Episode 228: Wellness Day Fun for Families, “What Parents Need to Know”

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. It is a full day set aside for students, teachers, and staff in Jordan School District to prioritize their health and wellness at home and in school. While there will be no in-person learning for students on Health and Wellness Day, students are encouraged to participate in wellness activities with family and friends at home.

On this episode of the Supercast, we explore the wellness day activities designed for your child. Activities are appropriate to their age and grade level and support concepts like eating well, better sleep, exercise, and personal interaction. Join us as we explore the activities available for Health and Wellness Day and every day of the year.

We're talking today with McKinley Withers, our Health and Wellness Consultant in Jordan School District. Thanks for joining us once again on the podcast.

McKinley Withers:
So good to be back here on the Supercast.

Anthony Godfrey:
You've been in this role a number of years now. Is that six years?

McKinley Withers:
Six years, yep.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. And this is going to be the third year of our Health and Wellness Day for families and for employees.

McKinley Withers:
Yep. Yeah. Three years and time flies. I can't believe it.

Anthony Godfrey:
I remember the first time we were talking about trying to put this together. A lot of people have worked on this over the years and a lot of people have benefited, I think, from taking some time and really focusing on Health and Wellness.

The key to this is that it's a day for employees to kind of catch their breath, catch up, reconnect with each other, and connect with some activities that are made available through the community and some generous donations. The work of the Foundation, the work of many employees who are on a committee to put together a lot of great opportunities for employees.

There's also a huge focus on families, families reconnecting with each other, and being able to work through some activities and exercises that are created at the district level to help maybe focus on some skills and some activities that can really help everyone be at their best.

McKinley Withers:
Yeah, exactly. At the heart of Wellness Day is kind of what's at the heart of wellness in general, which is we make intentional time and space in our life for our wellness practices. And that looks different for every family, every person, every employee.

So what we try and facilitate with a district-wide Wellness Day is options so that people can choose what most might benefit them and we give them the space and time to meet their unique wellness needs.

Anthony Godfrey:
That's an important point. There's a lot of choice and it does feel pretty amazing to have a day where you really get to make those choices. There aren't meetings. We don't allow any meetings on that day, and there isn’t additional homework assigned for those particular days, and teachers don't actually create the assignments that or the activities rather that are provided to families. Those are created at a district level and we're going to talk more about those. But that frees up employees and it frees up families. So it's not based on a grade. This isn't tracked so that students get a score, but it gives families an opportunity to choose activities, conversations that will help advance their own health and wellness.

McKinley Withers:
Exactly. Our theme with creating any of the content and opportunities with Wellness Day is everyday wellness because what really will be the best predictor of your long-term health and wellness is what you do today, tomorrow, and the next day. Not what you do just on Wellness Day or just what you do on January 1st.

Anthony Godfrey:
Sure. As I've heard you speak over the years, that message has come through loud and clear. First of all, you can't save up health and wellness. It's not like you get this deep store of health and wellness and now you don't have to take care of yourself for a long time. It's something you have to maintain. And so I'm very aware of when I'm doing that well and when I'm not doing that well based on the many conversations that we've had in the presentations that I've seen you give.

McKinley Withers:
Yeah. And that's so with the student and family content, all of it, it's designed for Wellness Day, but you could truly use any of it any day. So all of the activities are meant to be behaviors, plans, strategies, things that any student or family could implement on a regular basis. So even if you use a few resources for Wellness Day, you could continue to return to this resource bank for ideas if your child or you are just looking for some easy, fun ways to enhance your personal wellness.

Anthony Godfrey:
So this is a day set aside that allows us to focus on health and wellness in a way that can stretch through the coming year and maybe set up some routines or some habits or even some just some activities that we go back to here and there that allow us to not just focus on our health and wellness, but improve it.

McKinley Withers:
Yeah, exactly. So if we even in making that additional time and space available for families and employees on Wellness Day, if we continue to make just little bits of time for addressing our unique wellness needs and incorporate those into our everyday rituals, that's our best bet for long term health and wellness.

