Take time to play and turn everyday activities into opportunities to move!
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Play games inside or outside, join a school or community sports team, and use your imagination. Playing has physical and social-emotional health benefits for all ages. Also, whether you’re running errands or brushing your teeth, you might have more time to be physically active than you think. Try these time-saving physical activities with your busy family.
Sharing stories from our day and from memories can help us build social-emotional skills like communication and empathy. Try these conversation starters with your family!
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Having a conversation to set Family Agreements will help every member of your family feel safe, heard, and included as you get ready for a new school year.
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Check out these five healthy eating tips to involve family members in choosing, preparing, and enjoying nutritious snacks and meals.
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Got homework? Help students get the most out of what they learn in school with tips to support learning at home.
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Connect each day to share your experiences.
Create or revisit Family Agreements.
Make healthy eating part of your everyday life.
Set up supportive learning environments in your home.
Take time to create goals for the new school year.
Goals give us something to work toward, purpose to keep us motivated and – with a little luck and a lot of hard work – something to celebrate. For children and teens, learning how to set goals has many benefits, including increasing self-confidence, developing their work ethic and building perseverance. These skills will benefit them for life, both in setting and achieving goals, but also in being successful in school, in the workforce and personally.
1
Become trauma-informed.
Traumatic events can change the way a child understands the world and undermine their idea of the world as a safe place. Because of this, time is of the essence when children internalize information like this. Take time to process your own emotions and initiate an age-appropriate dialogue. For older youth, address the incident directly and show willingness to answer questions. Also, look out for signs of depression in youth. Knowing the warning signs and next steps to support your teen will ensure they receive the proper support.
2
Show more empathy.
Building empathy is critical for young people’s social-emotional development. It helps them consider things from another person’s point of view. Kids and teens pick up on role models' behavior, from how they treat a restaurant server to ways they support a friend in crisis. Use moments of conflict with siblings or friends to discuss others’ perspectives and help your child begin to practice active listening and empathy.
3
Be encouraging and offer opportunities to take on responsibilities.
A positive word and a consistent presence go a long way, especially for young people. As your child or student takes on opportunities and makes active decisions toward achieving their goals, let them know you see them taking action and you are excited for them. Use this opportunity to give more age-appropriate opportunities to pitch in with chores and duties. Encouragement and contributing is linked to positively impacting mental health and can help quiet those self-doubts that can prevent someone from trying new things or sharing thoughts and ideas.
4
Locate a Club near you.
Kids spend 80% of their time out of school. Everyday 11.3 million kids and teens leave school with no place to go, putting them at risk for being unsupervised, unguided and unsafe. Research shows that out-of-school time programs work. Afterschool programs like Boys & Girls Clubs are proven to provide the academic support and enrichment needed to combat learning loss and academic disruption. Locate the nearest Club and inquire about after school services.
5
Prepare for Mixed Feelings from Students.
It’s important to be responsive to the individual needs of students. While many are excited to return to the classroom. Some students experienced difficult home situations during the lockdowns the last few years and may continue to be wrestling with the repercussions of that instability. Some are anxious about having fallen behind their peers during virtual learning. Some are afraid that schools will be shut down again and they will have to return to the virtual environment as new variants of the virus continue to emerge. And many are continuing to grieve, in one way or another, the many losses endured over the last year.
1
Normalize the conversation.
Acknowledging and accepting your emotions can be extremely helpful in coping with difficult feelings. Talking with others about what you’re feeling can help too. Make an intentional effort to ask how those around you are doing — whether those are your friends, your students, your colleagues or your family members. And, in return, be honest about how you are doing. By normalizing these conversations and modeling vulnerability, you can reduce stigma and help others feel more comfortable sharing.
2
Learn the Warning Signs of Something More Serious.
It’s likely most students will experience some anxiety and sadness, but not all will develop a serious mental health issue. Look out for students who are increasingly more socially withdrawn, missing multiple days of school, falling behind academically. expressing interest in harming themselves and connecting them with the school counselor, or other mental health support, immediately.
3
Prioritize Your Mental Health.
Make sure you are taking care of yourself so you can take care of them by eating and sleeping well, getting in regular exercise in whatever way works for you and practicing relaxation methods like deep breathing and meditation.
4
Keep helpful resources on hand.
