October 1, 2022

Welcome Back to the 2022-2023 school year!!

It’s hard to believe that we are already nearing the end of September. We hope that your school year has gotten off to a great start.

Our website is full of great information including videos, articles, and resources to help you. Take time to check it out and be sure to check back frequently as we are always adding new resources.

We hope you have a fantastic year and remember we are here to help!

Julie, Karyn, and Pam

10-20-21

Wow! The holidays are just around the corner.

Julie and I hope your school year has gotten off to a great start. MPS uses the 7 Mindsets curriculum to promote social emotional learning. Here is a quick definition. In the next 7 updates to our website, we will introduce each of the seven components.

“Social emotional learning (SEL) is an integral part of education and human development. It is the process through which all young people and adults acquire and apply the knowledge, skills and attitudes to develop healthy identities, manage emotions and achieve personal and collective goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain supportive relationships, and make responsible and caring decisions.” The 7 Mindsets are designed to promote self-awareness, self management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision making. Happiness and success is not a destination, instead it is a journey; and it can only be defined by the individual. The 7 Mindsets are the result of a 3 year study designed to uncover how many people found happiness, success, meaning, and purpose in life. The research found that happiness and success is not predicated on what we know or where we come from, it is predicated on how we think.

Come back next month to learn about the first mindset: Everything is Possible

" 7 Mindsets (2021, Aug. 27, 7mindset.com"

9-1-2021

It's a BRAND NEW SCHOOL YEAR!!

Hard to believe summer is over and we are embarking on the 21-22 school year. Things are improving, but our pandemic is not over. Remember to wash hands frequently, use hand sanitizer, and a mask when you are unsure of your surrounding.

This website is chalk full of helpful videos, articles, and resources to help you and your child navigate these difficult times. Take time to browse each page. You'll find ways to help with self care, posters you can print out, and games you can play with your child.

Be sure and check back each month, we are always adding new resources.

Have a fantastic year! Remember we are here to help you!!

Julie and Pam

5/3/21

It's the final month of school!! What a year we have had!!!

Please note that Julie and I do not work during the summer months, however you are welcome to use the resources on this website during that time.

Thank you for joining us this year, and we hope to see your next year!!

Happy Summer!!

Julie and Pam

4/5/2021

Spring is here!! We are embarking on the final 9 weeks of school. Hope your spring break was restful, and relaxing.

April is testing month. This can be a difficult time of year for everyone. Teachers want to make sure they do things right, students want to make sure they do well, and administrators want to make sure all testing gets turned in on time to the State department. So.... be gracious with everyone, extend lots of kindness during this month, and as parents here are three things you can do to help your child.

• Get lots of rest - go to bed at a decent time, maybe even a little early, provide calming activities before bedtime as well.

• Eat a good Breakfast - wake them up in plenty of time to eat breakfast. Lots of protein helps their mind think better.

• Be an encouragement to them - Sending them to school with positive thoughts makes for a great day. Also scheduling dr appts, and extra activities outside of school hours is helpful.

Good luck this month, and as always, we are if you need anything.

Julie and Pam

3/1/2021

Wow! February was brutal. Hopefully you got through our freezing/distance learning days and you are enjoying some sunshine.

Now that we are officially in March, you might see some increase in your children's restlessness. Instinctively, they know Spring Break is around the corner and there may be some anticipation. Continue to be consistent with routines, and expectations to help curb that restlessness.

This month's topic is 'offering choices'. This is a great strategy to help you give some 'power' back to your child (while still being in control of the situation). It needs to be implemented correctly to be effective. 'Offering Choices' does not mean 'Good Choice vs Bad Choice'. The two choices offered should both be acceptable to you. Example:

"Johnny, do you want to use a marker or a pencil to do your homework?"

"Which page do you want to do first?"

"Bill, do you want to do your homework on the living room coffee table, or the kitchen table?"

