Healthy Habits
The Importance of Connection
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Introduction - The Power of Connection
In this activity, students explore the benefits of social connection and its impact on happiness, mental health, and teamwork. After watching a video about how Icelandic people maintain strong friendships and family bonds, students discuss why staying connected to others is important and reflect on their own experiences.
Students identify how social connection benefits their well-being, set personal goals for improving relationships, and track their experiences over a week. The activity encourages personal reflection, goal setting, and community sharing, helping students appreciate and promote meaningful social connections.
Hi everyone! This week, we’re learning how spending time with friends and family helps us feel happier and healthier. We’ll start by watching a video filmed on a ship heading to Iceland, where people stay happy by connecting with others—even when winters are long and dark!
After the video with Jack and Gavin, we'll talk about how friendships and family time make us feel better, help us work together, and give us fun things to look forward to.
Over the next week, do these three activities:
1. Spend time with a friend who lives close by—maybe go for a walk or play a game.
2. Contact someone far away, like a relative or friend, by calling, texting, or writing them a note.
3. Plan something fun with friends or family for the future, and notice how excited it makes you feel!
Write about what you did and how it made you feel in your "Healthy Habits" book. Finally, share your experiences with your class to show everyone why staying connected is so important!
Important - Download Your Healthy Habits Booklet
Over the next week, students will design a comprehensive "Healthy Habits" booklet, using a provided template to ensure everything stays organised and properly formatted. It's important that teachers emphasise the necessity of keeping all content within the safe zone (dotted line) to avoid any issues during printing. This project encourages students to express their creativity while also serving as a structured reflection of their journey toward a healthier lifestyle. The final product will be a meaningful keepsake, potentially ordered as a printed booklet, making attention to detail essential.
Over the next ten weeks, you will be working on your "Healthy Habits" booklet, focusing on various aspects of a healthy lifestyle. All the information and designs will be created by you, but we’ve provided a template to help you keep everything organised and in the right order.
Feel free to customise the colours and some of the designs to make the booklet uniquely yours, but be sure to keep all content within the safe zone (the dotted line). This is important because, once your booklet is complete, you might want to upload it to the Upschool library or order a printed copy, and we don’t want any important information to be cut off during printing.
You’ll be using this booklet each day, so make sure to download it today and return to it regularly to add your insights on different aspects of a healthy lifestyle. This booklet will be a reflection of your learning journey and a beautiful keepsake of your work on building and maintaining healthy habits.
Weekly Keywords
In this activity, students receive a task card with foundational vocabulary related to the power of connection. Their challenge is to explain each term in the simplest way possible, helping them build a strong understanding of hydration concepts. This exercise supports comprehension of how hydration affects the body and mind, laying a foundation for future discussions on maintaining a healthy and hydrated lifestyle. It encourages clear thinking and mastery of essential hydration-related terms.
On the task card provided, you’ll find a list of words related to the power of connection. Your challenge is to explain each word in the simplest way possible.
This activity will help you understand important concepts about how hydration affects your body and mind. It’s a great way to prepare for future discussions on keeping your body hydrated, healthy, and functioning at its best.
Quote of the Week - Helen Keller
In this activity, students reflect on an inspirational quote by Helen Keller:
"Alone, we can do so little; together, we can do so much."
Students will write down or illustrate the quote and discuss its meaning, exploring the importance of teamwork, friendship, and human connection in making a difference.
The activity encourages students to recognise the power of working together, fostering empathy, collaboration, and a sense of belonging. It inspires them to strengthen their relationships and share the message within their community, building a more connected and supportive world.
Each week, we will share an inspirational quote to help you understand the power of connection. This week’s quote is from Helen Keller:
"Alone, we can do so little; together, we can do so much."
Write down this quote, print it out, or create a drawing inspired by her words. Then, take some time to reflect on and discuss its meaning. Think about what it teaches us about the importance of friendships, teamwork, and supporting one another. How does working together make life better? How can small acts of kindness and connection create a big impact?
Use this wisdom to build stronger connections in your life, appreciate the people around you, and share the message with your community about the power of coming together.
Design Your Information Card - The Power of Connection
In this activity, students will create an information card highlighting the importance of connection, focusing on building meaningful relationships and friendships. They'll visually illustrate examples like talking, playing, or supporting friends. Students will include practical tips or benefits from the lesson, such as increased happiness, emotional support, and improved well-being. Cards will be shared and added to their "Healthy Habits" booklet, promoting community awareness about positive social connections.
In this activity, your job is to make an information card about connection—which means building strong friendships and relationships with others. Start by designing a visual that shows people connecting, such as friends smiling, holding hands, talking, or playing together. Use pictures or drawings that make you think of friendship and feeling connected.
Next, write your own top tips or reasons why connecting with others is important. You can use examples from our video, like how spending time with friends can make you feel happier, give you energy, and help you feel supported and understood.
When you've finished, share your card with the class community so everyone can learn why connexion is important. This card will become part of your "Healthy Habits" booklet—a special collection full of great advice to help you and others build healthy friendships and feel your best.
