January 2021 Newsletter

He ho‘omaka hou ‘ana

A new beginning

 

Editor’s Note: As we begin this year with disturbing events at our nation’s Capitol, we’d like to share some thoughts from Po‘okumu Denise Espania from Mālama Honua PCS along with some online resources she suggests to help you and your family cope with this crisis. 

 

It is with a heavy heart and a heightened sense of urgency that we prepare for school following a very turbulent day in United States history. How do we move from this place of chaos and turmoil to a constructive place where aloha will prevail?

 

Queen Lili‘uokalani reminds us that we have a greater kuleana to do what is pono, what is right, moving forward...⤵

“I could not turn back time for the political change,
but there is still time to save our heritage.
You must remember to never cease
to act because you fear you may fail.

 

The way to lose any earthly kingdom is to be inflexible,
intolerant, prejudicial. Another way is to be too flexible,
tolerant of too many wrongs and without judgement at all. 

It’s a razor’s edge.

It is the width of a blade of pili grass. 

 

To gain the kingdom of heaven is to hear what is not said,
to see what cannot be seen, to know the unknowable --
that is ALOHA.”             ~ Queen Lili‘uokalani 1917

 

 

May 2021 be a better year for us all, and I hope these crisis resources prove helpful to you.   ~Po‘okumu Denise Espania 

 

 

CRISIS RESOURCES 

Promoting Compassion and Acceptance in Crisis
National Association of School Psychologists

Explaining the News to Our Kids
Common Sense Media

Helping Children Cope with Frightening News
Child Mind Institute

 

The ʻOhana Corner 

 

HEALTHY SNACKS FOR KIDS

Send keiki back to school with healthy nutritious snacks that will keep them focused and energized throughout the day. Sugar is often blamed for behavioral problems and hyperactivity in children. Your keiki can help you prepare snacks over the weekend or the night before. 

 

Edamame (soy beans)

Carrot sticks

Celery sticks w/ cream cheese

String cheese

Raisins or dried cranberries

Banana chips

Fruits

Applesauce

Yogurt cups

Seaweed packets

Hummus

Chocolate milk

100% fruit juice 

 

A healthy snack provides energy and helps keiki get their daily nutrients

 

A 5-part Series
to Encourage Students, Parents & Teachers To Know It, Live It, & Teach It!

 

To start this new year, we are presenting the first of a five-part series to open a discussion on how we can teach our keiki about the Five R’s, what they mean and how to live them.

 

Respect

Respect means to show honor or esteem for or to hold something or someone in high regard. It also means to show consideration for and avoiding intruding upon or interfering with others.

 

Respect is usually thought of in terms of relationships between people. We demand respect from our children. We expect our children to show respect to their elders. The problem with this is that, unless we demonstrate respect ourselves, children do not understand what respect is and why it is important that they show it to others.

As parents and other adults, we need to teach children what respect is and what it looks like. That starts by showing respect for our children. Ask them about their day and listen to their answers. Listen to their problems without making a judgment and help them come up with solutions. When they mess up, don’t yell and call them names. Talk about how disappointed you are in their behavior (but not them) and give an appropriate consequence, if necessary.

 

Research also shows that kids who grow up getting as well as giving respect are more successful in school and life. If adults show kids respect and kids show adults respect as well as themselves and others, we can decrease the problems in our schools and communities.   

 

About the Author: Kathy Bentley, Parent Educator, consults for the Ho‘ala Hou Project of the Pacific American Foundation and other agencies serving ‘ohana. kathyparentingsolutions.com