Never give a choice that you can't or don't want to follow through on. You want to avoid it becoming an ultimatum or threat, instead of providing choices. ie "Do you want to do your homework in here, or do you want me to call Dad"

Always keep your tone and body language neutral when you implement this intervention.

Good Luck this month, and as always we are here to help.

Julie and Pam

2/1/2021

Can you believe it is already February? Where did January go? As always we hope this finds you and your family doing well. But if you need some guidance we are here to help!

February can be a little long as there are no breaks this month. However, it also is a time for us to promote kindness and caring. February celebrates Kindness Week. There are lots of ideas for promoting behavior positive language. Especially since our current situation finds us more isolated and anxious. Take time this month to show a little extra kindness. You'd be surprised how a small gesture can go a long way. You've heard the stories of how one person's kindness is contagious and it continues to get passed to others making everyone's day a little brighter. YOU could be the person to start that; hold open the door for the next customer, smile at a stranger (oops, might not see it with that mask) maybe a friendly nod instead, offer to put someone's basket up at the store, or even give someone a random compliment. Not only will it brighten their day, but it helps to increase those good endorphins for you and make your day brighter as well.

Check out the few Kindness activities we have included on the printable resources page and feel free to contact us if you need someone to visit with.

Happy Kindness Month!

Julie and Pam

1/1/2021

Happy New Year!!! We are halfway through a school year, weather you are doing virtual or traditional. Hard to believe it is already a new year. Who remembers Y2K and how scary that was. Here we are navigating another moment in time that can be a bit scary. Take those breaks, and protect your mental health.

Setting appropriate goals for yourself will be beneficial to your everyday life. You can set long term goals, and short term. For example, choose a hobby you want to start. Set a time frame for when you want to start that hobby. Then set smaller goals for getting what you need to get started.

On those bad days, when we are struggling, set some short term goals just for the day. Prioritize things that need to be done, and set the other stuff aside. Then reset your goals for the next day.

Most Important.... if you don't reach your goal at the allotted time... DON"T give up. Reset.... reset your goals, reset your mind, and try again.

Don't forget to look around on website and take advantage of the resources we have for you. Also, if there are ideas, or suggestions for items you would like to see. Send us and email. We'd be happy to consider it.

Always here for you!

Julie and Pam

12/1/2020

Wow! What a month! While we knew Distance Learning was likely to happen at some point, it's still disappointing that we won't get to see our kiddos in person for a bit. This situation may bring up some scary feelings for our students (of all ages), and you may see an increase in behavior at home.

This month, we are focusing on something that will be INCREDIBLY important (even virtually) - positive reinforcement. Positive Reinforcement is the 'bread and butter' of the behavior change world. Along with providing a replacement behavior for what you want to change, giving positive reinforcement will increase the success and likelihood it will change. For example, if Johnny is "demanding" a cookie; You take their hand and gently touch your arm and say "Mommy, can I have a cookie,"; then give them the cookie and praise them for using their words. Next time, make sure they use their words and praise them when they do. The process will have to be repeated numerous times for them to use it consistently.

Positive reinforcement can also be given in a tangible way for tasks, deeds, or chores done. As parents, and educators, we often times think this is 'cheating' or 'bribing' our students. Think of it this way, when you do your job, you expect to receive a paycheck. For most, students verbal praise and knowing they pleased someone can be enough, WORDS ARE POWERFUL. However, sometimes students need to be taught the connection. So ALWAYS pair your tangible positive reinforcement with verbal reinforcement.

Always remember, even with a transition to Distance Learning, your MPS Behavior Team is still available to you. If you have questions, concerns or need resources, don't hesitate to reach out (our contact info. is on the last page).

Merry Christmas to All!!!

Julie and Pam

11/2020

Hello Community,

Hope this finds everyone adjusting to a new normal. A normal which allows you to continue life as best you can, and remember to take time for you and your mental health.

Remember we have several ideas and articles about how to relieve stress, and reduce anxiety. We also have great games and activities you can do with your family at home.

