BY KAREN BOSSICK
Want some tools for educating your child during the coronavirus pandemic?
Look no further than Jaime Rivetts’ new online summit.
Rivetts, executive director and founder of Idaho Social Learning Center, is launching a free back-to-school online summit for parents and professionals Friday, Oct. 9, through Tuesday, Oct. 13, at jaimerivetts.com/online-summit.
Rivetts will be joined with Kerri Everett, speech language pathologist and executive function coach; Rachel Harrington of COTA, All Things Sensory; parenting coach Meg Anne Ford, and Kim Gameroz, a social emotional learning teacher.
They will cover such topics as:
- Creating an ideal online learning environment for your child
- Helping your child navigate through this huge detour in life
- Understanding your child’s sensory needs and the basics of a sensory diet
- Being resilient and flexible, managing and processing big emotions
- Parenting tips and tools during the pandemic
- Getting schoolwork done and turned in even while learning online
- Managing the personal assistant in your brain
- Validating everyone’s feelings during the pandemic
- Understanding what stressors are in your control and what might be outside of your control
- Using a visual schedule to create consistency and predictability in your disrupted daily lives.
“Seventy to ninety percent of how we communicate with others is non-verbal,” said Rivetts. “A mask cuts the ability to communicate and understand each other in half. I am back to teaching and I realize I can no longer refer to my body language as a way to help students redirect their behaviors. I used to be able to say, ‘Look at my face. How am I feeling about what you are doing?’ Now, I have to be direct with my words and I can’t expect students to infer social meanings anymore because most of my face is covered. Even in-person learning comes with restrictions and downfalls.”
Rivetts has been in private practice helping children and families find their place in the social world. She runs weekly social learning groups in various schools, afterschool groups at her clinics and individual sessions.
She is about to launch her first book, “The Social Adventures of Ellie.” The book is the first in a series of children’s books to help children understand the ins and outs of the social world. Readers can follow what Ellie is thinking as she makes friends and cultivates relationships with family members.