Healthy Habits in the Classroom, School and School Community
The importance of encouraging your students to reap the benefits of a healthy and active lifestyle
With sedentary behaviour, unhealthy lifestyles and adverse health outcomes on the rise, it is now more important than ever to encourage children and youth to sit less and move more and to reap the benefits of a healthy and active lifestyle. Help your students achieve and maintain healthy lifestyles now and in the future by building strong healthy habits and fostering a holistic approach to health and well-being within your classroom, school and school community.
Here are some ways you can build and strengthen the healthy habits of your classroom, school and school community and increase the health and well-being of students, staff and families:
Physical Activity and Active Living:
- Incorporate lessons on physical activity and active living into your teaching outside of regularly planned physical education classes.
- Encourage your students to participate in 60 or more minutes of physical activity every day and promote active living to your students and their families.
- Add regular physical activity breaks during the school day.
- The ParticipACTION website helps people of all ages make sitting less and moving more a priority by providing national programs and the latest information in one place and is a great resource for the classroom and school environment.
Healthy Eating and Nutrition:
- Incorporate lessons on healthy eating and nutrition into your teaching.
- Use healthier food and beverage items for classroom and/or school events, fundraising and/or sponsorship activities, as incentives to reward students for good behaviour and for sale at school. The Guidelines for Food and Beverage Sales in B.C. Schools can help you identify what are healthier foods and beverages.
- Provide information on healthy eating and nutrition to your students and their families through newsletters, classroom/school events, etc.
Stress Management and Mental Health and Well-Being:
- Incorporate self-regulation and self-calming techniques, breathing exercises and mindfulness, yoga and meditation in the classroom and school environment to combat heightening stress levels.
- Introduce students, staff and families to helpful apps such as Breathr, MindShift and others from recognized mental health and well-being organizations.
- Promote mental well-being throughout the school community to promote student learning, health and success.
We know that adopting healthy habits in your classroom, school and school community might not be easy, but the good news is that even a small change can make a big difference in the overall health and well-being of your students.