This month lets focus on how to be Thankful. During a time when it is difficult to get together with family and friends, think about how to do things a little different. Be creative. Have an outdoor function, talk through technology, or send each other pictures. Maybe we can even use old fashion mail. Kids these days, don't know the excitement of getting something in the mail. Most think it is for getting bills. So, write a note to a friend, a family member, or a grandchild. Send a card, or send a picture. And finally take time to make a list of all the things/people you are Thankful for.

Happy Thanksgiving to All.

Julie and Pam

10/2020

Hello All,

We hope that everyone is safe and healthy and have found a new normal. No matter how you are attending school these days, we are so glad to continue to provide ways to learn. We hope to continue to make this year a success.

Take a look around the website, get to know or reacquaint yourself with your Mustang Behavior team. Remember to check out the printable and video resources. We continue to add new ones each month.

Let's focus this month on rational detachment and taking care of ourselves, physically and mentally. During a time when we are encouraged to stay at home, it is also very important to take care of ourselves. Make that doctors appointment; talk about your medical concerns, talk about your mental health, and ask for help. Find two or three things that will allow you to refocus mentally. Perhaps you enjoy time reading, walking, hiking, baking, listening to music, yoga, etc. There are lots of ways that we can give ourselves a "timeout" to refocus and calm our brains and bodies. Take time to figure yours out and if need be, schedule time for it.

As always, let us know if you need anything.

Julie and Pam

9/2020

Hello Everyone!

We hope that everyone is safe and healthy! No matter what school looks like for your family, we are so glad to have our students back and learning! While this situation is not ideal, we are a team here in Mustang! We are ready to make this year a success no matter how our students are learning.

Feel free to take a look around at some of the things available to you and meet your MPS behavior team. A few new things added this year are some infographic posters to help with anxiety, work refusal, resolving conflict etc. Some posters are directed at students and others are for the parents, as simple reminders of things you can do to help your child. Another item added is Mindfulness activities. These will help your child increase their ability to manage their emotions and focus on a task at hand.

Updates will occur regularly, and information on parent training/education opportunities will be sent out when we get closer to the dates. We also keep previous letters on this page so you can access previous videos, and information. Come back and check the website often!!

Let us know if there is anything that you need.

-Julie and Pam

5/11/2020

Greetings!

We hope that everyone is doing well and enjoying the LAST WEEK OF SCHOOL! We got a lot of answers to questions from our district this week, and you should be hearing from your sites on how to pick up/drop off items soon (if not already).

Our final Behavior Discussions video of the 2019/2020 school year has been released! We looked at what our parents requested during parent training events, and saw that MANY really wanted more information on the IEP process and how to work with their school team. So, we chose to address collaborating with your school team as our final topic this year. The spectacular Ms. Stidham and Ms. Blackwell from Canyon Ridge Intermediate joined us and provided a great input and perspective. It's important to remember that you as parents are a part of the team and we value your opinion and input! Hopefully, this video will give you a bit of guidence and insight moving forward - and keep an eye out for additional training/events on this topic in the 2020/2021 school year.

It's been an interesting end to the school year, but we are so proud of all of our teachers and parents - everyone has stepped up and been so flexible. There are some great things happening in our district.

Let us know if there is anything that you need. We miss you all and hope to see you in 2020/2021.

Stay safe and don't forget to collaborate.

-Julie and Pam

5/4/2020

Hello Everyone!

We hope that everyone is staying safe and enjoying this AMAZING weather! I know it has been great medicine for my soul to be outside with my family on these beautiful breezy days we've been having.

We have a new Behavior Discussions video for you this week - focusing on 'Setting Realistic Expectations'. It can be SO EASY to hold ourselves to the same standards we had prior to Covid-19 or even to a standard set by others. I know that when I see posts on social media about collegues working from home, I feel a bit inadiquite. It's important to remember that we have to individualize our expectations not just for our kiddos, but for ourselves as well. Think about what can your child reasonably do - this may be different from their siblings, cousins or peers. Think about what YOU can reasonably do - this may be different than your partner, siblings or neighbors.

