Military Families
tutoringformilitary.pdf
Military Families:
Welcome to Heritage Elementary School!
Please explore our website and utilize the resources provided!
Covid & Social/Emotional Learning
Supports available for students and families of our Active and Reserve service members and those recently separated from the military.
Military Family Life Counselor, Heritage Elementary School (910) 324-3139
School Counselor: Crystal Cox, Heritage Elementary School
Telephone: (910) 324-3139/ email: crystal.cox@onslow.k12.nc.us
Counselor’s page: /Domain/6149
Military Transition Counselor: Brittany M. Norman, (910) 455-2211 ext. 20274 /Page/1946
Child and Youth Military & Family Life Counseling
Until further notice, please contact Military Onesource for Military Family Life Counseling Services.
Por favor, hasta que las escuelas vuelvan a abrir, cominíquese con Military Onesource para obtener servicios.
Website: https://www.militaryonesource.mil/
Toll-Free Phone Number: 800-342-9647
En español llame al: 800-342-9647 / TTY/TDD: Dial 711 and give the toll-free number 800-342-9647
The research says that the military lifestyle impacts our students. Due to the unique challenges of military life, The Department of Defense provides Children and Youth, Military Family Life Counselors (CYSMFLCS) who are located in schools to offer free, private, confidential, brief solution-focused, nonmedical counseling services to active duty military-connected students their families; providing consultation to school staff. Heritage Elementary School has a Military and Family Life Counselor (MFLC) available to offer support. If you are interested in learning more, do not hesitate to schedule to meet your current MFLC!
The Military and Family Life Counselor may support staff and work with children and families in the following ways:
- Observe, participate and engage in activities with children and youth.
- Provide direct interaction with children.
- Model behavioral techniques and provide feedback.
- Suggest courses of age appropriate behavioral interventions to enhance coping/behavioral skills.
- Outreach to parents when they drop off or pick up their children or at family events. · Available for parents to contact for guidance and support.
Information is confidential, and MFLCs keep no records. If you have questions regarding Military Family Life Counseling, or if you would like to speak to the Military Family Life Counselor at Heritage Elementary School, do not hesitate to call 910-324-3139.
Academic Support:
Tutor.com: https://military.tutor.com/home
Tutor.com provides on-demand, online tutoring and homework help at no cost to eligible service members and their dependents. With live, expert tutors available 24/7, military-connected students can receive academic help at their moment of need—anywhere they have an internet connection.
Helpful Resources
Coronavirus Updates for the Military Community: https://www.militaryonesource.mil/coronavirus
Military Kids Connect: https://militarykidsconnect.health.mil/Military-Life
Supports to students from students-from elementary to high school addressing the “ups and downs” of military transitions frequently experienced by children of active duty parents. It is recommended that parents explore videos by other students with your child first to provide feedback if your child has questions.
Discounted or free summer Camps: https://www.military.com/paycheck-chronicles/2015/01/26/summer-camps-military-kids
Operation Purple Camp : https://www.militaryfamily.org/programs/operation-purple/operation-purple-camp/
A true summer camp experience, Operation Purple Camp offers military kids a free week of camp where they connect with other kids, just like them. Children from all uniformed services, including National Guard, Reserve, Space Force, and the Commissioned Corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and United States Public Health Service may apply. Apply through April 2020 for Summer 2020.
Military Discount Guide: https://www.military.com/discounts
Apps for Military Families
FOCUS on the Go! https://nfrc.ucla.edu/focus-on-the-go
App that brings the FOCUS military family resilience skills to families in a portable format (free on both iOS and Android platforms)
Parenting2GO https://mobile.va.gov/app/parenting2go
App resulting from a collaborative effort between the DoD and VA that provides tools and information to help parents build close relationships with their children and re-connect with them after a deployment (free on iOS platform)
The Big Moving Adventure https://sesamestreetformilitaryfamilies.org/mobile-apps/
App that is geared toward helping young children (ages 2-5) manage the stress of moving to a new home. The app also contains a section for parents with additional tips and suggestions to help families as they relocate (free on both iOS and Android platforms)
Books for Military Families
Elementary School Reading List
A Paper Hug (2006, Self-published) by Stephanie Skolmoski. Ages 3-8.
Have you ever said good-bye to someone very dear? Here’s a story about a little boy who figured out the best gift to give his dad, who was leaving to serve his country … a paper hug.
Coming Home (2014, Feiwel & Friends) by Greg Ruth. Ages 4-7.
Every day, soldiers leave their families to protect others. We love them, we miss them, and we wait for them to come home. They are our heroes. Coming Home is a powerful story of a boy watching for his military parent to come home. This beautifully illustrated picture book uses very few words to convey its touching story.
Hero Mom (2013, Two Lions) by Melinda Hardin. Ages 5-8.
The moms are the superheroes in this book. They may not leap over tall buildings, and they may not have superhuman speed. But these moms construct buildings, fly planes, and make tanks roll. They do all kinds of things to help create a safer world. These superheroes are moms. Military moms. Hero moms.
Middle School Reading List
100 Days and 99 Nights (2008, Scholastic) by Alan Madison. Ages 9-12.
In a timely but not politically charged way, Alan Madison looks at the way a family copes with having a parent away on a 100 day, 99 night military tour of duty through the eyes of the very lovable Esmerelda (Esme) Swishback McCarthur. Esme wants to be good while her dad is away. In fact, she feels like it’s her duty to be good. But being good can be hard, especially if you have a little brother like Ike. By following Esme’s story as she awaits her father’s return, readers will see how heroism can translate to every member of a family. As Esme introduces her stuffed animal collection that is alphabetically arranged, from Alvin the aardvark to Zelda the zebra, she also relates her family’s military life and her father’s deployment.
Possum Summer (2011, Holiday House) by Jen Blom. Ages 9-12.
Possum Summer is an uplifting novel about a girl and her father whose fractious relationship is healed by the hard lessons they learn about love and letting go. 11-year-old P (short for Princess) longs for a pet, but her father insists that all animals on their Oklahoma farm earn their keep. While he’s away on combat duty, P rescues an orphaned opossum that she names Ike. When her father is injured and her world falls down around her ears, P knows she must find it in herself to betray Ike’s trust and force him to survive in the wild – no matter how much it kills her to do it.
Spanky: A Soldier’s Son (2012, Createspace Independent Publishing Platform) by Sue L. LaNeve. Ages 7-12.
Dad’s last words before being deployed to Afghanistan, “Make me proud,” send Spanky into a tail spin as he struggles to get a special girl’s attention, fend off a bully, show his skills on the outdoor ed camping trip, and live up to what he thinks Dad means. Ultimately, he must face his fears and learn the true meaning of friendship and heroism.
Military Family Books
- After the War Zone: A Practical Guide for Returning Troops and Their Families (2009, DaCapo Lifelong Books) by Laurie B. Slone and Matthew J. Friedman.
- Back from the Front: Combat Trauma, Love, and the Family (2007, Sidran Press) by Aphrodite Matsakis.
- Courage After Fire: Coping Strategies for Troops Returning from Iraq and Afghanistan and Their Families (2009, Ulysses Press) by Keith Armstrong, Suzanne Best, & Paula Domenici.
- Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness (2013, Bantam Books) by Jon Kabat-Zinn.