Anthony Godfrey:
You've had you've used an analogy in the past of a waterfall and maintaining your health and wellness over time. Talk about that.

McKinley Withers:
Wellness is a waterfall. It's more like a waterfall than it is a reservoir. It continues to flow. And my extension on this is that we're always upstream from our future self. So what we do today is creating our future self. So how much we sleep, if we're getting sunlight, if we're getting movement, all of those things are not just strategies. All of us struggle with different aspects of our personal wellness. And really, it's the simple things that matter most added up over time. So that flowing waterfall is our nutrition, our sleep, how we hydrate, whether or not we get movement regularly. All of those aspects are –kudos. The superintendent–

Anthony Godfrey:
I took a drink from my water bottle because when he said hydrate, I knew very well that I had not done that.

McKinley Withers:
Yeah. And yeah, so just trying our best to incorporate regular easy strategies. And that's the other thing, you know, all of our content is meant to be easy and fun, because, you know, wellness doesn't have to be hard and daunting in this big task. It's meant to be a part of our everyday life.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's improvement. It doesn't take a large improvement to see an impact.

McKinley Withers:
Exactly. Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Now, you've worked on this over the years, we provided this the first year that we had Health and Wellness Day.

McKinley Withers:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
So those activities have changed and improved over time. And you've actually from the start calibrated this by grade level. So that is specific to the age of the student. Talk a little bit about that.

McKinley Withers:
Well, we know that, you know, wellness is unique for every individual. And especially when it comes to, you know, your age, the most effective strategies are strategies that people own for themselves. So rather than being told what to do, it's often more effective if people are choosing something that they are excited about that they can try and learn from and feel through what that strategy is. So rather than just being told to hydrate, you cannot understand the benefits of staying hydrated without proactively meeting that need. So creating a plan trying it out, seeing how it feels. That's where people get traction on change is where just actually experiencing the benefits of change.

Anthony Godfrey:
So don't just continue to do the same things you've done, try something new. But don't listen to somebody else telling you, well, this is what you have to do decide for yourself. “Hey, did I did I feel an impact as a result of this?”

McKinley Withers:
Yeah, approaching it with some curiosity and some intention is the key to understanding what works for us. You know, there's, there's a lot of wellness strategy preachers out there. And it's it's good to take in that input. So that you're open to what might work.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's interesting, I was talking with a friend who'd received advice about a health issue. In the past, this health issue required a change in diet. Okay, these are all the foods to avoid. It's interesting that the advice he received was actually, don't automatically restrict these foods, just be very aware of how certain foods impact you as an individual, and then choose your food accordingly. And I think you're saying the same thing about health and wellness. There's not something that automatically works for everyone, regardless of age, regardless of who they are.

But there is a core list of things that are generally going to improve health. And you find what's most appealing to you and what's most effective and you lean into that.

McKinley Withers:
Yeah, yeah. And really, again, it comes back to the strategies that work are the strategies that are fun and easy. We need to get rid of this story that our wellness practices aren't working if we're not struggling.

Anthony Godfrey:
So I can back off of Tae Bo.

McKinley Withers:
You can back off of Tae Bo.

Anthony Godfrey:
I'm still using that VHS tape, still hoping that it will start to be fun.

McKinley Withers:
The six-pack still hasn't shown up?

Anthony Godfrey:
It still hasn't shown up. I’ve been doing it since the 90s, and it still hasn't gotten fun.

McKinley Withers:
It’s still not working.

Anthony Godfrey:
So you're saying I can step away without guilt?

McKinley Withers:
Well, I thought Tae Bo would be fun. So I think that might just be–

Anthony Godfrey:
I've got tapes I can give you now that I've made this decision to move forward.

McKinley Withers:
Yeah, just pass them along. It’s someone else's treasure. I can't wait for my Tae Bo tapes.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay. All right. Just–I have a VCR too I'll give you that.