That's OK!

When we look at any behavior intervention, we have to individualize! What works for one person will not work for others.

Give yourself some grace and know that it's acceptible to be using coping skills more, relying on others for support, or to be less productive (it's hard to be 100% when you have a small child demanding your attention while you try to work from home).

Feel free to reach out if you need anything - we are still here as a support!

Stay safe and set reasonable expectations.

-Julie and Pam

4/27/2020

Hello Everyone.

How is it possible that it feels like the last 4 weeks have flown by as well as dragged on? Some days have been amazing and productive and some days I have felt satisfied that I made it through at all. As we continue with our distance learning adventure - we want to remind you that your MPS behavior team are still here for you! We've added some additional resources to our Social/Emotional tab this week, as well as a new Behavior Discussion video (go to our 'For Parents' tab or click the link below).

As the weeks drag on (or fly by) it can be easy to forget that in order for us to take care of the other people in our lives, we need to take care of ourselves. This situation can feel never ending and it can be easy to become overwhelmed by how far away the 'return to normal' can seem - if we ever do get back to what we once thought of as 'normal'. So, we wanted to take this week and really focus once again on coping skills (not for our children, but for oursleves). It's just so easy to forget about ourselves sometimes when we are so focused on our kiddos. Our Behavior Discussion video this week focuses on the challenges of utilizing coping skills while self-isolating.

We hope this site is helpful to you and if there is ever a topic that you would like addressed - don't hesitate to reach out by clicking the 'contact us' tab.

Stay safe and engage in some self-care.

-Julie and Pam

4/20/2020

Hello Everyone.

Welcome to week 3 of distance learning. We hope that you are all staying safe and healthy while we are all working/learning at home. We've had some questions about managing the balance of working from home, while teaching our kids through distance learning. So, we've rolled out a new feature this week - a Behavior Discussion with some of our teachers/staff on how we are all handling working from home with our kids (go to our 'For Parents' tab or click the link below). We hope to make this a weekly feature and highlight some new staff every week.

We have also added to our Social/Emotional tab with some new ways to modify games you may already have at home into social/emotional learning activities.

Let us know if you have any questions and stay safe!

-Julie and Pam

4/13/2020

Hello Everyone.

We hope that your first week of distance learning went well and that you are staying safe and healthy. Hopefully your children are eager to get back into the routine of school (even if the location is a bit different).

We've added new videos to the resources page - check out the video on offering choices while using visuals! There are also some new tutorials on turing the games you might have in your home into Social/Emotional activities in the Social/Emotional tab.

We are still here to offer help (for non-emergency situations) if you need it - feel free to click on the 'contact us' link in the menu.

Sending hope to you all!

-Julie and Pam

4/6/2020

Hello Everyone.

This is certainly not how we were anticipating coming back from Spring Break this year - we are heartbroken that we won't be seeing our students, teachers and parents in person for the remainder of the year. However, we are living in an age where technology is able to open so many doors for us!

So, behavioral supports and resources will continue! We are still here and working to help in any way that we can - things will just look a little different. We have created this Google Site to help disseminate information and resources to both teachers and parents, and we will be updating regularly.

If you look at the top right hand side of the screen, you will see a menu of resources available to you. As we get things set up and going, you will see a range of resources in each section including:

• Printable resources

• Social/emotional instructional materials and activities (elementary and secondary)

• Parent trainings

• Professional development opportunities

• Strategies and general behavioral tips

• Online 'office hours' or staffings (by appointment) via Google Meet

• and so much more!

Please know that your MPS behavior team will continue to support you in any way that we can - let us know if you have any questions at all!

Lots of love and hope that everyone is keeping safe and healthy in this difficult time.

-Julie and Pam