September Wellness Star

9/26/2019 11:13 am

 

 

The Wellness Star is brought to you by the Wellness Committee. We are a resource for health and wellness related information and events. Through newsletters, teams and activities, we hope to provide awareness, education and ideas to increase overall well-being.

 

 

Simple Ways of Wellness

{wellness: the quality or state of being healthy in body and mind}

Whether it’s in the classroom, office, or home, incorporating health and wellness can be easy, inexpensive, and enjoyed by all. Check out these ideas you can try today!

 

Movement Mondays

• Stretch for 5 minutes 

• Try a new team sport or game 

• Find a workout buddy

• Go for a power walk 

• Stroll the local trails

• Do 10 jumping jacks, squats, or push ups every hour 

• Use everyday items for strengthening (canned food for weights, park benches for push ups or lunges, towel for stretches or jumping exercises)

• Do seated arm circles

• Rake 

• Weed the garden

• Ride your bike to school or work

• Sign up for a race or event

• Set a new fitness goal

Wellness Wednesdays

• Give someone a compliment

• Take a few minutes to breathe in fresh air 

• Notice the changing of the seasons

• Write a grateful list 

• Find a new way to relax

• Listen to music

• Create your own art 

• Observe autumn leaves

• Read

• Look at pictures of your favorite things, places, people 

• Get out in nature

• Write a letter to a friend or loved one 

• Make a vision board

• Take a nap

• Organize something

• Do a secret act of kindness 

• Donate something that you no longer need 

• Meditate, yoga, tai chi

• Call a friend 

• Start a journal 

• Do a crossword puzzle, sudoku, word find 

• Laugh

• Be kind

• Dance

 

Foodie Fridays

• Try a new food

• Enjoy your favorite fruit or vegetable in a new recipe 

• Document your senses when trying a food

• Learn where your favorite food is from 

• Cook with a friend

• Learn how plants are grown

• Eat a rainbow of fruits and vegetables 

• Make a smoothie

• Pack a picnic

• Try seasonal produce

• Recreate a family recipe

• Have family members choose a menu or cooking day 

• Go to a local farmer’s market, apple orchard, pumpkin patch

• Plant a garden

• Get inspired by a cookbook

• Try varieties of the same fruit or vegetable and compare 

• Try a food from another culture 

 

  

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Star Spotlight

Mr. Lange, Chanhassen Elementary Principal

What sports/activities did you participate in during your school years? 

The main sports I played through high school were football, hockey, and tennis.  While hockey was my favorite sport, I played in the Minnesota State High School tennis tournament my junior and senior years.

 

What is your favorite way to relax? 

My favorite way to relax is to cruise the lake on my boat, “Seas the Day”. 

 

Do you have a hobby?

I have several hobbies such as fishing, hunting, kayaking, and mountain biking.

 

What is your favorite meal to cook?

My favorite meals to cook are burgers/steaks/kabobs on the grill.

What is a food that you did not like as a kid, but love now? 

When I was a kid, I didn’t like asparagus. Now as an adult, I love asparagus, either pickled or steamed.

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Star Shout Out

Mr. Kison, the safety guard team and parents

Thank you for keeping us safe during drop off and pick up times! We appreciate your dedication to safety and taking your responsibility seriously. Also, thank you to all the parents of the safety guards for your commitment, early mornings, and later afternoons. We couldn’t do this without you! 

 

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Time Blocking

With the school year underway, homework, activities, sports, and full schedules on a daily basis, the average day may feel stressful and be overwhelming. Time blocking is a great way to create a visual of your day or a portion of the day by breaking down activities & tasks to a period of time. This may eliminate being overwhelmed and allows one to stay on track. Either create one on your own or simply find a free time block printout on the internet that is best for you or your student. Don’t forget to set aside a block of time to relax! 

 

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Green Thumb ~ Gardening Updates

We are lucky to have Jessica Annis, parent & Master Gardener, at our school! She has provided knowledge, education, and countless hours of hard work to turn our garden into something that can be enjoyed by all.

