 National Honesty Day is observed on April 30 as a day to encourage truthfulness. This day of observance was created by M. Hirsh Goldberg, the author of The Book of Lies. Learn more about National Honesty Day. Honesty promotes openness, empowers us, and enables us to be real with ourselves and others about who we are, what we want, and what you need to live your best life. There are many benefits to honesty like better health, promotes authenticity, fosters courage, shows you care, an example of love, shows maturity and self-acceptance. Remember honesty attracts honesty! 10 Benefits of Being Honest Honesty – How it Benefits You and Others The Importance of Self-Honesty There are 3 Golden Rules for Honest Communication: 1. Be open and honest. 2. Give up your need to be right. 3. Listen with your heart (and with your ears). #SELChat: Honestly Teaching Honesty offers 5 ideas for helping students embrace that honesty is the best policy: 1. Model it by speaking truthfully. 2. Build respectful relationships with students. 3. Provide direct instruction and expectations. 4. Assign meaningful work in the classroom. 5. Give children opportunities to make it right.
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 Earth Day is celebrated annually on April 22, and is known as a modern environmental movement since 1970. By the end of the first Earth Day in 1970, the United States Environmental Protection Agency was created and environmental laws such as – the National Environmental Education Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, and the Clean Air Act – were passed. Today, Earth Day is observed by more than a billion people globally as a day of action to change global, national, and local policy along with human behavior. History of Earth Day Earth Day Live Environmental Justice is defined as the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people despite their race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies. Learn About Environmental Justice Yale Experts Explain Environmental Justice In North Birmingham, the Environmental Protection Agency created the North Birmingham Environmental Collaboration Project to address environmental conditions in low-income and minority communities like air, waste, and water issues. Environmental Justice in Your Community There are hundreds of ways to be Eco-Friendly! Try to incorporate some of these ideas into your daily routine to create a waste-free future and reduce your environmental impact.
    Stress is your body’s feelings of emotional or physical tension as your body reacts to a challenge or demand. The body reacts to stress by releasing hormones that makes your brain more alert, causes muscles to tense, and increases your pulse. The two main types of stress include acute stress or short-term stress that goes away quickly, and chronic stress or long-term stress that lasts for weeks to months. When used positively, stress can lead to growth, action, and change; while negative, long-term stress can lessen your quality of life. When you’re experiencing stress, you may feel – worried, angry, irritable, depressed, or inability to focus. Physical signs of stress include – headaches, trouble sleeping, upset stomach, weight gain or loss, tense muscles, and frequent or more severe colds. Excess chronic stress is linked to high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, depression or anxiety, skin problems like acne or eczema, and menstrual problems. Benefits of managing or reducing stress includes – better sleep, control of your weight, becoming sick less often or recovering faster, less muscle tension, better moods, and stronger relationships with family and friends. To prevent or reduce stress try planning ahead, deciding what tasks need to be accomplished first, and preparing for stressful events. One can manage stress by learning skills such as problem-solving, prioritizing tasks, and time-management; enhancing your ability to cope with stress; practicing relaxation techniques; and improving personal relationships; noticing when you feel stressed; getting active and eating healthy. The following are 10 tips to manage stress: 1. Exercise 2. Relax your muscles 3. Deep breathing 4. Eat well 5. Slow down 6. Take a break 7. Make time for hobbies 8. Talk about your problems 9. Go easy on yourself 10. Eliminate your triggers Children experience stress differently than adults, this means that their ways of expressing stress also look different. Consider that when your child is experiencing mood swings, acting out, poor sleep or concentration, and complaints of stomach aches or headaches, they may be trying to cope with their stress. There are four stress relief activities for kids which includes: 1. Aerobic activities 2. Stretching / Yoga 3. Deep breathing and guided imagery 4. Get outside Below are more resources that you can use for managing stress: Effective Stress Relievers for Your Life Manage Stress Stress and Your Health Stress Management
