Monthly Well-Being Activities for
Grades 4-8
Monthly Overview Of Activities �Grades 4-8
These activities are from School Mental Health Ontario (SMHO); Facing History & Ourselves & TDSB.
MAY
“My Mental Health & Well Being”
Children’s Mental Health Week
Include Stress Management, Mindfulness and Coping Skills Activities daily and often throughout the school year.
Mix/match, add and re-use activities to establish consistency of mental health and socio-emotional capacity building.
Mental Health Tool Kits
**Gr. 4-8
**(+) additional resources
MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY | FRIDAY |
| | | | |
Guided Imagery (distraction & (+) &
Visualization & (+))
Seeking Support
& Thought Changing & (+)
December: Health Relationships & Creating Community
DECEMBER/JANUARY Healthy Relationships & Creating Community | | | | |
To acknowledge and welcome students and show them that they are valued, to celebrate diversity and uniqueness, and to model the importance of taking time for relationship building at school To help students be aware of their own needs and preferences, to self-advocate, and to build their help-seeking behaviours To help students to feel special and that they matter and belong within the classroom | Inspirational Outdoor Graffiti To welcome others to the school and to allow students to share ideas To help students develop goal-setting skills and understand that goals have lots of smaller steps Creating Collaborative Classroom Norms To establish norms as a group and to identify what matters to students as a group/classroom | To help build rapport and a relationship between educator and student, and to let the student see they are genuinely cared about as a person To help students practice acts of kindness To encourage kindness and respect in the classroom Develop students’ self-efficacy and decision-making by supporting students to set personal and academic goals. | To help students identify ways that they can become a better friend Reflecting on COVID learning experiences Three Good Things Help students practice gratitude, an important component of well-being, by naming and recording three good things happening that day. | To provide students with ways to find win/win solutions when conflicts arise Class/Team Goal-Setting for Mental Wellness To invite students to extend their network of friends by including students with whom they do not usually interact To help students become more understanding and compassionate towards others |
VIP- NEW STUDENT (S) A WEEK
END OF DAY ACTIVITIES
January: Health Relationships & Creating Community
JANUARY Healthy Relationships & Creating Community | | | | |
To acknowledge and welcome students and show them that they are valued, to celebrate diversity and uniqueness, and to model the importance of taking time for relationship building at school To help students be aware of their own needs and preferences, to self-advocate, and to build their help-seeking behaviours To help students to feel special and that they matter and belong within the classroom | Inspirational Outdoor/Indoor Graffiti To welcome others to the school and to allow students to share ideas of welcoming (on large papers/cement with chalk-weather specific) To help students develop goal-setting skills and understand that goals have lots of smaller steps Creating Collaborative Classroom Norms To establish norms as a group and to identify what matters to students as a group/classroom | To help build rapport and a relationship between educator and student, and to let the student see they are genuinely cared about as a person To help students practice acts of kindness To encourage kindness and respect in the classroom | To help students identify ways that they can become a better friend To help improve group cohesion in the classroom To invite students to extend their network of friends by including students with whom they do not usually interact | To provide students with ways to find win/win solutions when conflicts arise To help students become more understanding and compassionate towards others Exit Cards Provide an opportunity for students to share how they are feeling, reflect on their performance in class, communicate their needs, and set academic and personal goals. |
VIP- NEW STUDENT (S) A WEEK
END OF DAY ACTIVITIES
February: Gratitude, Positive Motivation & Perseverance
FEBRUARY Gratitude, Positive Motivation & Perseverance | | | | |
To acknowledge and welcome students and show them that they are valued, to celebrate diversity and uniqueness, and to model the importance of taking time for relationship building at school To help students be aware of their own needs and preferences, to self-advocate, and to build their help-seeking behaviours To help students to feel special and that they matter and belong within the classroom | To help improve students intentionally notice the positive elements in their day and to shift the balance towards optimism To help students intentionally notice the positive elements in their day and shift the balance towards optimism Begin Book of Gratitude To help students intentionally notice the positive elements in their day and shift the balance towards optimism To help students consider things from another’s perspective, to inspire flexible thinking and reframing | To help build rapport and a relationship between educator and student, and to let the student see they are genuinely cared about as a person To teach students the concept of perseverance, to keep going and never give up, even when things are hard To help students intentionally notice the positive elements in their day and shift the balance towards optimism | To provide a fun way for students to send each other positive affirmations and to encourage an optimistic outlook amongst others To support the development of kind interactions To provide visual reminders of key growth mindset concepts to support student learning and motivation in the classroom | To help students intentionally notice the positive elements in their day and shift the balance towards optimism To help students think positively in the face of stress or challenges by using affirmations to promote confidence, a growth mindset, self-regulation and resiliency To help students adopt a growth mindset when faced with challenges |
VIP- NEW STUDENT(S) A WEEK
END OF DAY ACTIVITIES
March: Self-Awareness/Knowing Oneself�
MARCH Self-Awareness/Knowing Oneself | | | | |