Design Your Connection Page - 3 Ways to Stay Connected
In this activity, students will design a page for their "Healthy Habits" booklet highlighting three practical ways to stay connected with their community. They'll start by reviewing your provided example, then use independent research and original ideas to create their own visually engaging page. The goal is to develop students' understanding of community connection as an essential part of well-being, while building skills in effective communication, creativity, and practical research methods.
In this activity, your task is to create a page in your "Healthy Habits" booklet about 3 ways to stay connected with your community. You’ll first look at my example, which gives ideas like helping neighbours, joining a local club, or volunteering for community projects.
Then, using your own ideas and research, design your own unique page. Think carefully about how you present your tips clearly and creatively, using pictures, colours, and easy-to-read information.
Once complete, your page will be included in your "Healthy Habits" booklet, helping others understand why connecting with your community is great for everyone's wellbeing.
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Track Your Mood - Feel Like the Weather Around You!
In this activity, students will track and analyse their emotions daily for one week, recording feelings using weather-themed visuals (e.g., sunshine for happiness, clouds for sadness).
Each day, students will write a brief reflection explaining their emotions, specifically considering how social connections influenced their mood. This task develops emotional awareness and encourages reflection on the importance of connection, helping students recognise how meaningful relationships positively impact their overall emotional well-being and daily experiences.
Now that you understand how staying connected with others can help you feel happier and improve your wellbeing, it's time to explore how being connected affects your emotions.
Over the next week, you'll track your feelings each day using weather images—like sunshine for happiness or clouds for sadness. After recording your emotions, write a brief reflection about why you feel this way, focusing especially on how connecting with others has influenced your mood.
Let’s discover how staying connected makes us feel!
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Spreading the Word - Weekly Community Challenge
In this activity, students will select actions from a task card to apply their knowledge of hydration in real-world contexts, focusing on helping others stay hydrated. This encourages leadership by empowering students to independently choose and carry out tasks that promote health in their community.
The emphasis on real-world application helps foster a sense of responsibility and initiative, allowing students to learn from their experiences, whether they succeed or not. This approach nurtures independence and reinforces the value of effort in encouraging others to maintain healthy hydration habits.
Choose an action from the task card and use your new knowledge to make the lives of others better by encouraging good hydration habits. It doesn’t matter which action you choose—what matters is that you share your knowledge to help others stay hydrated, healthy, and happy.
You can choose as many actions as you like from the list, such as reminding someone to carry a water bottle, encouraging a friend to drink a glass of water before meals, or setting up a "hydration reminder" challenge. And remember, it’s all about making an effort and having fun, not about getting perfect results!
Weekly Art Therapy
This weekly art activity encourages mindfulness and relaxation through colouring. Teachers should introduce it with enthusiasm, promoting a calm, creative atmosphere.
Allow children the freedom to choose where they sit—whether in a quiet classroom corner or even outside—and consider scheduling a designated time each week. Additionally, this activity can be sent home to support mindfulness practices with families. Encourage children to focus on the process, not the outcome, and enjoy the benefits of creativity and calm.
Each week, we’ll share a fun and relaxing art activity with you. All you need to do is find a quiet spot—maybe in your room, outside under a tree, or wherever you feel calm. Grab your favourite colouring pencils, set up a soft light or a lamp, and if you’d like, play some relaxing music in the background. Then, take your time to colour in the picture on the next page and let your mind wander.
Doing this can help you feel more relaxed and calm. Colouring gives your brain a little break, helps you focus on the moment, and can even make you feel happier. It’s a way to let your imagination flow while taking care of yourself.
Remember, this is your time to unwind. There’s no right or wrong way to colour—just enjoy yourself and have fun with it!
My Weekly Mood Diary
This activity encourages children to track their daily emotions using a mood diary, fostering self-awareness and reflection. Teachers should emphasise the importance of taking time at the end of each day to reflect on feelings, using symbols provided on the task card.
This process promotes mindfulness and helps children recognise patterns in their emotions. Encourage children to keep their reflections private, ensuring they feel safe to explore their feelings honestly, supporting their emotional wellbeing.
As you work through each activity in this course, we encourage you to take a moment each day to reflect on how you're feeling. A mood diary is a fantastic way to track your emotions and see how your work in this course impacts your overall well-being.
Using the template provided, simply add a symbol from the task card to represent your mood at the end of each day. Over the week, you'll start to notice patterns and shifts, giving you valuable insight into how the activities influence your feelings.
The health and well-being activities in this course are designed to have a positive impact on your mood, and we hope you’ll find this reflection process both enlightening and rewarding.
Remember, this is your personal journey—there’s no need to share your diary with anyone. It’s a space for your own private reflection and growth.
Weekly Quiz: The Power of Connection
Students will take a quiz on the power of connection, reinforcing their understanding after rewatching the video. Each quiz includes ten questions, and scoring 80% or higher earns them a certificate. There are 8 certificates to collect, motivating ongoing engagement and learning. This activity encourages retention and provides a tangible reward for their efforts, promoting consistent hydration habits and an understanding of its benefits.
This week, you'll be invited to take a quiz focused on the power of connection. After rewatching the video, your task is to correctly answer ten questions about the benefits of staying hydrated, such as improved focus, mood, and overall health. Achieving a score of 80% or more will earn you a certificate, which will be sent directly to your email. There are 8 certificates in total for you to collect. Best of luck!