Check out NAMI’s Educator Back to School Wellness Guide for more helpful tips. Also, consider the following resources:
Many mental health practitioners are continuing teletherapy options or even offering in-office appointments.
•
Talk to your local school administrators to see if they are adding any social and emotional learning curriculum related to altered school conditions.
•
The NAMI HelpLine team can be reached Monday through Friday 9am – 5pm CT at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264). In the event of a mental health crisis, text NAMI to 741741 or call/text 988.
•
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Next
Previous
Goals give us something to work toward, purpose to keep us motivated and – with a little luck and a lot of hard work – something to celebrate. For children and teens, learning how to set goals has many benefits, including increasing self-confidence, developing their work ethic and building perseverance. These skills will benefit them for life, both in setting and achieving goals, but also in being successful in school, in the workforce and personally.
1
Traumatic events can change the way a child understands the world and undermine their idea of the world as a safe place. Because of this, time is of the essence when children internalize information like this. Take time to process your own emotions and initiate an age-appropriate dialogue. For older youth, address the incident directly and show willingness to answer questions. Also, look out for signs of depression in youth. Knowing the warning signs and next steps to support your teen will ensure they receive the proper support.
2
Building empathy is critical for young people’s social-emotional development. It helps them consider things from another person’s point of view. Kids and teens pick up on role models' behavior, from how they treat a restaurant server to ways they support a friend in crisis. Use moments of conflict with siblings or friends to discuss others’ perspectives and help your child begin to practice active listening and empathy.
3
A positive word and a consistent presence go a long way, especially for young people. As your child or student takes on opportunities and makes active decisions toward achieving their goals, let them know you see them taking action and you are excited for them. Use this opportunity to give more age-appropriate opportunities to pitch in with chores and duties. Encouragement and contributing is linked to positively impacting mental health and can help quiet those self-doubts that can prevent someone from trying new things or sharing thoughts and ideas.
4
Kids spend 80% of their time out of school. Everyday 11.3 million kids and teens leave school with no place to go, putting them at risk for being unsupervised, unguided and unsafe. Research shows that out-of-school time programs work. Afterschool programs like Boys & Girls Clubs are proven to provide the academic support and enrichment needed to combat learning loss and academic disruption. Locate the nearest Club and inquire about after school services.
5
Take time to create goals for the new school year.
Become trauma-informed.
Show more empathy.
Be encouraging and offer opportunities to take on responsibilities.
Locate a Club near you.
Next
Previous
It’s important to be responsive to the individual needs of students. While many are excited to return to the classroom. Some students experienced difficult home situations during the lockdowns the last few years and may continue to be wrestling with the repercussions of that instability. Some are anxious about having fallen behind their peers during virtual learning. Some are afraid that schools will be shut down again and they will have to return to the virtual environment as new variants of the virus continue to emerge. And many are continuing to grieve, in one way or another, the many losses endured over the last year.
1
Acknowledging and accepting your emotions can be extremely helpful in coping with difficult feelings. Talking with others about what you’re feeling can help too. Make an intentional effort to ask how those around you are doing — whether those are your friends, your students, your colleagues or your family members. And, in return, be honest about how you are doing. By normalizing these conversations and modeling vulnerability, you can reduce stigma and help others feel more comfortable sharing.
2
It’s likely most students will experience some anxiety and sadness, but not all will develop a serious mental health issue. Look out for students who are increasingly more socially withdrawn, missing multiple days of school, falling behind academically. expressing interest in harming themselves and connecting them with the school counselor, or other mental health support, immediately.
3
Make sure you are taking care of yourself so you can take care of them by eating and sleeping well, getting in regular exercise in whatever way works for you and practicing relaxation methods like deep breathing and meditation.
4
Check out NAMI’s Educator Back to School Wellness Guide for more helpful tips. Also, consider the following resources:
5
Many mental health practitioners are continuing teletherapy options or even offering in-office appointments.
•
Talk to your local school administrators to see if they are adding any social and emotional learning curriculum related to altered school conditions.
•
The NAMI HelpLine team can be reached Monday through Friday 9am – 5pm CT at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264). In the event of a mental health crisis, text NAMI to 741741 or call/text 988.
•
Prepare for Mixed Feelings from Students.
Normalize the conversation.
Learn the Warning Signs of Something More Serious.
Prioritize Your Mental Health.
Keep helpful resources on hand.