McKinley Withers:
Yeah, I’m going to need that for sure.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay, so with the day set aside, the idea is that these activities are not just assigned to students. It's an activity that they engage in as a family.

McKinley Withers:
That's right, Dr. Godfrey. We've got assignments that have a variety of age ranges. They have a variety of topics of focus. It's all centered around the S.E.L.F.I.E. model from one of our school psychologists, Casey Pehrson, which stands for Sleep, Exercise, Light, Fun, Interaction, and Eating well. We chose the S.E.L.F.I.E. method because you don't need any specific technology or any specific setup in your home to access better sleep rituals, more sunlight, a little bit of movement, some more fun, and eating well. So all of the plans and activities are meant so that any of our district's families could make these activities work in their own family.

Anthony Godfrey:
So it's accessible for everyone and it's intended for families.

McKinley Withers:
Yes.

Anthony Godfrey:
Okay.

McKinley Withers:
You can find out more about the S.E.L.F.I.E. method at selfiemethod.org.

Anthony Godfrey:
And it was on our podcast last year for Health and Wellness Day. 

McKinley Withers:
Yes. And that's on our website. So if you'd like to review some of the activities, you can visit wellness.JordanDistrict.org/resources. And we'll also have it posted on the Jordan District main page.

Anthony Godfrey:
And we'll be emailing it out to all families so watch for that. And in the meantime, let's give it a shot.

Stay with us. When we come back our Health and Wellness Specialist’s own children check out some of the fun Health and Wellness Day activities.

Break:
Hello, I'm Sandy Riesgraf, Director of Communications for Jordan School District, and we want to invite you to connect with us. So many exciting things are happening in your child's school, your neighbor's school, in every school here, every day. Don't miss out on following the fun or simply staying informed when there's important information we need to share. Join us at jordandistrict.org, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @jordandistrict. We can't wait to connect.

Anthony Godfrey:
We have two of McKinley's children here to help demonstrate those lessons. Go ahead and tell us your name, and how old you are, and what grade you're in.

Ridge:
My name is Ridge. I am eight years old and I'm in third grade.

Juniper:
My name is Juniper. I'm five years old and I'm in kindergarten.

Anthony Godfrey:
It's very nice of you both to come to your dad's workplace and help us experiment with these assignments. You know, your dad and I like to joke that if we put your names together, we could name the newest elementary Juniper Ridge and it would be named after both of you.

Juniper:
I heard that.

Anthony Godfrey:
Let's dive into the selfie method for kindergartners and third graders.

McKinley Withers:
Okay. So first, I'm going to ask each of you a question. Okay, Ridge, what does wellness mean to you?

Ridge:
So you're like healthy, you feel good and you just doing good in class.

McKinley Withers:
Awesome. Juniper, what does wellness mean to you? You told me something in the car on the way here. You said wellness is like when someone checks on you and make sure you're doing okay. Remember that?

We’ve gone to the website wellness.jordandistrict.org/resources and since Ridge is in third grade, I'm going to click on 3rd Grade - 6th Grade Wellness Day Activity Ideas. So when I click on that, you'll see a whole list of activities. There are, there is a whole page of Spanish activities and activities that are modified if your student has an accommodation or a special need. So those are adapted. So there are probably about 50 different activity ideas all centered around the selfie model.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, with a hyperlink there to some additional information on some of those.

McKinley Withers:
Yeah, each of them has kind of a worksheet or a strategy or something that you could print out and walk through or just look at and talk through. So Ridge, if you look at all these words, sleep, exercise, light, fun, interaction and eating well, are there any of those that sound fun to you right now? That you that might help your wellness?

Ridge:
Um, fun and interaction.

McKinley Withers:
Let's, let's choose one of those.

Ridge:
Interaction.

