Well-being Everyday: My Go-To Activities
As a teacher, I understand how challenging it can be to find ways to integrate learning experiences that involve topics outside of the core curriculum objectives. That being said, well-being is a topic that our students cannot afford to miss out on, which is why I am passionate about finding innovative and engaging ways to blend well-being practices into my daily classroom routine.
My Wellness Routine
Carving out additional time in the day for student wellness is almost impossible, am I right? However, we all know its importance for supporting the growth of the whole child. This year I have decided to intentionally integrate wellness routines throughout the day and embed them directly inside each learning block.
To begin, here are three ways I integrate well-being into my daily routine for both myself and my students:
I always start the day with gratitude journaling. Before I begin teaching, my students and I take 5-10 minutes to reflect on a few things we are grateful for that day. Alternatively, feel free to use this as a Minds On (beginning of the lesson) activity. Prompting students to think about what they are grateful for at school, in their community, or within their family is a great way to integrate social-emotional learning themes into any subject.
After each recess break, we take a moment to engage in a mindful brain break. This looks different every day. Sometimes we practise mindful listening, sometimes we practise mindful breathing, and sometimes we meditate. I have a list of mindful activities that I choose from each day based on what I think my students need at that moment in time. You can find some of my favourite mindful activities in the My Go-To Activities Guide below!
When I have back-to-back learning blocks (e.g., Math followed immediately by Language Arts), my students and I take 5-minutes for Daily Physical Activity (DPA)! I make sure we move our bodies in-between learning blocks to increase our endorphins and relieve some stress! Many of my favourite physical brain break activities can be found in Edwin and in the My Go-To Activities Guide below.
Lastly, whether you are teaching Science, Math, Social Studies, or Visual Arts this year, there are always strategies for integrating well-being and social-emotional learning themes into your lessons. For example, in Science when learning about Human Systems, making connections to how the human body responds to stress, or how physical activity can help reduce stress, are easy ways to integrate discussions on physical and mental wellbeing. For more resources to support the integration of wellbeing and social-emotional learning topics into core subject areas, please see the Teacher Wellness Suitcase.
Building Autonomy
Although I have become comfortable with my routine, I always like to ensure that I am structuring my learning environment in a way that provides my students with enough autonomy to stay motivated to practise taking care of their well-being.
As the school year goes on, I look for new opportunities for my students to take charge of understanding which well-being practices work for them. I usually start by giving them the opportunity to choose which of the mindful activities they engage in after each recess. Additionally, you might try carving out intentional, larger blocks of time each week where you invite students to journal, reflect, or engage in activities to form more meaningful connections with one another.
Invite your students to explore the My Wellness Retreat Edwin Collection.
My Go to Activities
Lastly, I want to share that all of the activities listed below can be modified to embrace participation from other classes, and even the whole school. I encourage you to take a look at some of the activities below with your colleagues and brainstorm how you might be able to integrate whole-school well-being exercises daily. You may choose to begin with whole-school gratitude journaling; something that can collectively take place after morning announcements each day.
Gratitude Scavenger Hunt
Invite your students to create a digital or hardcopy gratitude journal. Each morning before beginning the school day, invite students to scavenge through their thoughts and write down two things they are grateful for. For writing prompts click here.
Mindful Listening Minute
Sometimes we just need to take a moment throughout the day to relax our mind and body. Mindful listening is a great place to start. To practise mindful listening with your students, follow the instructions in this short slideshow.
Choose Your Own Brain Break
Inspired by many of the Edwin Whole Me Collections, I like to ask one student each day to choose a 2- to 5-minute brain break that requires some sort of physical activity that we can all take part in. Invite students to search inside of Edwin when it’s their turn to choose! This video contains many ideas to choose from: Cardiovascular Fitness Workout
Star Breathing
Practising a mindful breathing technique is a great whole-class activity that you can do at any time of the day - not just when you are feeling stressed! Star breathing is one of my favourites, and you can find instructions in the video below! Stress Toolbox
Connection Reflection
It is important for us to form meaningful connections with our students, and for our students to form meaningful connections with one another, in order to foster a sense of belonging in our learning environment. At the beginning of the year, collectively brainstorm a list of things you can do to develop deeper connections with one another. Each individual should commit to trying one of the ideas from your list each day - even if it’s just saying “hello” in the morning! Pull inspiration from this Edwin Collection on Belonging (teacher only), specifically the resource titled Relationship Deposits.
Try it!
Integrating well-being into your teaching practice is not a race with a finish line, it’s a journey that you can travel at your own pace. Now you are ready to begin! The Edwin Team thanks you for committing to improving both your well-being and the well-being of your students, and we are excited to support you throughout your journey.
Explore more:
Are you looking to give your students more choice for integrating well-being into their own daily practice? Invite your students to explore the My Wellness Retreat Edwin Collection.