Mental health activities for students
In today’s fast-paced environment, students regularly experience stress and anxiety. Schools and classrooms can be an ideal place to raise awareness of mental health and to educate students on the subject. Teachers can be valuable in educating students on the importance of self-care, work-life balance and building healthy relationships. Here are a few mental health activities that you can practice with students.
1. Gratitude Jar
Practicing gratitude helps students to remain positive. Ask you students to write something that they are grateful for on a piece of paper and to add it to the gratitude jar. You can do this once a week or throughout the week. Practicing gratitude is shown to help people to build stronger relationships, improve their health and to deal with change.
2. Mindful colouring and drawing
Mindful colouring is a great activity for any age! Mindful colouring will help students to be present in the now and to let go of negative thoughts. It improves concentration and reduces anxiety and stress. This is the perfect activity for your students at the end of the day, because it will help them to relax and reset their minds.
3. Exercise
Incorporate exercise and movement into your lessons. Exercise can help to improve mood and reduce anxiety. You can even link physical games to ESL lessons. Try games like teaching verbs through motion, where students should act out verbs like ‘jump’, ‘throw’ or ‘dance’. Students will enjoy moving and grooving while learning at the same time!
4. Make a stress ball
Students can get crafty by making their own stress balls. This activity can even be budget friendly, because you’ll only need flour, balloons and decorations. Fill the balloon with flour by using a funnel and tie the balloon. Students can use colourful markers to add symbols or faces to their stress balls. Afterwards, students can use their own stress balls to relieve themselves of tension and stress.
5. The gift of giving
Organise a cake sale that students can participate in and donate the contributions to a charity or plan a day that students can bring cans of food and clothes for those less fortunate. Giving without expecting anything in return will give your students that warm, fuzzy feeling. Giving to others has the added benefit of reducing stress and improving emotional wellbeing.
6. Positive mantra bracelet
Making positive mantra bracelets will help students to forget about their worries and learn about positive thinking in a fun way. Have a discussion with students about their worries and create mantras to address their worries, for example ‘I am safe’, ‘I am loved’ and ‘My best is good enough’. Link each mantra to a specific bead and let the students string the beads onto a bracelet. They can wear this bracelet as a daily reminder to think positive thoughts.
Regardless of the activities that you choose to do with your students, remember to always create a safe and loving space in the classroom. Encourage positive thinking, reflection and transparent discussions with your students. As educators and teachers, we have the opportunity to engage with students and make them aware of mental health.