Here at The International School of Kuala Lumpur (ISKL), we are more than just an international school in Malaysia that emphasizes curricular and co-curricular activities; we ensure support is given to our diverse parent community. Our commitment to building a partnership with our families is exemplified by our status as a parent-governed school that is led by a parent-elected Board, the support of our dynamic and active PTA, and by research that demonstrates the importance of the parent-school partnership in developing essential life and learning skills and habits.
Our Elementary School (ES) counselors Chris Wright, Emma Gedge, and Lynn Kogelmann hosted comprehensive parent workshops that covered our families’ learning strategies and well-being. This is part of our commitment to fostering a strong parents-school partnership. The workshops are not just providing strategies and insights; they are windows of opportunities to come together as a community.
A parent’s influence and support play a vital role in ensuring a student’s well-being and success. In line with that, here are a few parent hacks that we have put together from the parent tips workshop to help parents manage school life during the pandemic:
The Act of Mindfulness and Creating Routine Can Do Wonders
During the 3 Tips for Back to School Success workshop, one of the highlights was the importance of taking care of ourselves, especially for parents, as this helps kids see how they too need to take care of themselves. ES counselor Lynn mentioned how weaving mindfulness into day-to-day activities such as exercising or eating dinner while making open conversations with child/ren is a form of self-care.
Another excellent tip is on routine and how the idea of scheduling gives child/ren something that they can look forward to and expect. One of our counselors, Emma, said that “having a daily schedule is something that we make sure is very present and able to be seen in the classroom every day and will be helpful for you at home as well.”
Curious to learn about the last tip? Check out the YouTube video below:
Saying “I Don’t Know” More Often
It can be challenging for parents to answer questions posed by their child/ren with the current state of uncertainty. During this session on Managing Expectations, our counselors talked about managing expectations for both parents and child/ren and how having appropriate expectations helps keep them regulated throughout the day. The 7-minutes workshop also touched on the importance for parents to be a realist during this time and know that sometimes saying “I don’t know” is better than creating false hope.
Staying Connected During Transition
“Transition is messy. It’s emotionally messy. It’s organizationally messy. It’s just messy.” That is what one of our counselors, Lynn said when it comes to transition. As we are heading back to on campus learning, Emma, Lynn, and Chris talked about transition and how it impacts child/ren, including some behaviors parents might expect to see. The workshop also included strategies to support child/ren during transitions, one of them being this idea of connection and how important it is to be connected. There are many ways parents can connect via opportunities created by the school, be it through classrooms, other people within the community, or connection with the counseling staff.
Use the Feedback Sandwich
Have you heard of the feedback sandwich technique? It is essentially a way to provide constructive feedback as we want to create a safe environment for child/ren to make mistakes, for them to know that mistakes are a good thing as it’s helping them learn and grow. During the Providing Feedback workshop, our counselors explained more about using the feedback sandwich in child/ren’s behavior and for their academic work and other tips such as the growth mindset and providing a safe environment to make mistakes.
Our counselors are always here to help with strategies concerning the well-being of our ISKL community. No matter the topic discussed during a particular workshop, the session will begin with a check-in to see how parents are doing with a quick activity such as identifying a letter that resonates with how they feel at that particular time and reading through affirmations together, among other strategies designed to engage and connect with all students.
We invite you to check out the Parent Tips workshop playlist for the latest tips from our counselors. Read about our past parent workshops, and do follow us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter to check out other ISKL news!
