Dear Parents,

Greetings from the Counsellor's Desk @ RTSE.

It has been a long 2 weeks with all this anxiety and panic over the Coronavirus pandemic which has taken away all of our mental peace as we do have timelines to keep with our WFH schedules or manage the home/outdoor chores and now also manage these enthusiactic and energetic kids.Yet this is far from over and we know it ... and it is possibly the start of a long long summer break, where we have a different set of rules to play by, ahead of us.

We are all in home quarintine since Holi and managing the energy of the school aged children can truly be a challenge. They may have been told about hygiene and washing hands , sneezing & coughing into their elbows yet they may not be able to truly appreciate the dangers of this pandemic & its outreach.

As staying at home is the only safe option, here are a few suggestions to keep them positively engaged :-

Gardening

• planting dhainya, carrots, onions kind of vegetables in small disposable containers
• making compost
• watering plants
• painting the pots

Taking charge of your pets

• grooming, showering etc
• taking for a walk - if permissible in your area

Involve the kids in daily chores

• laying & clearing the table, making beds
• putting the clothes out to dry & folding dried clothes
• cleaning cupboards, decluttering toys cabinet.
• even, washing utensils is something you can trust them with -- if you are ok with them getting wet in the process.
• sweeping the floor
• filling water bottles
• helping with kitchen work for eg adding tadka to dal, washing rice, making dough etc ........the list is endless.

The result may not be perfect or completely upto your expectation yet time & energy are spent and these are life skills that our children can learn for the future.

We have to remember that our kids are as scared as us because they can hear everything that is going around them. They also feel our constant tension and anxiety as they have never experienced anything like this before. They are not sure how to deal with being trapped at home as schools are off for such a long time. At this point, they need to feel comforted & loved. They need to feel like it's all going to be ok.

So I request you keep that in mind , every single day !!

Stay Indoors & stay safe.

Best Regards,
Sheetal Vohra