Healthy Living Month in Akulivik

I can not believe April is over! It was such a short month for us. We had barely finished Leadership when our Spring Break started, and I was gone for two weeks (one for break and one to attend the CC conference!). Getting out of Akulivik takes so much work and planning, and there were some weather troubles, so we started Healthy living month last Wednesday! Now all the kids are gone for Culture Week, so our Healthy Living and We are Champions months will be very combined. We have only 4 weeks left of class!!!!!

Following up on Leadership month we finally completed our challenge! The kids worked hard to think of things they could improve to be better leaders. They also drew themselves as the type of leader they want to be (many want to be team captains!), and Malisa wants to help feed people so that they won't be hungry. I'm honoured to share my time with such great thinkers and leaders, and I love it when they surprise me like that!

Then we started healthy living month. We watched our new video with two amazing mentors and started a conversation about healthy living. I was so proud when the kids made connections to something we did months ago, but stays on our wall!

We explored some games from Ask.Listen.Learn. and started our first lesson from the site! The kids learned about the brain, and how alcohol affects both adults and kids brains.

Next up I am sending home the challenge that our mentors gave us. Parents will receive a letter explaining the challenge and asking them to send in photos of them and their kids accomplishing it! The challenge was for the students to find a healthy recipe and cook it with their family, or to get outside and get active with their family. I cannot wait to see them accomplish this challenge and get their family involved!

We will also be tracking our healthy activities for a whole week. 

I am excited to finish off the year with a bang, and am looking forward to our next video chat!

All the best from Akulivik!

Jumping Into Healthy Living

We have had a jam packed month with Spring Break, testing, and Leadership Days, but we managed to learn about healthy living. As a Leader in Me school, we also focused on Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw (balance feels best). In Lex’s video, he talks about the importance of exercising, eating right, and saying “NO” to underage drinking and “YES” to a healthy lifestyle. We are ready to make him proud!

Lex’s Challenge

Lex challenged us to plan a healthy recipe, cook the recipe, and eat the meal with our families. After reading my students’ recipes and meals, I became hungry. They have given me good ideas for some upcoming meals at my house. Listen as students share their healthy meals. Your mouths might start to water.

ALL Brain Challenges

We have been actively using Ask, Listen, Learn’s resources on the effects of alcohol on the brain. This has been informative for my students because they are truly understanding the importance of their brain and the reasons why they MUST say NO. They enjoyed performing metaphor skits on alcohol’s effects on the brain. My favorite was a flock of birds ramming into a tree instead of landing on the branches. They were all creative and silly. We also wrote sentences using 12 words about our favorite Classroom Champions topic. I then took a couple words out and had them read the sentence. Immediately, their responses were “This does not make any since”. As soon as I told them their cerebellum had been affected, the light bulbs went off. The lessons have been great conversation starters and are allowing my students to have confident conversations.

 

5th Grade Olympics

Some of my students had the privilege of participating in the 5th grade Olympics with other 5th graders in our county. Nataly, Lakiah, Tamiya, Jose, Max, and Parrish represented our class with fellow 5th graders from our school in different track and field events. They had a lot of fun and showcased healthy living at its best.

Parrish: 1st- 200m; 1st- 800m mixed relay

Nataly: 3rd- 100m

Tamiya: 2nd- 100m; 3rd- Long Jump; 3rd- Standing Long Jump

Standards

Science 5.L.1.2 Compare the major systems of the human body (digestive, respiratory, circulatory, muscular, skeletal, and cardiovascular) in terms of their functions necessary for life.

ELA W.5.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly. W.5.7 Conduct short research projects that use several sources to build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic.

Health 5.ATOD.1 Understand health risks associated with use of alcohol. 5.ATOD.2 Understand why people use alcohol. 5.ATOD.3 Apply risk reduction behaviors to protect self and others from alcohol use. 5.NPA.1 Apply tools (MyPlate) to plan healthy nutrition and fitness. 5.NPA.2 Understand the importance of consuming a variety of nutrient dense foods and beverages in moderation

Healthy Living

We had a great time talking about underage drinking and the effects of alcohol and the brain. They had many great responses and were challenged to create a 300-500 word essay about the consequences of underage drinking.

They were also challenged to create a healthy meal with their family. Many students had amazing chicken recipes and smoothies.  They had many great choices as meals and were excited to share their mentor's message of his favorite fruits!

The main meal that was shared amongst most students was a type of black bean, chicken, and avacado (some students left out the avacado) enchilada. This sounded delicious and many students tend to make it with their families. So, not only was it a great way to eat and stay healthy, but it created a space to have some shared family time.