I began using a “Mindful Minute” one day a week in my health classroom to give students a chance to “arrive” and provide them with another tool to use for their mental emotional health. As an introduction to mindfulness, I asked the students if they had ever used mindfulness and then shared this video Mindful …
May is Mental HEALTH Awareness month and a great time to reflect on our work as HEALTH educators. When New York State passed legislation mandating the inclusion of mental health in our programs, my first thought was, “No worries, I already do this.” And it’s true. I help kids understand the similarities between the symptoms …
Continue reading Putting HEALTH Into Our Mental Health Lessons
Since the pandemic we have seen an alarming increase in children experiencing anxiety and stress along with a decrease in positive social-emotional response. During the pandemic children were taught virtually with little to no in- person social interactions with children their own age. This has led to a rise in children struggling to self-regulate and …
Continue reading Students in Action: Mental Health Awareness & Practicing Mindfulness
Whether I'm teaching health, or physical education, one thing is certain...my students want to learn more about mental health. The pandemic has tested their mental and emotional skills in the same way that it has for us as educators, and it's important that we address this situation. This blog post considers the role that schools …
Families can support kids' mental health whether they're learning remotely or at school – here's how Kids learn who they are and how to cope within their families. Thomas Barwick/Stone via Getty Images Erika Bocknek, Wayne State University The choice between in-person learning, where available, and remote learning is a fraught one for parents. Children …
“Where our attention goes, our energy flows.” This statement comes from my favorite yoga teacher. I love it for this blog post because we want our teaching energy to go into the good stuff, but our attention often goes to the not-so-good stuff. If we change our attention, our energy will change, too. So, be …
Irrespective of the health model that you use in class, you can't escape the fact that mental health is intertwined with all other aspects of health. Historically teachers might have taught 'about' the topic of mental health, but we know students learn best when we take a more holistic approach, seeing the connections between health …
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