It’s Mental Health Awareness Month!
In today’s fast-paced educational environment, mental health is no longer just a personal issue, it’s a professional priority.
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Tomorrow is SEL DAY! Are you passionate about Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)? Do you recognize the immense value of the skills our youth acquire when they make thoughtful decisions, manage their emotions, collaborate in diverse groups, and foster healthy relationships? If so, we invite you to show your support by participating in SEL Day!
Learn from our partners how they are celebrating and honoring their students below.
1) Thank you, Vennesa from Garrett County Health Department in Maryland! Read how Venessa and her team have been using kid-grit play-based & SEL activities for 3+ years!
Helping youth build resilience is one of our goals at Partners After School in Garrett County, Maryland. Because kid-grit activities prove to youth that they have the power to expand their own social-emotional growth, we use it in our program to introduce and practice skills with them.
Participants recently learned about conscious, or mindful, breathing during the Inhale-Exhale lesson. We began by writing or drawing how we felt at the exact moment. We then learned a little about how deep breathing affects our bodies, tried four different breathing techniques, and finally documented how we felt afterward.
After the lesson, I asked them how they felt about the breathing exercises we had just tried. In their own words, they expressed how conscious breathing can impact some real-world challenges many of us face: Loneliness and frustration with technology!
Cheyenne: Breathing will help calm you down when you’re frustrated or mad. The reason I like it is that I was mad a little bit ago because my watch stopped working, and then breathing made me feel calmer so I could try to fix it.
Kain: Before we started breathing I felt depressed, and after I felt happy. When I first started [the breathing practice], I felt alone and sad. Then after, I realized I was never alone, and I became happy!
Venessa M. Stacy, Coordinator of Special Programs III, Health Education and Outreach
2) Check out our partners at Lincoln Lighthouse in Nebraska doing the gratitude project from our kid-grit Foundational SEL Curriculum. These young scholars interviewed the staff and other youth at the Center about how they practice gratitude. Then, they created a recap report to share with the organization. WOW!
Intense studying is happening here!
3) And, last but definitely not least, a few incredible stories from the youth of the LA After School All Stars, our first and longest partner since we launched kid-grit in 2018!
These young ladies did an exercise called “If I erupt, I can…” and described their feelings and activities. A wonderful self-expression activity.
In this activity, the upper elementary students are asked to open an envelope and share all the things they love about themselves that are inside the envelope.
Here, lower elementary draw out what they love about themselves.
What do you love about yourself?
Now it’s you turn to participate! Here’s how…
1. Social Media: Share your insights, experiences, and success stories related to SEL on your favorite social media platforms. Use the hashtag #SELDay to connect with others who share your enthusiasm.
2. Toolkit: Explore the comprehensive SEL Toolkit, packed with resources, activities, and ideas. It’s a treasure trove for educators, parents, and anyone invested in nurturing these essential life skills.
Let’s celebrate the power of SEL together!
In today’s fast-paced educational environment, mental health is no longer just a personal issue, it’s a professional priority.
At kid-grit, we are huge fans of CASEL (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning).
Here at kid-grit, we had a wonderfully crazy month in October! Check out this blog post to hear more about what we were up to.