Northville Public Schools
Wellness Newsletter Spring 2021
The Northville Public Schools Health Advisory Board (HAB) is comprised of many members, from across the district and the community. The Health Advisory Board includes two co-chairpersons (a district parent and the district's Director of Instructional Programs and Service), along with teachers and administrators from each educational level, community members, parents, health professionals, and secondary students.
Journaling For Kids and Teens
Journaling is simply writing or drawing your thoughts and feelings surrounding the events of your life.
There are many benefits of journaling for kids of all ages. For young children, journaling is a therapeutic way for them to explore “big feeling.” It can also help with their writing, communication skills, and increase creativity. Experts suggest that when you write down your thoughts and feelings it helps you work through negative emotions. They can gain insight into their mood and behaviors through journaling. Journaling is also a great stress reducer and mindfulness activity.
Journaling for pre- teens and teens has some additional benefits . As we all know, being a teenager can be tough for many reasons. Journaling is something that creates a safe place for them to write their fears, anxiety’s and worries. Many kids and teens keep their feelings to themselves because they don't feel comfortable saying them out loud. They fear being ridiculed or believe their thoughts and feelings aren't important enough to share openly. It can also be a space to express gratitude, improve communication, and boost their confidence.
Journaling can make us more aware of our patterns and habits. Most importantly, it provides a creative space for teens to discover who they are. They can use a journal to dream and set goals, resolve conflicts, recognize negative self talk and problem solve. Looking back at past journal entries lets them seem how far they have come and the obstacles they have been able to overcome. Over time you end up with a happier teen!
How to get started:
- Pick your journal. For younger kids you may pick a journal with a fun character on it. Lines or no lines. No lines gives kids and teens an opportunity to draw too. There are journals available for different ages that offer ideas to get started. Big Life Journal and Happy Me Journal are great options. Colorful pens, markers, and fun stickers are nice to use too! Bullet journaling is also popular technique for teens.
- Choose a space to write where you feel safe.
- What to write? There are many sites that offer daily journal prompts to get you started. "Brain Dumping" is just what is says. You just start writing whatever comes to mind. Set a timer for 1-5 minutes and see what comes up.
- Figure out what the best time is for you to write. Some like writing first thing in the morning. Others like to write before bed to decompress from their day. Journaling is not something that has to be done every day.
- Don’t worry about grammar or punctuation, just write. :)
- Share if you want. For some it is easier to write what is bothering us versus saying it out loud. This can be the way you are able to communicate with your loved ones.
- Have fun and be yourself!
Check out these resources on Instagram:
Journal Prompts: @soul.full.journaling
Journal Tips: @thejournalife
Journal Prompts for Kids to promote happiness, develop positive habits, and nurture ensuring minds: @happyselfjournal
Journal Prompts for Teens: @socal.adolescent.wellness
What’s for Dinner?
How many times have you heard and dreaded the question, "What's for dinner?" Most likely, more than you can count.
It’s no secret that cooking at home has made a comeback. A while ago, when restaurants were closed, if you wanted food, you had to make it. Cooking every meal, every day can get daunting quickly. If you haven’t already established a routine or are looking to improve your current one, here are some tips to help you create more ease in the kitchen:
Make a Master List
Creating a master list of every recipe that is a “hit” by your family’s standards can be helpful when it comes to making cooking a bit easier. Categorizing them under headings, such as Chicken Dishes, Fish Dishes, Beef Dishes, Vegetarian Dishes, etc. can help give you ideas when are deciding what to make.
Meal Plan
The first step in meal planning is to decide how often you’d like to create your plan. Once per week, once per two weeks, once per month? What resonates with you? No matter what timing you choose be sure to schedule in the actual planning so that you have a reminder to complete it.
Next, you’ll want to determine the parameters of your plan. Will you have specific types of meals on specific days, i.e. chicken on Sunday, beef on Monday, vegetarian on Wednesday, etc. Or would you like to plan to cook once eat twice - double batch of chicken on Sunday; a double batch of beef on Monday; leftover chicken on Tuesday; leftover beef on Wednesday, etc.
Putting it all together looks like, on your meal planning day/time, you use your master list and the parameters you identified to fill in your calendar (hardcopy or electronic) with the meals you plan to make.
You can do this manually in a notebook, electronically via Google or another shared family calendar or use an app like, Real Plans.
Prep Ahead
If you will be using them soon, washing and chopping vegetables (this blog has great tips for keeping cut veggies fresh) or fruit is a helpful part of the planning process. Look ahead to what you plan to prepare for the week and take the time to do this all at once. When you experience the timing savings you’ll be happy you did.
