Dear all,

I wish you a very happy and safe holiday. We had a special holiday assembly today with lots of singing and our annual teacher’s dance. The children thoroughly enjoyed this. There was also had some surprise guests, ask them about it. Thank you, as always, for your wonderful support; we are lucky to work alongside such fabulous families.

We look forward to seeing the students back on campus on the 8th Of January.

Happy holidays

Ms. Sheppard

Executive Functioning Skill #3: Task Initiation

This week we are looking into the executive functioning skills of Task Initiation. This is the ability to begin a task or assignment independently with little or no support from others.  It requires self-discipline and motivation, two skills difficult to force upon others but as parents, we can support our children in developing the skills of task initiation by:

• Reviewing the day’s tasks and expectations at the start of the day.  Coaching your child as you develop a plan to accomplish these tasks.  Include their “free” or unstructured time so that they can see a balance between work and play.
• Regular exercise.  Children need to move and engage.  Too much sitting, unfortunately, encourages more sitting.  Action encourages action.
• Set timers.  This helps children practice time management as well as initiating tasks.
• Provide chores for your child to accomplish.  Helping around the house provides your child an opportunity to contribute, and they can see the rewards.

If you are interested in chatting more about the benefits of supporting your child with task initiation or have questions about any of the other executive functioning skills we have or will talk about, please feel free to contact me at escounselor@isyedu.org.  I am happy to support your family.