GRG of Brevard Newsletter June 2017

Supporting Relative Caregiver Families of Brevard County, FL June 2017

Kids take the challenge to read as many books as you can read over the summer months. As a caregiver, you can help your children avoid the typical "summer slide" of learning loss by providing access to reading materials and encouraging them to read frequently, both on their own and with a family member.

SUMMER PICNIC Our Summer Picnic will be held on June 24th, at the Kiwanis Park in Merritt Island from 12:00 -4:00 PM. Please bring a covered dish to share; and bathing suits, sunscreen and towels for the children.

Grandparents please note – at our outings, we take photos for use in our newsletter, website and possibly other venues. Please inform us if you do not want your child’s photo and first name used.

Brevard Public Schools & United Way Partnership Summer Reading Challenge myON e-reader library Florida Department of Education: Just Read, Florida: First Lady Ann Scott's 2017 Summer Literacy Adventure Just Take 20 Scholastic: Summer Reading Challenge Barnes & Noble: Summer Reading Triatholon Pizza Hut: Ignite a Summer of Reading Public Library Check with your local public library for information about their summer reading incentives and special programs.

BACK TO SCHOOL GIVEAWAY EVENT Brevard Public School families who are enrolled in the Free or Reduced Lunch Program. Families MUST pre-register. Registered students MUST appear in person to receive the supplies. Parents alone will not be eligible to participate.

HOW DO I REGISTER?

Read to Ride! 18 and under ride SCAT free all summer with a library card Brevard County Schools–Summer Reading Links

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Call during the registration period: Monday, June 13—Thursday, July 14 (or until all slots are filled)  Phone Number: 321-633-1000, ext. 443  Phone lines are open Monday-Thursday between 9:00 am and 3:00 PM  You must speak with a representative to register. Messages left on voicemail will not be returned and children will not be registered.

EVENT DATE Saturday, July 30, 2016 at the Clearlake Education Center Gym (formerly Clearlake Middle School) 1225 Clearlake Road Cocoa, FL

SUPPORT GROUPS Due to the request of many grandparents we have decided NOT TO HOLD support group meetings during JUNE and JULY. Support groups will start back up in AUGUST as usual. During these months our office will be open and any assistance needed please come by the office at 123 Barton Blvd, Rockledge, FL or call 321-631-7776 or 321-848-8006..

DCF meetings will be held during the summer months at the GRG office 10:00 am - Upcoming Dates June 26th and July 31th

Check out this blog post in the Huffington Post - Simone Biles Flies Through the Air Because Her Grandparents Gave Her Roots Olympic gymnasts, Simone Biles is a grand success whose story could have so easily taken a very different turn if it wasn’t for her grandparents.

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DID YOU KNOW?

Congratulations to our 2017 graduates… all your hard work paid off!

E-NEWS for Members Free meals for kids in summer Free meals for children will be served throughout Brevard County as part of Florida’s Summer BreakSpot Anyone in your household under the age of 18 qualifies for free breakfast and lunch at local schools and parks.

Go to http://www.fns.usda.gov/summerfoodrocks for a list of locations and times near you. Just enter your address or zip code.

Kids And Smoking Smoking kills more people than alcohol, AIDS, car crashes, illegal drugs, murders and suicides combined- and thousands more die from other tobacco-related causes such as fires caused by smoking and smokeless tobacco use.

Half of all children between the ages of 3 and 18 are exposed to cigarette smoke regularly either in public places (i.e. restaurants) and at home. More than 3.5 million kids under the age of 18 are smokers. Ninety percent of adult smokers began at or before age 18. More than 3,000 kids in the United States try their first cigarette every day; and another 700 additional kids under 18 year of age become daily smokers.

About a third of young smokers will die prematurely from smoking related diseases. The immediate and long-term health risks and consequences associated with youth smoking include respiratory problems, reduced immune function, tooth decay, pre-cancerous gene mutations, reduced lung function, emphysema, vision problems, hearing loss and early signs of heart disease and stroke.

For many decades, tobacco manufacturers have intentionally targeted the youth in promoting their product. The tobacco industry currently spends $8.8 billion every year - $24 million every day – on marketing cigarettes. Furthermore, today’s cigarettes are more addictive than those produced in previous decades. Research shows that children and adolescents may be more sensitive to nicotine and are more easily addicted than adults. Tobacco companies have used chemical additives to increase the impact of the addictive element of cigarettes, nicotine. They have done this by increasing nicotine levels, adding ammonia which speeds up the delivery of nicotine to the brain, adding sugars to make it easier to inhale tobacco smoke, adding flavouring like chocolate to mask the harshness of tobacco levulinic acid to make the smoke feel less irritating.

Every adult who dies early because of smoking is replaced by two new, young smokers, one of whom also will die early from smoking.

Source: Campaign for Tobacco-free Kids.

Monthly news bulletins for all members who receive our information by email. If you currently receive information by postal service just update your preference to email Please email your updated details to GRG.Brevard@gmail.com

Reading with Children During the Summer We understand that grandparents play an active role in childcare during the summer break, and when trying to decide on activities to keep your grandchildren entertained, it is always nice to find something that they will enjoy which also benefits their education.

Reading books is the perfect example of this, as not only does it improve their literacy skills, it also keeps them engaged, and gives you some much-loved quality time with them if they are young enough to require some help.

However, encouraging children to read when they consider it to be school work can be a challenge, so here are some tips for making it a pleasurable activity for them.

