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By Robert Sullivan

Ward Elementary hosted a parent-child retreat on Saturday, an event that gave local families an opportunity to “breathe, relax, have fun and feel the love that their family has for them,” as organizer Scott Ertl put it.

Ertl organized the event with the assistance of sponsor Rotary Club of West Forsyth, in an effort to offer families the opportunity to take a Saturday and use it to slow down and simply be with family.

“Many families have hectic mornings, frustrating meals and/or drawn out bedtime routines that are stressful for all. There is simply not the time, or mindset, to create positive alternatives because they are feeling defensive, reactive or rushed. And when there is a calm time, it’s simply not on their mind. Parent-Child Retreats offer a time for families to talk about what’s working well and what they want to improve when they are feeling calm, creative and in partnership with each other instead of adversarial,” wrote Ertl in an email on Monday.

Ertl used the example of replacing the windshield wipers on one’s car, saying that the last time one wants to be changing the wipers was during a heavy downpour. 

“And then on a Sunday (or) Saturday afternoon, it’s escaped your memory to change those wipers, until the next rainy day,” wrote Ertl.

The event offered cooperative games for students from grades two through five to play with their parents, along with prompts to help spawn “meaningful conversations” between parent and child or ways to make morning routines more fun and less stressful.

“It’s hard to put into words, but the entire time I was there, I just kept thinking how thankful I was to have signed my son and myself up to attend. I also kept thinking to myself how great it would be to have this retreat at other schools, particularly at the school where I formerly worked and where I work currently. Even our church. The interaction, the opportunities for reflection, the hands-on activities, the movement, the modality, the a-ha moments, and the I am not alone moments, the entire three-hour session was very engaging and extremely enlightening,” said Kristal Howard, who participated in the event with son Abel.

Ward Elementary Principal Colin Tribby said that although he was unable to attend, he had heard plenty of positive feedback from families about the event, especially its ability to offer families time to positively reflect on their relationships and connect with each other.

“In this fast-paced world, it is truly a unique opportunity for adults and their children to have those moments to stop, listen and connect,” wrote Tribby in an email on Monday.

At the end of the retreat, Ertl asked students and parents to write a love letter to each other. Instead of handing the letters to each other at the school, Ertl asks them to go “someplace special” when they leave so they can share their letters with each other and talk about them.

Then, if the family ever feels out of sorts with each other, Ertl said they can ask one another if they want to go back to the special location to talk and reconnect.

“My favorite part of the retreat was the message of empowerment to communicate to our kids. Oftentimes we get wrapped up in our daily routines and forget to talk to each other,” said Josh Miller, who attended with son James.