You can even take this a step further and do some batch cooking then freeze it to help save even more time. Check out some tips on different ways to batch cook here.
Use it as Connection Time
Any of the steps above can involve the kids as a way to connect. Sure, they make think it’s a chore at first but start by asking them how they would like to be involved and you may be surprised by their response. It can be fun for them to experiment in the kitchen, learn some new skills and get to taste their creations. You may find that although it may take a bit more time and supervision, you enjoy the help, the bonding time, and watching your child experience the joy of cooking.
Which of these tips will you try?
Have dinner down? Try these lunch recipes next.
Supporting Your Family's Skin
As residents of Michigan, we all know that just because the calendar says it’s Spring doesn’t mean a surprise snowfall is outside the realm of possibility. Even our skin can take a while to catch up to the calendar as the air’s humidity gradually increases.
Dry skin can result from not having enough moisture in the top layer of the skin, also known as the epidermis. It can be easy to get caught up in thinking that the only way to improve your skin is by adding more or the “right” type of moisturizer. Of course, moisturizer can help, but that’s not the only approach.
Functional medicine doctor Mark Hyman says that “...the secret to healthy skin is not about what you put on your body, but what you put in your body.” In this article, he outlines the life areas to pay attention to and shift to help improve your skin. Here’s a summary:
Diet
- Processed Food - Reduce sugar and processed food as much as possible. They have shown to cause inflammation and speed the aging process by encouraging the degradation of collagen and elastin in your skin.
- Food Sensitivities - Identify food sensitivities - studies have shown that underlying food sensitivities can impact or cause skin conditions.
- Nutrients - Be sure you are getting nutrients through your diet or via high-quality vitamins and supplements. Dr. Hyman recommends fish oil, vitamin D, and Zinc as options that all play a role in supporting skin health.
Overall Health
- Exercise - Sweating can help you move toxins out of your body and improve the appearance of your skin.
- Balance Your Gut - Gut health can play a role in the health of your skin. Dr. Hyman suggests working with a functional medicine practitioner to balance your gut.
- Sleep - Studies have shown that skin barrier function can be impacted by a lack of quality sleep. Be sure to get enough sleep each night to support your skin and your overall health.
- Stress - Feeling agitated? Your stress can show up in your skin. Creating space to slow down and relieve stress can help improve your skin and your overall health.
Once you have focused on what you are putting in your body, Dr. Hyman suggests using high-quality skincare products and says, “...if you can’t pronounce it or eat it, it shouldn’t go on your skin.”
The skin is our body’s largest organ and whatever you put on it, ends up inside of you. So while that cream might smell good, most likely the chemicals used to create the scent are not the best for your skin. You can check the safety of your skincare products on the Skin Deep Database® created by the Environmental Working Group.
Spring Vegetable Garden
Starting a spring vegetable garden can be easy and fun for the whole family!
- Select a location that gets at least 6 hours of sun.
- Pick a pot or raised garden bed with good drainage. Raised gardens are a great option in Northville since many of us have a lot of clay in our yards.
- Prepare the soil. A combination of materials can help make your veggies flourish.
- 1 part organic matter (peat moss, compost)
- 1 part sand or perlite (for drainage)
- 2 parts soil
- slow release organic fertilizer
- You can also choose a good quality all purpose potting mix. Make sure it has all the ingredients to allow for drainage and nutrients for the plants.
4. In the spring there are certain vegetable seeds that can be sowed directly into the soil for spring harvest. You can use the extra seeds to plant again in the fall with it is cooler for a fall harvest crops. Or you can purchase plant seedlings.
Want to know what is in season in Michigan? Check out this seasonality guide at Localdifference.org
Some of the seeds that like to grow in cooler temperatures:
Radishes, beets, parsnips, carrots, swiss chard, kale, collard greens, pea shoots, lettuce, and spinach.
Find your seeds at your nursery or you can purchase locally grown seeds from the Ann Arbor Seed Company. Be sure and save some seeds to plant again late August for fall harvesting.
Square foot gardening is great way to maximize your harvest in a small space. For additional information, check out MSU Extension they have a lot great resources to help you with your gardening needs.
NORTHVILLE PUBLIC SCHOOLS - HEALTH ADVISORY BOARD
Newsletter Team, Northville Public School Parents:
Kristy Howard - Integrative Nutrition Health Coach
Carrie Zarotney - Certified Human Potential Coach and Mindfulness Facilitator
Email: nps@northvilleschools.org
Website: www.northvilleschools.org
Location: 405 West Main Street, Northville, MI, USA
Phone: 248-344-3500
Facebook: www.facebook.com/northvilleschools
Twitter: @NorthvilleEDU