This year, the students and staff at Blumenort School will be participating in The Umbrella Project! We are also excited to share that we are the first school in Manitoba to participate!
The Umbrella Project is a teacher-led curriculum and school based program created to help teachers, students and parents reframe our perception of challenges and strengthen the skills of well-being to positively cope with the everyday stresses of life.
The Umbrella Project is based on a few key pillars:
- Knowledge: Without knowing what the skills of wellbeing are, it is difficult to recognize them in ourselves and others. By giving children and adults the language of wellbeing, we can begin to celebrate the use of these skills and change how we think about ourselves.
- Stories: The Umbrella Project intentionally uses stories to tap into the emotional parts of our brains and make deeper connections to our wellbeing. By looking for and sharing others’ stories, students will find examples that resonate and inform their own personal journey.
- Role modelling: Role models have the power to shift and change a child’s self-perception. By collecting stories of the Umbrella Skills in action, students will be exposed to many role models that are overcoming obstacles in ways that are improving their lives.
- Positive priming: Obstacles and opportunities are often the same thing. By repeatedly looking for the Umbrella Skills in our environment, we can change what our brains do when faced with obstacles and opportunities of our own. We can learn to first see the tools we have to succeed instead of all of the reasons we may fail.
The Umbrella Project also offers our families a few easy ways to engage. You can Join The Umbrella Project community – Follow us on your favourite social media channel: Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. You can also sign up to receive monthly parenting resources and tips from The Umbrella Project. If you feel like diving deeper, you can join our Umbrella Project Parenting Community or sign up for our Parenting 101 Course. More info will be shared soon with our families.
In the meantime, please check out the following link to The Umbrella Effect, which provides a great overview of the program…https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhhmzhPF0mw