helps us focus on what we do have instead of what we don’t have. That is, when we choose to be grateful we can’t feel resentment, disappointment or envy at the same time. People who regularly experience and express gratitude tend to be more satisfied with their lives, have stronger emotional connections with others, and give back to society more. 

Gratitude can be nurtured and developed into a habit. We can model gratitude to our children by spending time with them and being present, and thanking those who are kind. We can teach our children to be grateful by encouraging them to notice the good things, to connect with what matters in their lives, and to thank others for the kind things they do.

With that in mind, if you’re looking to savour your holidays for just a bit longer, why not have a go at making a holiday gratitude album by collecting photos, brochures, maps from your adventures both big and small. Add a little journaling of what your five senses noticed in the moment and why you’re grateful for those moments and not only will it boost gratitude right now, but it could be a great thing to share with grandparents and other family, as well as to look back on in the future!

Alternatively, if the holidays already seem like a distant memory, have a look at this gratitude album project which you and your kids could start now instead.

From the Wellbeing Team