McKinley Withers:
Interaction. Okay. So maybe let's look at this one. Conduct an interview with a family member or family friend. Okay. Complete a mad lib with a friend. Complete a random act of kindness for someone you care about. Make and play conversation cubes so that handouts right there. So are any of those sounding interesting to you? Mad Libs.

Ridge:
I'm pretty sure I know these.

McKinley Withers:
You know what this is?

Ridge:
Yeah.

McKinley Withers:
Okay. So you can do this with someone and that's kind of like a fun way to get to know someone a little bit better. So maybe we could do this mad lib together. So you read through it and then you fill in the blanks. Okay. And maybe we could just alternate. So I'll do, we'll do every other one. Okay.

Ridge:
Okay. My name is Ridge and I am...

McKinley Withers:
28.

Ridge:
Year's old. If I were president, I'd do a whole bunch of things. Like I would drive the biggest...

McKinley Withers:
You say one.

Ridge:
I would drive the biggest car.

McKinley Withers:
What color?

Ridge:
Red.

McKinley Withers:
The biggest red car in the country. And that car would go faster than any snail in the world.

Ridge:
Everyone would eat pepperoni pizza.

McKinley Withers:
Okay. For dinner. I would live in the statue of Dr. Godfrey.

Anthony Godfrey:
Oh, yeah.

McKinley Withers:
Don't we have one of those in Jordan?

Anthony Godfrey:
It's a big one. There'd be plenty of room. Yeah, right.

McKinley Withers:
Yeah. It's huge.

Anthony Godfrey:
So the idea is to allow for some creativity and some level of connection with other members of the family.

McKinley Withers:
Yeah. Just shake it up a little. I mean, all the activities are something you probably wouldn't

just wake up in the morning and be like, "I'm going to do a mad lib with my child." But once you go on there, you can kind of poke around and choose something that will strengthen your relationships, give you some ideas.

Anthony Godfrey:
And there's no pressure. Something isn't really taking hold and another activity sounds like more fun. Skip over and try something else.

McKinley Withers:
Yeah, exactly. So now we're in the kindergarten lessons and we're going to do an activity focused on sleep. And I know, Junie, do you like to color? Do you like to do art?

Juniper:
Yeah.

McKinley Withers:
Yeah. So maybe we could do this coloring sheet that's about getting good sleep. Does that sound fun? Do you want to do that? Should we color together? Awesome.

On the Sweet Dreams coloring sheet, which is one of, I mean, like we said, with every grade level, there's probably about 50 different activities to choose from. There's a coloring page that looks pretty fun to color that we could print out. But even if we don't have a printer, we can talk about this because the coloring page says sweet dreams, but it says “To help me have sweet dreams I will read or listen to a story” and you can color that. “I will go to bed at…” and then a certain time. “I will move my body in the day by…” “I will take a warm bath.” “I will cuddle something cozy.” Juniper has more stuffed animals surrounding her. You can't even find her. It looks like ET, you know, every time she's in her bed, it's just like, where is the actual child in there? And “I will eat a healthy snack.” So it just gives you some ideas for how to enhance sleep that a kid can color.

Anthony Godfrey:
I don't mind a good coloring page myself. So I may have to tap into some of these student activities.

McKinley Withers:
If you'd like to review the activities or use them anytime, they are found at wellness.jordandistrict.org/resources. And you can find all the different grade levels. For the secondary students, we actually have put the activities into a clickable page so you can navigate it more like a website just of activities. And there's multiple ways that you can access it. You'll see on the page and it should be easy and fun and personal to you and your family.

Anthony Godfrey:
Well, thank you McKinley for all the work you've done and that your team and others on the committee have done to make this possible. And thanks Juniper and Ridge for coming and trying this out with us.

Ridge:
Thanks for having us.

Anthony Godfrey:
All right, take care guys.

Thanks for joining us on another episode of the Supercast. Remember, education is the most important thing you will do today. We'll see you out there. And don't forget to subscribe to the Supercast.