 

Read the latest updates from Jessica:   

Last spring some of the students planted popcorn during our planting event on May 15th. It will soon be ready to harvest and enjoy! 

 

Over the summer the flower garden was buzzing with hundreds of bees, butterflies, soldier beetles, monarch cats, as well as a pair of yellow finches that loved the tall yellow flowers. It is our goal to add additional pollinator friendly plants so that the garden will provide season long flowers for our pollinators. Some new additions to the garden include: Purple coneflowers, Turtlehead, Russian sage, catmint, coreopsis, and Butterfly Weed. I am most excited about the Butterfly Weed!  It is a native with bright orange flowers that bloom June-September and is a host plant for the monarch caterpillar. 

 

In the veggie garden we are growing a fall crop of cherry globe radishes as well as mixed baby salad greens and baby kale!  

Did you know: The 3rd Monday of every month is free admission at the Arboretum? Ages 15 years old and younger are always free. 

 

Please contact Jessica at wellnesschanhassenpto@gmail.com regarding gardening questions, helping out in the garden, or learning how to cultivate your green thumb! 

 

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Allergen Resource Team

Are you the parent of a child or children with a food allergy or multiple food allergies? We are building a group of families to provide support, share experiences, answer questions for each other, and just basically help each other navigate food allergies in the school environment. Do you have an older child & things are going well? Great! Your experience would be so welcoming to a new family starting out. Are you new to the elementary school setting? Together we’ll help figure out all of those unique situations that arise.  

 

Please contact the Allergen Resources Team for more information.

 

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Book Picks

• Have You Filled a Bucket Today? – Carol McCloud

• I Am Yoga – Susan Verde

• I Am Human – Susan Verde

• Foods with Moods – Saxton Freymann & Joost Elffers

• Eating the Alphabet – Lois Ehlert

• The Ugly Vegetables – Grace Lin

• Ghost – Jason Reynolds

• Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child – John Gottman

• Outer Order, Inner Calm – Gretchen Rubin

• The Busy Body Book – Lizzy Rockwell

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Upcoming Events and Wellness Connections

Hearing and Vision Screening

When: October 2nd from 8 AM - 2 PM

 

We need volunteers to get students to and from the screenings. Please consider volunteering for a shift to help the process go smoothly. 

 

Click here to view and sign up for shifts!

 

 

District 112 Elementary Invitational Cross Country Race

K-5 are invited to participate in a cross county race with the high school teams, coaches, & fans cheering them on! There is no cost for the event.

When: Wednesday, October 9th, 5:50 pm elementary school races will start, but feel free to come earlier to cheer on our middle school athletes!

Where: Lake Ann Park, Chanhassen

For more information and to print out the permission and registration form, please click here or check with the Physical Education teachers. Contact Anita Woodrow, 952-556-3500, Chanhassen High School Instructional Coach if you have questions.

Health & Wellness Workshops: 3 Part Series

All workshops are free. For more information and to book your spot, please go to: www.propfood.org.

 

Location: Heritage Room in the City Center building

 

8080 Mitchell Road, Eden Prairie

Topics

Mindfulness & Sleep: October 3rd, 6:30-8:00 pm

Nutrition & Your Health: November 7th, 6:30-8:00 pm

Physical Activity for Health: December 5th, 6:30-8:00 pm 

 

 

Cyclehealth Training Challenge - Get Gritty Challenge

A kid + kid (ages 7-17) or kid + adult buddy race to discover your toughness and grit.

When: Sunday, October 27th, 1-3pm

Where: Hyland Lake Park Reserve

For more information, please go to www.cyclehealth.org

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Coming Up in October's Issue

Next newsletter topics: sleep, flu season preparation, seasonal recipes, and more!

 

Questions? Comments. Celebrations! Contact the Wellness Committee: 
wellnesschanhassenpto@gmail.com