 Social emotional learning is the process of children and adults achieving and effectively applying knowledge, attitudes, and skills imperative to understanding and managing emotions, setting and achieving positive goals, feeling and showing empathy for others, establishing and maintaining positive relationships, and making responsible decisions. Activities that teach and establish social and emotional skills prepare children to meet the demands of the classroom and enable students to engage fully in the classroom. Improving the entire school climate will help students with social and emotional skills as well as improve their academic skills. Below are resources that can help you implement these kinds of practices in your own classroom. Pre-K/Elementary Activities 1. Consider starting the school day with an emotional check in. You could begin by welcoming the class and asking students to describe the way they feel, use a poster to display possible emotions, or asking students an inviting question. 50 Questions to Ask Elementary Kids to Check in and Get to Know Them Better 2. Use story time to explore social-emotional themes that can be applied in your classroom. 50 Must-Have Picture Books to Teach Social Emotional Skills 3. Take time to teach kids how to work in a group; students will learn how to work with others, develop leadership skills, and identify their own strengths. Not Just Group Work – Productive Group Work 4. Role-playing. Sometimes by putting yourself in someone else’s shoes is the best way to understand troubling situations. Introduce role-playing in the classroom to help children develop empathy and understand other people’s feelings. Character Role Playing Cards Emotion and Scenario Cards 5. Peer-mediation or calm down corner. Peer-mediation is a problem-solving technique to assist students to work out problems in a private, safe, and confidential setting with a peer-mediator. You could also create a special place in your classroom known as a calm-down corner for students to take a break when upset or angry and need time to calm down. Teaching Students to Be Peer Mediators How to Create and Use a Calm-Down Corner in Any Learning Environment Middle School Activities 1. Paper Tweets creates an opportunity for students to connect with a friend or classmate to write or discuss anything they want. This should be an informal assignment and allow students creativity without being graded for their peer interactions. Paper Tweets Build SEL Skills 2. Group one-pagers are a great way for students to interact with each other and learn more about their classmates. You may consider a poster board for groupmates to create a team name, list of group favorites, and a symbol or icon for the group. Another way to create an interactive one-pager is to focus on relationship building; students may draw a picture of a classmate, friend, or teacher and three peers will give positive quotes about that person. There is opportunity for more creativity with this assignment such as – drawing funny or meaningful images, share inside jokes or memories of the person, and write a thoughtful, made-up definition of the person’s name. Using Art in Assessments 3. Student-led end-of-quarter celebrations are a great way to create class-bonding. Students have the chance to select themes, create potluck sign-ups, make invitations, and choose activities for the celebration. Examples for 17 Awesome Ways to Celebrate the End of the School Year 4. Regular class meetings produce an empowering environment that students feel heard and acknowledged. Take time to check-in with students to address issues, needs, and successes in the classroom. Creating Positive Classroom Culture with Classroom Meetings 5. Before students leave the classroom, ask exit questions that allow the teacher to assess and address the emotional needs of students. This activity is also known as an optimistic closure. 141 Exit Ticket Questions and Prompts to Check for Understanding Optimistic Closures 24 Exit Ticket Ideas High School Activities 1. To start the day, ask students to close their eyes and imagine what stress looks like and feels like in their body and prompt them to release their stress and visualize stress leaving their body. Using Visualization to Reduce Anxiety Symptoms 2. Introduce a quote of the day that is relevant to what students are learning or may experience; you can use this quote to facilitate whole-class discussion, group discussion, or a one-word response to the quote. This activity gives students time to reflect on their beliefs, morals, and experiences. 51 Motivational Quotes for Students Who Need Inspiration 50 of Our All-Time Favorite Classroom Quotes 3. Have students pair up with a classmate they don’t know and provide the students with questions to ask each other. After an appropriate amount of time has passed, each student takes turns introducing their partner to the rest of the class. 20 Questions to Get Kids Talking & Build Community 40 Weird Questions to Ask Your Students to Help You Get to Know Them Better 4. Appreciation, apology, aha is an activity that encourages students to share helpful words, authentic apologies, and realizations they may have had throughout the week. Appreciation, Apology, Aha 60-Second Strategy: Appreciation, Apology, Aha! 5. Journaling or reflective writing should be a quiet, relaxing break from schoolwork that students look forward to. 105 Writing Prompts for Self-Reflection and Self-Discovery 7 Ways Social Emotional Learning Will Solve your School Culture Challenges 5 Ways to Incorporate SEL in Middle School 25 Simple Ways to Integrate Social-Emotional Learning Throughout the Day 13 Powerful SEL Activities  |
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