To acknowledge and welcome students and show them that they are valued, to celebrate diversity and uniqueness, and to model the importance of taking time for relationship building at school To help students be aware of their own needs and preferences, to self-advocate, and to build their help-seeking behaviours To help students to feel special and that they matter and belong within the classroom | To help build rapport and a relationship between educator and student, and to let the student see they are genuinely cared about as a person To help students learn about themselves and that they matter by describing their positive traits with help from their peers To celebrate and acknowledge things going on in each of our lives | Guess Who? (Classroom or Whole School) To introduce the class to one another or to the rest of the school community To help students build empathy and compassion by noticing good qualities in others and reinforcing that kindness so that their peers feel valued To promote team building, to learn about one another’s strengths and to enhance communication skills | To help students identify important aspects of themselves, to practice sharing pieces of their identity with classmates and to understand the value of uniqueness and diversity To teach students to actively listen to each other, which helps them feel valued and understood To help students learn about themselves and that they matter by describing their positive traits with help from their peers | To provide students with an opportunity to express and explain a personal choice and perspective, to hear and learn about others’ views To teach students to actively listen to each other, which helps them feel valued and understood To help students identify important aspects of themselves, to practice sharing pieces of their identity with classmates and to understand the value of uniqueness and diversity |
VIP- NEW STUDENT (S) A WEEK
END OF DAY ACTIVITIES
April: Managing Emotions�
| | | | |
To acknowledge and welcome students and show them that they are valued, to celebrate diversity and uniqueness, and to model the importance of taking time for relationship building at school To help students to feel special and that they matter and belong within the classroom 30 Day Self-Care Challenge (example) | To help build rapport and a relationship between educator and student, and to let the student see they are genuinely cared about as a person To teach students to take their emotional temperature, so they learn to recognize and regulate their emotions To help students develop goal-setting skills and understand that goals have lots of smaller steps | To help students recognize and discuss their feelings To help students identify what certain emotions look like based on facial expressions To help students learn techniques to notice their energy and emotion levels, and to regulate and refocus To illustrate how we need to nurture positive feelings | To help students practice expressing emotions with their whole body and recognize body language and facial expressions in others To help students intentionally notice the positive elements in their day and shift the balance towards optimism What is Anxiety | To help students intentionally notice the positive elements in their day and shift the balance towards optimism To help students recognize their feelings and become aware of their resulting emotions To help students develop goal-setting skills and understand that goals have lots of smaller steps |
VIP- NEW STUDENT (S) A WEEK
END OF DAY ACTIVITIES
MAY: “My Mental Health & Well Being” �
MAY “My Mental Health & Well Being Activities” | | | | |
To acknowledge and welcome students and show them that they are valued, to celebrate diversity and uniqueness, and to model the importance of taking time for relationship building at school To help students be aware of their own needs and preferences, to self-advocate, and to build their help-seeking behaviours To help students to feel special and that they matter and belong within the classroom | To help build rapport and a relationship between educator and student, and to let the student see they are genuinely cared about as a person To help students plan for effective and balanced use of their time To help students learn to be aware of their actions by monitoring their reactions To help students dedicate time to build their skills to organize their thoughts and to promote calmness | CMHA: Resilient Children: Up on Their Feet Activity p. 6 Develop a report card designed to encourage the child to reflect on their own strengths and areas for development, both personal and academic. CMHA: Promoting Diversity & Inclusion Activity p. 8 Booklet with activities that support culturally relevant activities on identities, engagement, diversity and inclusion. To help students become better problem solvers and become better judges of what and how they learn | CMHA: All Bodies are Good Bodies p. 10 Supporting mental health activities to create wellness school climates. CAMH: Come Back Here and Now-Calming Come back to the here and now: Here’s one simple technique to help your students to come out of their worries, and back into their body sensations. It can help them calm themselves. To help develop problem-solving skills | Poster Contest “What Mental Wellness Means to Me?”. To help students develop practices to improve their working memory and their ability to keep key knowledge in their mind To help students become better problem solvers and become better judges of what and how they learn |
VIP- NEW STUDENT (S) A WEEK
END OF DAY ACTIVITIES
June: Critical Thinking & Preparing for Summer�
JUNE Critical Thinking & Preparing for Summer | | | | |
To acknowledge and welcome students and show them that they are valued, to celebrate diversity and uniqueness, and to model the importance of taking time for relationship building at school To help students be aware of their own needs and preferences, to self-advocate, and to build their help-seeking behaviours To help students to feel special and that they matter and belong within the classroom | To help build rapport and a relationship between educator and student, and to let the student see they are genuinely cared about as a person To help students intentionally notice the positive elements in their day and shift the balance towards optimism To reinforce that thoughts, feelings, and actions are interrelated and that breaking the negative thinking cycle can help students feel happier and healthier Summer Planning | To help students develop better problem-solving skills Keeping Track of Things To help students develop the skills to be better organized and to keep track of information and materials To help students dedicate time to build their skills to organize their thoughts and to promote calmness Organizing Pause To help students develop the skills to better organize their surroundings, enhance their confidence and develop a sense of mastery over their environment | To help students become better problem solvers and become better judges of what and how they learn To help students recognize their feelings and become aware of their resulting emotions To reinforce that thoughts, feelings, and actions are interrelated and that breaking the negative thinking cycle can help students feel happier and healthier Summer Planning |
VIP- NEW STUDENT (S) A WEEK
END OF DAY ACTIVITIES
I can help calm my body!
I can take deep breaths!
From www.pbs.org
I Can Move My Body!
Click on the link to check out Jen’s amazing collection of NETFLIX themed Go Noodle Body Brain Break Videos
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