Increasing presence and participation through wellbeing exercises
There will be moments when you need to take care of the wellbeing - yours and your students’. Especially when you are in front of the computer…
We provide you with a list of exercises and solutions meant to support students:
- Be more present and aware of their surroundings
- Get attention to their bodies, thus also being more participative
- Tend to their wellbeing…
All of this, with your support in initiating the right exercise - be it, a breathing, a body scan, a group attention exercise, or the right initiative (a thematic team, different wellbeing challenges etc)
Exercises:
- The 5, 4, 3, 2, 1:
Invite participants to sit comfortably and focus on:
- 5 things they see
- 4 things they hear
- 3 things they feel
- 2 things they smell
- 1 thing they taste (or feel the taste of)
You only have to say them one by one, leaving students time to focus on each of the elements and count them.
2. Count to 30:
This is a group exercise that can be challenging in the beginning, but will work very well after the group gets used to the silence and to finding the right moment to talk. Students have to count to 30, by saying one number at a time, without overlapping or establishing an order. Randomly, each student says a number, starting from 1.
When 2 students overlap, the counting begins from 1 again. If you will try this exercise face to face as well, ask students to sit in a circle. You can also alternate keeping their eyes open with keeping their eyes closed.
3. Simple body scan:
Ask students to find a comfortable position. They can also close their eyes (and their cameras). Lead them in breathing in and out a few times, and then, slowly, ask them to take their awareness to different body parts. A simple version of the body scan could be more appropriate - feeling their fingers one by one, the shoulders, the toes, the parts of their face).
You can also ask them to slowly move the body part you are mentioning. They can also have some fun, while you tell them to move their mouth, nose, left or right eye and eyebrow, end even… ears.
Wellbeing teams:
You can ask students to propose teams that can handle some wellbeing related tasks - the Music Team, the Empathy Team, the Wellbeing Team, the Fun and Energy Team, the Visuals Team, the Hydration Team, the Breaks Team etc. The teams can propose different initiatives related to their main theme and can contribute to the general state of wellbeing.
You can also have a team that collects a “Joy Classroom List” - a common list with practices for wellness - activities that bring joy, peacefulness, inspiration, motivation. Invite them to collect activities:
- which are fun
- which connect them with colleagues
- which energise them
- which help them feel at peace
Invite students to search for different…
- Sounds - what music inspires them and makes them feel good?
- Videos - what videos do they watch when they feel sad?
- Images - what images bring joy? (It can be a colour, a drawing, a person they love, an animal, a landscape…)
- Memes & Gifs - which are their favourite ones? (You can also check https://giphy.com/ for preferences of your own)
Wellbeing challenges:
You can launch, from time to time, a challenge of the lesson or challenge of the day. Invite students to be active and creative and create contexts in which you remind them of the challenge. Some examples of challenges could be:
- Encourage others (and themselves)
- Compliment, say nice things to other colleagues
- Make a good deed
- Show gratefulness - what they are grateful for in that moment / day
Thematic days:
Depending on your context of teaching, you might be able to ask students to concentrate on a specific thing during a whole day, and at the end of the day reflect on the challenge. You can use a specific question to reflect, such as:
- Inclusion Day - How do I show inclusion through my actions?
- Values Day - How are the class values reflected in my actions today?
- Motivation Day - How do I motivate myself / others?
- Listening Day - How do I listen during the lessons?
- Contribution Day - How do I contribute during activities?
- Collaboration Day - How do I collaborate with colleagues?
Tailor-made messages for breaks:
Actively encourage students to drink water, eat fruits, eat lunch, exercise to energise their body after standing in front of the computer for a while.
For breaks, you can send some messages as a reminder:
“Take a short break, get up, move, dance to your favourite song, drink a glass of water!”
or
“How many movement breaks have you taken so far? Stand up and do your favourite exercise.”
Also, you can have in mind supporting students to prepare before the day / lesson, with some tailor-made messages - at least until they get used to them:
“A new day / lesson begins 🙂 We invite you to prepare a snack from the fruits and vegetables you have at home to enjoy during the day and to give you energy.
Make sure you have a glass of water or a cup of tea around. Well-being is important for the learning process!”
Reflection time:
Write down 3 exercises or initiatives you can put in practice for increasing students’ wellbeing.