Wellness is blooming at Thompson Creek Elementary School.
From March until June, classrooms begin each week with a prompt designed to start the conversation around mental health and well-being.
Above: Students made a "Wonder of the Day" wall.
Each prompt includes several ways to succeed, like practicing a new breathing strategy, taking a wellness walk, or writing a joke to share with the class. But it's up to students to determine which option best suits their wellness needs, and educators help tailor it to their learning goals. When classes complete their weekly challenge, they earn a badge marking their success and moving closer to grand prizes.
For kindergarten duo Ms. Musselwhite and Ms. Hannigan, inspiration came easily.
"When we told them about the growth mindset badge, one of our students said we need to learn new things to help our brain grow.' This is how we decided to make a "Wonder of the Day" wall, where students chose questions and we recorded their responses. Then, we watched videos to learn if our ideas were accurate," shared Ms. Musselwhite.
Above: Classes earn a badge each time they complete their weekly challenge.
Ms. Hannigan added, "We had some really enriching conversations with our students, and we really enjoyed hearing what they wondered about."
Now in week seven, nearly every class has collected all of their wellness badges and are gearing up for pizza, ice cream sundaes, dance parties and movie days.
The inspiration for this challenge stems from teaching resources like the Wellness Activity Book, which is part of a well-being package sent to all elementary schools in the fall. This tool, along with some creativity from the Child and Youth Worker and school staff, is helping young learners define mental wellness and discover how to be proactive in their mental health and well-being journey.
