Strengthening relationships through one-on-one time

By Casey Russell

February means Valentine’s Day is upon us, and the season of love has arrived. Hopefully, if you are a parent who is also in a romantic relationship, you’ll make a point of spending some special couple time with your partner. As a parent, it’s nice to remember to foster the very feelings that, ultimately, lead to kids in the first place. So date night, here you come!

One-on-one time is so important to relationships — all of them. My mom and dad did a good job of remembering that when I was growing up. They made a point of finding opportunities for each twosome in our family to have moments together. It can seem hard to carve out these special moments for the puzzle pieces that make up our families. But it’s so worth it.

New Covenant Academy

Sue Jung Park 10th Grade

As the new year came, NCA students wrapped up their threeweek winter break and returned to school excited and ready to learn! Hopefully the winter break was a time during which students were able to get plenty of rest and spend a festive time celebrating the holidays with their families.

To kick off the spring semester, NCA held an open house event. Parents were invited to the students’ classrooms, and were able to spend time looking through the impressive work students did during the first few weeks of school. It also served as a time for parents to communicate with the teachers.

Unfortunately, like last year, the annual winter camp that normally happens late-January got pushed to mid-February.

The boys’ basketball team continued to play hard in games for the season. Come out to future games and support the team as they continue to compete! Go Huskies!

The Oaks

Amelia Goldberg

6th Grade

Something

The Oaks prides itself on is teaching how to understand math — not just how to get the right answer. Our kindergarten class has been working on their Problem of the Day with simple addition and subtraction. One student said her favorite part of math was learning the numbers and counting.

Spending focused time with one person lets the other know that they matter to you.

The message that is sent to a child when an adult chooses to spend quality one-on-one time with her is that she is valued — that the adult enjoys being with her and cares about her thoughts, ideas, words and interests. With this subtle knowledge, her self-worth and confidence grow. And it’s not just important for one parent to take the time. We are each an individual and, as such, can offer our kids different things. Perhaps one parent has a knack for bringing out gigglefests and another is better with cuddle time. Each is unique, and each is important for the child.

But the benefit of this time together does not just go one way. The adult’s understanding of his child expands, and

In first grade, students are learning to do their Problem of the Day using different strategies. Soon they will start the Post Office, a long-standing tradition that improves school-wide communication, as first graders run a small post office and learn about money as they sell homemade stamps.

Second grade has been really busy doing logic puzzles. Their puzzles look like this: + Δ = 7, - Δ = 1 or even 0 ÷ = 8. Third grade is learning multiplication and their multiplication facts. Fourth grade is learning about decimals and money. Fifth grade is learning about comparing fractions. In math, 6th graders are working on ratios, percentages, and other rational number concepts.

I feel really proud because I know we are all confident.

CHRIST THE KING SCHOOL

By Joshua Lo 8th Grade

Happy New Year to all our readers! CKS students returned to school after a long, jolly break and reacclimated quickly to the school environment. We started the year with a Mass to celebrate the feast of the Epiphany.

Eighth grade students are working hard in preparation for their high school placement tests, which they will be taking in the coming weeks. Basketball practices have been less frequent because of the heavy rains. Nevertheless, our team is working tirelessly to hone their skills for upcoming games.

We all enjoyed a day to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. who fought for the rights of African American people, protested against segregation and gave many speeches.

Tips on Parenting

by Casey Russell

with greater understanding comes greater connection. These bonds that are formed through one-on-one time make our relationships with our kids strong. Each person feels more seen, valued, truly known and loved.

This solid foundation may prove to be important when kids hit rough spots and can decide to, or not to, talk to us about their struggles. And when you have taken the time to really know your child — through time spent together — you will be better equipped to help her with her feelings, her moments of turmoil and also with her aspirations.

Catholic Schools’ Week is approaching and CKS has planned many fun activities. We will begin the week with an Open House, Science Fair and Book Fair, which will be held on Sun., Jan. 29, from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. To celebrate Student Appreciation Day, we will have a masked Viking Talent Show. Among the other celebrations for Catholic Schools’ Week will be parents, grandparents and faculty appreciation days. We will also have a Career Day at which guest speakers will talk to students about their chosen careers. We will wrap up the week with Spirit Day — a day that students will enjoy fun and games.

So how can busy families find time to regularly make these moments a reality?

I grew up in a family of five — my parents, my two sisters and me. Once in a while, my dad would wake one of us up early in the morning and say, “Let’s go watch the planes.” We lived by a little airport. Quietly, we’d get ready and leave the house. We’d go through the McDonald’s drive-through to get an Egg McMuffin and then he’d park near the airport and we’d watch the planes take off. There was no agenda, no set topic to discuss. We just watched the planes and enjoyed each other’s company.

One-on-one time doesn’t have to take hours. Here are some ideas:

Ideas for one-on-one time

Invite one family member to go on a walk with you.

Read aloud to a child.

Take some time to rough house with one kid — chase each other around the house throwing rolled up socks at each other or trying to take the glasses off your partner’s face.

Learn something together. Play a board game. Do a craft project together. Have a special picnic in the park.

Get one kid up early and go pick out donuts for everyone as a surprise breakfast treat. Go for a hike.

Take one child to the beach. Pretend together.

Sit in the dark and listen to music together.

Go outside after bedtime and look at the stars.

Take a blanket and lie under some trees either to just look up or each with your own book to read.

Plan a meal together and work to make it for the rest of the family.

Let your kid do a makeover on you (without scissors).

Play dress-up together. Hold a special one-on-one movie night at home or take a cinema outing.

Invite one kid on a short work trip with you.

Go to a baseball game or theater performance.

Do bedtime a bit early so you have time in the dark to just cuddle.

There is no right or wrong. There is no set amount of time. One-on-one time can take any form that works for you and your family. But besides movie night or the occasional video game showdown, devices are not great instruments of true bonding. Take time to really be together in whatever way feels right in the moment. If we make oneon-one time a priority, it can make a big difference in how close we feel to each family member and that, overall, can make entire families stronger.

For more parenting tips, check out my book, “The Handbook for Life With Little Ones: Information, ideas and tips for birth to age five,” on Amazon.