Five reading tips during the summer break  Providing your grandchildren with space to read is an important step in encouraging them to do so. Try creating a comfortable reading nook for them in a bedroom or living room with plenty of blankets and snacks.  Being able to choose their own books encourages children to get reading, so take a trip to the local bookstore or library and let them decide on what they want to read, as suggesting books to them can make reading them feel like a chore.  It doesn’t have to be books that children read over the summer, a magazine or comic is just as beneficial, and may also include extra activities to keep them occupied and engage their brain in their time away from school.  Encouraging your older children to read to their younger siblings or cousins is a great way to make them feel grown-up, and gives them the opportunity to share stories and have a lovely bonding experience.  Add a competitive edge to reading during the summer break by offering small prizes for the number of pages, or books, read in a given time.

By following these tips you can ensure that your grandchildren spend at least some of their school break reading, and hopefully learning that reading books is a fun and worthwhile hobby too.

“Each day of our lives we make deposits in the memory banks of our children.”

Charles Swindoll

BEING GRATEFUL Being thankful can have long term effects on children and their level of happiness, friendships, grades and growing into healthy adults. We often think that spoiling the grandkids goes along with being a grandparent. One of the most precious things we can share with the children is being grateful. It has been shown that the practice of gratitude results in closer and stronger relationships with family and peers, higher GPA’s, and satisfied lives that are strong emotionally. It’s never too late to learn to be grateful.

Fast paced lives and the “I-want-it-now” attitude of the world stands in the way. Jeffrey Froh (professor of psychology) says, “One of the best ways to become more grateful is to slow down-immediacy and gratitude do not go together.” Slowing down gives you the opportunity to enjoy and appreciate things like time with the family.

Here are some suggestions to help with your grandchildren: Set Limits: Distinguish between wants and needs. Experiences are important like going to a movie or on a family trip—they can enjoy the time at that moment and it will give them happiness both long and short term. It is something they will have for the rest of their lives.

Model being Grateful: Showing kids what being grateful looks like may seem obvious, but can be overlooked easily. Include them in thanking family or friends for doing something nice. If you write a thank you note, share it with the children or better yet - let them help you write it. A couple things to think about with the children.

Show them: Intent: Explain to the children if someone goes out of their way to help with a project. That they made a choice to help.

Cost: Explain that maybe it cost that person money or time (maybe that they had something else planned and gave it up to help).

Benefit: What was the benefit of this—perhaps because someone helped -–it saved you time or money—maybe it gave you emotional support to see it through.

Point out things in your children’s lives that they should be grateful—don’t forget that often strangers show kindness as well.

Volunteer: Being involved in community service allows children to see people less fortunate and gives them a new perspective on life.

It gives them the opportunity to help others, and a way to develop and strengthen relationships. They see the choices it takes to be generous and appreciate others.

Ask Kids what they are grateful for: Talking creates understanding. Maybe at bedtime you could ask them for a couple things they are grateful for or pray about those people. Also you might want to give them a notebook to use a journal to write down people, things, and places for which they are grateful.

Great News!

GRG has teamed with Tutor Doctor of Brevard County to provide services to our grandchildren. Tutor Doctor is an approved vendor for Step Up For Students – The Gardiner Scholarship The Gardiner Scholarship allows parents to personalize the education of their children with unique abilities by directing money toward a combination of programs and approved providers. https://www.stepupforstudents.org/for-schools-providers/howthe-plsa-scholarship-works/ If you have any questions or need help, please contact GRG Office 321-631-7776.

Camp Victory is an experience that your child will never forget!

Camp Victory allows your child to play recreational sports like flag football, soccer and wacky sports. In addition to sports, your child will tap into their creative arts side via multimedia, S.T.E.M., and crafts. http://www.victorykidsports.org/

May 25th – August 9th Brevard County Parks & Rec Camp http://www.brevardfl.gov/ParksRecreation If your child is receiving free school lunch they qualify for a reduced camp fee – you must bring a letter from the school.

If you have not sought assistance for summer camp please do so by calling 321-631-7776. We will need to know the camp you would be using and the funds will be paid directly to the camp.

It will be your responsibility to get the receipt back to our office. The amount available is $120.00 for each child with a limit of 3 children per family.

The Titusville Elks Lodge has once again this year offered to send our grandchildren to summer camp. They will pay for a week of camp for your grandchild. The sleep-away camp is open to boys and girls ages 9 -13. Register online – http://www.floridaelks.org/camper-application Your grandchild will need a physical and current shot record to attend camp. When you come to the payment section please put in Titusville Lodge #2113. If you have any questions or need help, please contact GRG Office 321-631-7776.

THERAPEUTIC STRATEGIES FOR SLEEP DISTURBANCES Our daughter has such a difficult time sleeping at night. She used to physically fight for her life when bedtime came. Bedtime triggered her fight/flight response because she experienced trauma in her biological home. Luckily we have the very best trauma therapists to work with us and our children with therapeutic strategies. These are some of the best strategies to calm our daughter’s fear response at night. She needs to feel safe to rest.

COMFORTING SMELLS: I like to use lavender scented baby lotion to give her arms a deep-pressure massage before bed if she needs it. She will also put a drop of essential oil onto a tissue and rub it together. Then she holds it to her face and breathes in slowly. Smells activate the brain’s Amygdala, which triggers memories from the hippocampus and can activate an emotional response. The mommassage is a good smell, thus triggering feelings of love and safety. I also rub a bit of my hair conditioner in her hair before bed sometimes.

COMFORTING SOUNDS: We have a noise machine for both of our children. They can choose to listen to white noise, rain sounds, a forest, the ocean, a brook, etc. They use these sounds as a coping skill when they need to calm down throughout the day. The sounds also give them a sense that they are not alone in a scary place.

CONTINUE READING Source: Herding Chickens and Other Adventures in Foster and Adoptive Care

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