Encouraging Self Care for Kids

July 24 is Self Care Day, and it’s really important for us as parents and teachers to help our kids understand what self-care is and how to develop those habits early on in life. It’s not about literally taking care of your physical needs (though that can be part of it!) but more about tending to your mental health and feelings.

Self Love Rainbow has a great graphic all about the basics for kids (and adults!) who might need help getting started. It’s great to talk to kids about what you do for self care (and start up some routines if you don’t already do self-care regularly!) as options that they might consider for their own self care.

It’s important that self-care activities for kids be age appropriate, of course. Journaling, for example, is a great way to process emotions, but it might not be suitable to all ages or all kids.

Incorporating physical activity into a self-care routine is a great idea at all ages, whether that’s going for a family walk through the neighborhood (which was at least a daily occurrence, if not more often, when we were all home during covid), doing yoga together or riding a bike inside or outside.

Other easy ideas are reading books or listening to audio books; doing something creative like drawing, painting or knitting; talking to a friend; playing games; or playing with or petting your pet.

Mental Health Center Kids has a list of 101 different self-care activities that are great for kids if you need more ideas. Have your kids (at home or in the classroom) make a list of activities they like to do and use that list as a reminder when things get stressful or even when they say they’re bored.

Do you have tips for encouraging self care among kids? I’d love to hear them!

[Photo: Self Love Rainbow]

Free Printable Christian Gratitude Journal As you delve into the pages of the Christian Gratitude Coloring Journal, you’ll find not only a creative outlet but also an opportunity to deepen your relationship with your faith. Rediscover the joy of slowing down, appreciating life’s little wonders, and nurturing your connection with the divine. Allow this journal to be a beacon of light that illuminates your path towards spiritual growth and genuine contentment.

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Summer Reading Printables and Tips for Parents

Holidays are a great time to pull in some themed STEM projects. Even kids who aren’t usually into science can get excited about making a reindeer fly or making a Christmas tree out of 3D shapes. Check out these fun Christmas STEM activities to try in your classroom or at home.

Speaking of making reindeer fly, there are lots of different takes on this engineering challenge. In the instructions from The Educator’s Spin on it, kids make a reindeer from recycled materials, then use a string to make it “fly.” You can also do this with a balloon, like in this version from Team Cartwright.

And that Christmas tree project? That one is from Steamsational, and it calls for making a bunch of 3D triangles you then assemble into a tree. The post includes all the tips you’ll need and a printable template for making the triangles.

Another cute idea from Steamsational is making Santa’s sleigh out of an egg carton. Give kids design challenges such as that Santa must stay in the sleigh, it should be able to move and pull weight. It’s so fun to see what kids come up with.

Science Sparks has a printable book full of Christmas-themed experiments with templates kids can cut out and use to make spinning sleighs, shadow puppets, a paper tube to test how much weight it can hold and more. These activities are really low prep beyond the printing, so they’re great when you need to fill a little time at home or at school.

If you have Legos and jingle bells you can make a simple engineering challenge by having kids build mazes that the bells can roll through. Get the details from Innovation Kids Lab. (And check out this fun book of Lego Christmas ornaments!)

Of course you can also put a Christmas spin on classic STEM activities, like making a baking soda volcano in a plastic or glass ball ornament (Little Bins for Little Hands), red and green magic milk (Fun Learning for Kids), Borax crystal ornaments (Go Science Kids) and more!

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