Mental Health and Wellbeing Coordinator

Independence

“The greatest gifts you can give your children are the roots of responsibility and the wings of independence.” Denis Waitley

Dear Families,

Welcome back to the second half of the year. Yep, half of the year is already behind us. We spent a week together as a family in Bright, including a couple of days at Mount Buffalo playing in the snow and a day skiing together at Falls Creek. We all had so much fun at Falls, even though it was Monty and Finn’s first day skiing ever. Daisy had done a ski camp during her time at secondary school, so she knew what to do. I loved seeing our kids take to the slopes and independently work out what to do, which ski runs to tackle and how to get themselves out of trouble when they crashed. 

Often, when I’m teaching kids, they’ll come up to me with issues or problems. I’m committed to children becoming independent learners and independent human beings. So, often the first thing that I will ask them is, “How are you going to sort that problem out on your own?” or, “Who are you going to ask to help you?” I have found that by asking questions in this way, I am letting them know that I believe that they are able to work things out on their own. I’ve found that children grow and become more independent when I give them many opportunities to experience independence. I also believe that if a child can do something for themselves, then they should do it. 

We have many phone calls to the school office during the day to pass on a reminder to kids about a variety of things. We’d love to help our kids develop their independence and not rely on these reminders anymore. Often the messages are sent via the PA system, interrupting vital class learning time. Of course, sometimes we understand there are emergencies and parents and care givers need to phone the office.

To help our kids develop their independence, here are a few things you might like to try: 

• Consider having a weekly planner on the fridge.
• Have your kids pack their own lunch and give them a reminder note to put in their lunchbox.
• If your child has a diary, leave any reminders in there.
• Develop routines for after school pick-ups.
• Ask your child what they think is an important skill they need to learn that will help them become more independent? Help them to learn this new skill.
• Talk about the most important skills you need to learn before moving out of home? Rank them from most to least important to learn. Choose one of these skills and learn how to do it. 
• Have your child arrange a play date with a friend. They will need to organise snacks and activities. 

Thanks for working with us to keep class interruptions to a minimum and to develop our kid’s independence.

“Independence is happiness.” Susan B. Anthony.

Thanks for your support,

Andy McNeilly

Mental Health and Wellbeing Coordinator