Wellbeing

Holiday activities for families - a wonderful range of many free activities are available across the Macedon Ranges - please see the links below. And if you wish to venture further please take a look at the Arts Centre, Melbourne Zoo and Royal Botanical Gardens links

Holiday Program | Goldfields Library Corporation (ncgrl.vic.gov.au)

School holiday activities - Macedon Ranges Shire Council (mrsc.vic.gov.au)

Kids & Families | Arts Centre Melbourne

Zookeeper for a Day – Junior School Holiday Programs (reptileencounters.com.au)

School Holidays | Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria (rbg.vic.gov.au)

A message from Bridget our Visual Arts Teacher -

Community Studio is an art program aimed at connecting young people with contemporary artists. Operating throughout the school holidays, our workshops offer unique creative experiences for children and teens. Find out more here.

This holidays we have 2 artists running collage and clay or ceramic workshops in Footscray. If there are any students aged 11 - 16 who would like to join the workshops please use the code 'LPS' to book for free.

The workshop will run for 2 hours and will give each student an opportunity to create their own unique artwork inspired by a professional.

Please book via our website and use the discount code to come along free of charge.

www.communitystudio.com.au/booking

Discount code: LPS

How to assist your child with worries or anxiety - 

Children cope best with worries when they are reassured, informed, see challenging tasks as achievable and understand that success usually involves sustained effort.

1.    Help resolve worries through supportive talking

• Take worries and fears seriously. Short conversations with your child about their worries can often dissipate concerns. Listen to your child’s concerns, name them and validate the feeling. For example, ‘It sounds like you might be nervous about sleeping over at Holly’s. That makes sense, doing new things can sometimes be a bit scary’. Supportive talking helps your child to feel understood, increases their emotional vocabulary, and normalises the experience. Only after talking about the feeling, when your child feels calmer, should you move into problem solving mode.
• Have regular chats while doing things together to give your child opportunities to raise any worries. Regular discussions can help to prevent excessive, escalating or ongoing worry.
• Eat meals regularly as a family sharing thoughts and feelings about a range of topics. Turn off TVs, and other devices including phones (adults too). This means no answering texts or phone calls during family meal times.
• Use side-by-side communication when walking or travelling by car. It can be less confronting to talk when you are not directly looking at one another. Vehicles can be good places to do this, as you are both strapped in and no one can walk away
• Do chores together, such as washing dishes, walking the dog, folding clothes, raking leaves, painting. These are all opportunities for a child to raise issues.
• Build a village around your child. From an early age, connect your child with extended family and other trusted adults. Although peer support is usually readily available, guidance from mature adults can often provide more accurate and realistic advice.
• Be aware of what you say. Anxious communication such as, ‘Be careful crossing the road’ can make you and the child feel panicky. Instead, be assertive, specifying the behaviour you wish to see. For example, ‘Remember, stop and look both ways before crossing the road’. See the CardioSmart website for tips on reducing stress by being assertive.
• Be the parent. Avoid turning to your child for their emotional support or friendship. If your child sees you stressed, reassure them that you are sorting things out.

Authors: Murray Evely and Zoe Ganim – 

If you are interested in finding our more on this topic or parents anxiety and worry, please contact Jo for a copy of each booklet .