Important Events in the month of December, 2020

Baked Ziti

For one of our cooking days this month, Alissa's class chose to make a recipe that will feed an entire family!

Baked Ziti was definitely a crowd pleaser as we discovered that many of us share a mutual love of pasta. We learned about the different sizes and shapes of pasta and we actually used a variety of noodles among the class. We ranged from Caleb's long, flat Lasagna noodles to Robin's tiny, tubular Ditalini noodles along with several noodle variations in between.

Everyone did a great job executing this recipe and improving their kitchen skills. We highly recommend including Baked Ziti into your dinner rotation!

Cultivating Resilience During Covid-19

On November 12, Dr. Doug Bolton, school psychologist and clinical psychologist, spoke to the Lake Forest community on Cultivating Resilience During Covid-19. Dr. Bolton is an engaging, inspiring speaker who offers both practical tips and new ways for us to think about the current situation. His presentation was recorded and is well worth the hour long watch.The link is available on both the LFHS website and also here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2F7UjSwaTQ&feature=youtu.be&t=60

One of the things Dr. Bolton emphasized is that stress triggers our sympathetic nervous system, putting us into ‘fight or flight mode’. While this is good for an immediate, short-term danger, it’s also the mode where we’re less flexible, less empathetic, less able to talk constructively about our fears, less creative, and less patient. When stress continues over time, it’s important for us to be deliberate in ‘resetting’ our nervous system in order to feel more regulated and better able to engage with the world around us in the ways that we want to. Dr. Bolton offered some good ‘reset’ strategies. These are not new strategies, but are things that become even more important during stressful times. Many are strategies we work with our Transition students on as part of the curriculum, to help them navigate the challenges that can come with young adulthood and a period of transition. They are especially worth highlighting now so we can all help each other to be intentional in incorporating them into our lives.

Exercise: Our stress hormones were originally intended to help us with quick movement - so it’s no surprise that physical activity helps to reduce anxious feelings and releases mood-boosting endorphins. Transition students have been exploring new ways to get in some physical activity this year. The nice thing about physical activity is that it doesn’t need to be big to give benefits - a 15-20 minute walk outside can help to relieve stress and boost mood.

Diet: We’ve all seen the jokes going around about pandemic cooking involving stuffing pancakes with ice cream, and many of us also crave our favorite comfort foods in cold weather. Our diets don’t have to be perfect, but it’s helpful to remember that what we eat does impact our energy and mood. Transition students learn about food groups as part of meal planning and prep. When we are mindful of incorporating the different food groups into our eating, it helps to give us more stable energy as well as the nutrients we need to stay physically and emotionally healthy.

Hobbies: Hobbies give our brains a break from speculating and worrying about the future or ruminating on past mistakes. They help to keep us focused on the present moment and engaged in something that brings us meaning. As parents and teachers, modeling engagement in our own hobbies sets a positive example for our Transition young adults. If your child is struggling to find a hobby he or she enjoys, Transition staff can help.

Routines: Right now, the world can sometimes feel out of control causing us to feel helpless. Routines can help to give us a sense of control by focusing on those small things we can choose to do on a daily basis. Even on days when working or learning from home, keeping the same getting ready routine can provide a grounding start to the day. Transition students complete a daily morning check-in to help with this routine. While some of our routines have been disrupted, this can also be an opportunity to create new ones such as a family movie or game night, cooking dinner together one night a week (or having a night that your child is responsible for planning and prepping the meal with your help as appropriate), or creating a weekly ‘theme night’ around something of interest to your family (music, different cultures/places, vacation destinations, or virtual field trips have been some ideas suggested by students and families).

Connection: Being intentional about connection is important, especially as cold weather makes it difficult to engage in some of the same opportunities available in the summer. As health and weather permit, a meet-up with a friend or extended family member in the park or with a backyard bonfire are still good options. Phone and virtual options exist when in-person meet ups aren’t possible.

Recognize Impermanence: Finally, it’s important to recognize the transient nature of our thoughts and emotions and to help our young adults do the same. During challenging times, we will have some days when we feel good and handle things well. Other days, we might feel more anxious, down, and have difficulty doing the same things we did easily the day before. We can think of it like surfing a wave - where sometimes we’re on top and other times we might temporarily ‘capsize’. On bad days, we can remind ourselves that we won’t always feel down. We can also give ourselves some grace for not always being ‘at the top of the wave’. Ups and downs are okay, and in fact a normal part of being human.

While temporarily feeling stressed or overwhelmed is common, experiencing these feelings over a prolonged period of time to the degree where they interfere with general life activities can be a sign of something more serious. If you or your young adult is feeling this way - please reach out. I can always be reached at klapinski@lfschools.net or 224-217-3253. Let’s support each other in taking some time for self care and to ‘reset’ as we move into the new year!

Each month we like to share various helpful resources for parents of our transition students. If you have any questions or know of a resource we may share for the next month, don't hesitate to contact your class teacher or the Transition Coordinator.