The Session: Preparing Your Children For The School Year With Maslow’s Heiarchy as a Guide, from Simon & Schuster

Matthew 19:14 "Jesus said, 'Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these'"

Scott’s question: Does this work for home schoolers as well as traditional students?

Who is Maslow?

Abraham Maslow was an American psychologist who developed a theory of psychological health.

· His theory was based on the developmental stages of a child being met to help the child develop into a self actualized state.

Physiological Needs As It Relates To Students

· Hungry

· Thirsty

· Exhausted

· Freezing

· Over heated

· Sick

· In Pain

Safety

· If we feel safe and confident that we are not in pain, discomfort, we avoid pain and hunger. We are able to begin to learn.

· Social Media

Children aged 8–12 spend an average of 5 hours and 33 minutes per day on screen media, while teens spend 8 hours and 39 minutes.

Social

· “Peer Priority”

· We feel safe and secure then we are ready to belong to a group of people. To our children that means their friends are vitally important. Children are now ready for belonging and love.

Self-esteem

· Once you were child feels accepted in a group they are now wanting to have special status. That status includes being admired and respected.

· John 4:16-18 NIV ... “And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. This is how love is ...

· 1 Peter 2:9 – A Chosen People. "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises ...

Self Actualization

· Finally, now our core needs are met, we're ready to pursue our deepest desire for self-actualisation - to become the most complete and authentic version of ourselves.

· Proverbs 19:21: "Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails"

Celebration Of Success

· Goal Setting

Vision

Long Term

Short Term

Goals of the Week

Goals of the Day

LearningStyles

· Kinestec-Physically feel it

· Experiential-hands on / movement

· Auditory-lecture/ music

· Visual-graphs / charts

· Whole to part / part to whole

· Social-collaboration / teams

The Session: National Grief Awareness Day (Aug. 30) We honor this day with a conversation about dealing with grief, and the 5 stages of grief.

II Corinthians 1:3-4

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God"

Dr. Gregory Jantz-Whole Person Care

Multiple Causes

Grief can take many forms, from the death of a loved one to divorce, job loss, or chronic illness.

Emotions or feelings of grief can include sadness, denial, despair, shock, guilt, numbness, relief, helplessness, and/or anger. Many grief sufferers also experience anxiety or depression, which can vary in its longevity.

Body’s reaction to grief

When you’re grieving, different hormones and neurochemicals flood your brain. This can result in symptoms like disturbed sleep, loss of appetite, fatigue and anxiety, all of which can have a big impact on your brain function.

Cortisol (sometimes called the “stress hormone”) is often released more frequently and in higher quantities during grief, in particular over the six months after the loss of a loved one.

The five stages of grief is a model of grief developed by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, a Swiss-American psychiatrist.

The 5 Stages of Grief

Denial

The time it takes to process the loss of a loved one means there is a lag between learning the information about their passing and your brain beginning to process what this really means – that they are not coming back.

This type of shock can also make you feel very disconnected from the rest of the world. It can be incredibly confusing to see life carrying on around you while you feel as though your world has stopped turning.

Anger

Feelings of anger can surface after a death in several different ways. You may feel angry towards the person who has died, or anger at yourself if you feel you should have done or not done certain things before they died. You could feel both of those feelings simultaneously

Bargaining

By making deals with yourself, the world, or with God, the reality of death can be held at bay for a little longer. It’s also a way to try to get some control over what has happened, hoping that by holding up our end of the bargain is a way to feel less pain.

Depression

This stage is perhaps the most familiar to those who’ve experienced grief and to those who have witnessed it. Living without your loved one can feel impossible, and the sadness and longing can be very intensely painful. The depression stage often comes in waves over months or years, leaving the bereaved feeling as though nothing matters, and even that life is not worth living.

Acceptance

While grief can leave people feeling like they will never be able to accept the loss of their loved one, many people do find the pain eases.

Treatment from Scripture:

• Matthew 5:4: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”
• Psalm 73:26: “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”
• Matthew 11:28-30: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

• Psalm 34:18 “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit"

Other Treatment Options:

• Writing Jesus a letter. Ummm…..the USPS doesn’t deliver to “Heaven”…
• What would Jesus say to you?
• Make a video of the loved one
• (A thought from Scott) Talk to someone. Pastor, friend, parent, spouse, someone you trust

In this "retro" episode from 2022, Tom & Scott look at a tough topic as school starts...bullying. How do you know if your child is a victim? How do you if your child IS a bully? We talk through it.

Scripture

We should treat others the way we would like to be treated (Luke 6:31).

Definition: Bullying occurs between two students who have different degrees of power.

Researchers who study bullying cite three common characteristics of what makes an act bullying:

· Bullying is intentional and tries to cause harm or distress to the victim.

· Bullying occurs between two students who have different degrees of power.

· Bullying happens repeatedly over a period of time.

Bullying According to the American Medical Association, states by the time students finish school, nearly half of students have been bullied at one point or another.

Cybersmile.com

· This is a list of resources for victims of bullies, suicide prevention, depression and more

According to the American Medical Association, by the time students finish school, nearly half of students have been bullied at one point or another.

What to do?

1. If you see something, say something.

Reporting bullying to the proper authorities is one of the most important strategies we can use to prevent further bullying. Twenty-eight percent of students grades 6-12 say that have been bullied at school.

2. Understand who you are in Christ.

Meditate on passages like Psalm 139:13-18, which tells us that you are fearfully and wonderfully made and that God’s thoughts toward you are too numerous to count.

3. Even if you are wronged, respond in a Christ-like manner.

When we are in the midst of a painful situation, it can be very easy to forget who we are in Christ and how he has called us to act. Thus, if you ever find yourself being bullied, there are a couple of principles that you need to keep in mind.

· First, we should never try and get back at a bully or seek revenge.

· Second, it’s okay to stick up for yourself if you are bullied. Christians can often be confused by passages such as Matthew 5:39 and Luke 6:29 which tell us to “turn the other cheek.

· Third, Reach out to those being bullies Lastly, we need to reach out to those being bullied. One of the best ways we can do this is to befriend them and invite them to hang out with us. Not only will this make them feel loved, accepted, and less alone, it also acts as a deterrent to bullying. Bullies are much less likely to pick on someone if they are in a group of friends than if they are alone