A year after it's release, The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt has struck a chord world-wide! Parents, teachers and community members are mobilizing to make changes that will improve the wellbeing and mental health of our teens and, arguably, all humankind! Now, Haidt has put together a 45 minute video in which he shares with us the research that underpins his book alongside inspiration and concrete plans, so that school leaders, parents, and all of us can facilitate change in our families, schools, and communities.

Click HERE to watch the video.

See below for more from The Balance Project.

We believe in the power and potential of technology AND we know that when it is overused, it brings a whole new host of challenges into our lives. And much like anything in life, when overdone, the negative impacts begin to outweigh the positives and need to be brought back into harmony.

At The Balance Project, we have an approach that’s rooted in behavioral science, a clear process for bringing stakeholders on the journey and a suite of tools and activations that can help implement a sustainable behavior change (with more on the way!).

Feel free to click around and learn more about us — and feel free to reach out if you’d like to learn more about starting a Balance Project chapter in your community.

With CMAS testing for 3rd-6th grade coming up fast, here are few reminders to help your student feel ready and do their best!

1. Get a good night's rest: This includes limiting screen time and staying off screens altogether at least 1 hour before bedtime.

2. Eat a healthy breakfast

3. Stretching and Relaxation: Students get opportunities for stretch breaks during the test but you can also help them at home by identifying favorite stretches or ways to relax/cope if they start to feel stressed - or bored - during testing.

4. Positive Self-talk: Talk to your child about their "inner coach" and come up with positive words or phrases that could become a mantra during test taking. They can also keep this written on a sticky note at their desk during testing. Just clear it with the teacher first.

Responsibility as doing what you're supposed to do, when you're supposed to do it and our Kindergarten and 1st Grade students looked at various things they are responsible for at school and home. They came up with such jobs as packing their backpacks, cleaning up their desk, picking up after themselves, brushing their teeth, taking care of their library books, and so much more. We also discussed that when we each take responsibility for our own choices we can do so much more as a class, group or family than we can alone. At the end of the lesson each classroom made their own "Rainbow of Responsibility" by following directions and completing their individual tasks.

During this interactive lesson students heard several different scenarios and had to determine if the person in each situation was taking responsibility for their actions or not. We also watched some of the videos from Mr. Brown on Responsibility.

Our discussion about responsibility was specific to time management in this 4th grade lesson. Students learned what it means that time can "fly" or "drag" depending on what we are doing. We looked at the difference between our "sense of time" and "measured time" and why it's important to be able to measure, or keep track of time rather than relying on estimation only. Students were able to identify a number of strategies for managing their own time wisely including using clocks, schedules, planners, alarms as well as prioritizing activities and doing those time "dragging" activities first.

Our 5th and 6th grade classes each had an opportunity to clean out their backpacks during my lesson on Organization and Time Management. This is one of the most fun lessons of the year because I get to see kids make some amazing discoveries in real time. Not only were many missing items found (ear buds, shoes 2 sizes to small, countless pencils, food and homework 2 YEARS late - yup!) but students were also able to make the connection between keeping their backpacks cleaned out and the time they will save finding what they need when they need it. Most agreed that cleaning out their backpacks once or twice a year at minimum, is a good idea. Wondering what might have been lurking in your child's backpack? Check out the photos below.

This year all of our students are learning more about strategies for strong emotions. We began this work last year, but I decided to extend this unit across 2 rotations. During the month of March, we worked on understanding what happens in the brain when we feel strong emotions, both positive and negative. We then learned about what happens in our bodies when we have strong feelings. Students were taught that when we notice how we feel in our bodies, we can increase self-awareness and have better control over our emotions. This leads to making better choices. All students participated in an activity called “Mapping Our Feels”. This involved imagining ourselves in a “stressful” situation and an “exciting” situation. Students then mapped out where they felt sensations in their body, and were asked to describe the sensation using drawings, words, and/or color. As always, this activity was differentiated across all grade levels for age appropriateness.

• My actions

• My words

• My learning

• My body

Students practiced naming what was in/out of their control with games and discussions.

Lastly, students learned a new Feelings Game where they tossed a ball and had to act out big/small feelings with their faces and bodies.

• Who my friends are

• My attitude

• How I react

• How I treat others

These students also learned Feelings UNO. This is a fun way to talk about strategies and feelings in a familiar format. The students had a lot of fun with this!

All students learned that things we can control is where we should focus our attention. The things we cannot control can be “let go” or we can at least work on letting them go.

Debbie Edwards, School Counselor dedwards2@dcsdk12.org

Stephanie Star, Wellness Teacher sstar@dcsdk12.org