Wellness Activities for Home

Audible Resources:

As all of us around the world confront this difficult new period, we recognize the importance—and the challenge—of staying relaxed and entertained, especially for kids at home who are missing the stimulation of the classroom. From the beginning, Audible has served as an antidote to loneliness and even isolation, as a way to hear words that inspire and transport and for many – words that teach and entertain in deeply intimate ways.

With all of us experiencing varying degrees of social distancing and school closures, we have created something that we hope makes our customers’ lives a little easier. At stories.audible.com, you will find hundreds of our titles available completely free. The collection has been handpicked by our editors and is a mix of stories to entertain, engage, and inform young people, ages 0–18.

These stories offer a screen-free option that we hope may help break up the day for families with students home from school.

There are selections for our listeners in English, Spanish, German, French, Japanese and Italian.

To access the free titles, just visit stories.audible.com from any web browser.

The experience is completely free – no log-ins, credit cards, or passwords required. Just click, stream and listen.

We wish you and your loved ones good health, and we hope that listening to a good story will offer some respite during these unsettling times.

All of us at Audible

Virtual Wellness Program, Activities, and Resources from YMCA of Greater Brandywine

Good Afternoon! I am writing you to invite you to consider encouraging the families in the West Chester Area School District to consider some virtual wellness programs designed with families in mind. Some of our very popular instructors and staff have uploaded videos to encourage movement and time together with family to our website, and some of them are WCASD moms. You do not need to be a member to do any of the virtual adventures online. It is free and open to the community. They are open to anyone, and are family friendly as we are working hard to stay connected during this unprecedented crisis. Many parents are trying to juggle being at home, needing to work, and managing small children at the same time. I'm one of those parents...luckily my child is in high school, and has been immersed in learning all week. We recognize it may be harder for parents with elementary students, many of whom may be watching a lot of television or having excessive screen time. Moving is so important, and we are working to make that easier for families. I've attached a short video of Laura doing family friendly belly dancing class, which she has done for several schools during Ancient Civilization Day. I know the students at East Goshen and Starkweather have enjoyed this tremendously.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5HJf5mDfc_g&list=PL-oZZmdrjhDw7Hh-QVLtuVCjl6x83vtHO&index=2&t=2s

We are looking forward to greeting the children from the district and their families once this Coronavirus-19 stay at home order is lifted. I'm sure you are ready to have our kids back, soon too. Until then, we are hoping to stay connected, and keep families moving, in our virtual community. While we've reached out to our members, we wanted to invite those in our community who are not members to join us online as well.

Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions. Our website to access exercise programs and family programming is www.ymcagbw.org.

Stay healthy and safe. My freshman at Rustin, Reese, misses being at school so much. I'm guessing this is making a snow day look like a walk in the park.

Sincerely,

Terri Edgar

Senior Executive Director

YMCA OF GREATER BRANDYWINE

West Chester YMCA

605 Airport Road

West Chester, PA 19380

P 610-431-YMCA (9622) ext. 2203

F 610-692-8712

E tedgar@ymcagbw.org

W http://www.ymcagbw.org

Coping Skills Home Practice: Self-Care Part One: Physical Activity and Mindfulness

Coping Skills Home Practice

Self-Care Part One: Physical Activity

Self-Care is a very important part of keeping yourself healthy both physically and mentally. Taking good care of yourself helps you to remain happy and successful in your daily life. One way to take care of yourself is by taking time to engage in physical activity on a regular basis.

Physical Activity: Exercising regularly can help individuals manage their stress. Research shows us that regular exercise helps to decrease stress and tension, elevate mood, and raise self-esteem. Exercise prevents anxiety by increasing “feel good” chemicals in our brain like dopamine and “anti-anxiety” chemicals like serotonin.

Physical activity helps productivity. Getting up and moving around increases focus by breaking up long periods of time completing school work or studying. Those who exercise regularly also find that it helps them sleep better at night. Choose an activity that interests you. Look for a virtual lesson online, or a free instructional video on YouTube. See some examples below.

Walking Hiking Karate Biking Running Dancing

Yoga Jump rope Hula hoop Jumping jacks Push ups Walk the stairs

Walk the dog Wash the car Cleaning Weight lifting Shoot baskets Mow the lawn

More information for parents about benefits of physical activity for adolescents:

https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?ContentTypeID=90&ContentID=P01602

“My Calm Place” card deck combines yoga, meditation, mindfulness and guided imagery activities to calm emotions and promote self-regulation in children.

Practice strategies from “Be Mindful” card deck:

1) Movement card: “Energize your Battery”

To charge your battery,

Picture a happy image.

Touch one hand to the opposite knee.

Release it, switch sides, and repeat

5-10 times.

Feel your energy.

2) Meditation Card: “Go Deeper and Rest”

There is a space between the inhale and exhale.

Can you find this quiet place?

Inhale to 4 counts through your nose, pause before you

Exhale to 4.

Find the space between the breaths and rest.

3) Movement: “HA Mountain”

Inhale and raise your arms.

Pull your arms down and exhale, saying “HA!”

Repeat 5, 10 and 20 times.

Stand still and tall like a mountain.

Listen to the silence of your body.

Positive Coping Strategies/Fun Activities: Choose a few activities you would like to do this week...

Listen to music mindfully

Go for a walk, run or bike ride

Lie down and look at the clouds, find different shapes

Read

Draw, Paint

Color

Play in instrument

Spend some time outdoors, enjoy nature

Spend time with a pet

Play a game

Write a story about a fun memory you have

Baking/Cooking

Send a card or letter to a friend or family member (through the mail)

Practice a sport outside

Make a meal for your family

Practice breathing, relaxation techniques

Listen to Guided Meditation