A Cure for Spring Fever

In spring, a child’s fancy turns to pushing limits and boundaries. The same process that incites spring flowers into what Rilke called “blossoming most recklessly” propels children’s instincts for expansion. In the past, people called these surges of energy “spring fever.” Wasn’t it nice when there was a name for it?

Mark Twain once wrote about the condition. “It’s spring fever … and when you’ve got it you want – oh, you don’t quite know what you want, but it fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so.” Sound familiar?

At school when teachers remark “What a wild day!” at this time of year, it’s a sure sign that the surging spring energy has been hard to contain. We remind ourselves that this sometimes chaotic energy is ushering in new growth, but we also get children outside, moving their bodies and using their energy in positive ways.

Parents may notice this spring restlessness at home, and this is a perfect time of year to assess children’s level of physical activity. Children need to use their surging spring energy to strengthen their bodies and build physical endurance. During the three pandemic years and weeks of inclement weather, parents may not have had the bandwidth or opportunity to think about their children’s activity level. This is an important focus for us nationally with the impact of TV, video games, and other activities that entice children to a more sedentary life indoors.

The American Academy of Pediatrics reports that only one in four children gets the recommended guideline of sixty minutes of physical activity a day. More than 40 percent of children watch three to four hours a day of TV. In preschool we have children who prefer to stay inside, and we have to urge them to get outside and run.

We live in an area where children are expected to participate in organized team sports like soccer at a young age, when their bodies need a variety of physical activities like running, climbing, skipping, and jumping. Remember jumping rope? Hopscotch? The American Academy of Pediatrics cautions parents about having children specialize in one sport.

With the emergence of a bright new season full of hope, when colds and flu may subside in warmer weather, we can all get outdoors and revel in the green hillsides and blooming flowers.

Here are 100 delightful outdoor activities to engage in with your children this spring.

The Power of Affirmations

One of the benefits of COVID has been helping us experience compassion and concern for others in our school community. Never in modern life has the idiom “It takes a village” been more apt. Dealing with a pandemic has given us the ability to admire each other for our abilities to persist in the face of so many obstacles. Having been through many hard experiences together, we have more capacity for empathizing and offering support to one another, a harbinger of a possible future change when it will be endemic to naturally help one another.

It is well documented that undergoing challenging situations, like a pandemic, can undermine our feelings of competence and self-worth. Some days we wonder how we can possibly cope with everything life throws our way. Even parenting can seem like an impossible job. Most of us have unreachably high standards and the tendency to feel guilty when we fall short. “I just yelled at my child, when all I wanted was a great afternoon together.”

In addition, when children are experiencing developmental struggles, it’s easy to experience a sense of discouragement. “Will he be going through this forever?”

Yet in a loving, supportive environment, teachers and parents can partner to adopt a growth mindset, viewing challenges and mistakes as an important source of learning.

One tool for maintaining an expanded, more self-valuing perspective is the use of positive affirmations. Research shows that self-affirmations not only reduce stress and give people a broader perspective, they positively affect brain functioning. When situations feel threatening, self-affirmations can help us reflect on important sources of self-worth and core values. One of the healing aspects of repeating affirmations daily is that they program our minds to step out of our habitual negative thought patterns, like worrying about the future.

Here are some a few examples of affirmations that can help us maintain positive feelings of self-worth even in difficult situations:

• My efforts now will make a big difference in the long run.

• It’s okay to accept help when it’s offered. I don’t have to do this all on my own.

• I can stay calm even when my child is upset.

• My children need me to take care of myself.

• My child being angry doesn’t mean I’m doing something wrong.

When we learn about the power of affirmations, we gain the ability to help children think positively about themselves even in hard situations. They can practice positive affirmations too. One of the many wonderful aspects of our school community is that we get to know children over many years and watch their individuality emerge. We are indeed a whole village cheering them on to know and believe in who they are.

Book Fair Sales a "Happy Surprise"

Last week’s Book Fair was a huge success. We sold more than $9,000 worth of books. The four-day event was a fundraiser for the library. Our share of the sale was about $1,800 before taxes (we don’t know the exact amount yet), plus $800 in “book profit” – books from the fair that we kept.

Literati, the company behind the fair, said we would need to sell $3,500 worth of books to qualify to hold another one next year. “We weren’t sure we’d make it,” said librarian Mari Pongkhamsing, who coordinated the event. “The high total was a happy surprise!”

In addition to buying books for their children, parents also bought many books from the teachers’ “wish list” bins – some teachers were able to refill their bins during the week because parents had bought all the books they’d set aside.

Mari used some of the book profit to fulfill teachers’ wish lists, and the other books were added to the library collection. In addition, a neighborhood realtor donated $500 for books for the library, and a grandparent donated $50 for books for Room 10, the first grade classroom that doubles as our elementary aftercare room.

Nineteen parent volunteers helped over the course of the week, and six staff members helped Mari set the fair up and take it down afterward. “Thank you to all the volunteers – and to the families who came to shop and support us!” Mari said.