Author

Rosemarie McGinty

New year or not, it’s always a good time for students to set wellness goals!

Below you’ll find some goal recommendations for your students and ways to accomplish them. Get creative with it – try some as an entire class and join your students in sticking with them!

Drink more water.

Ideas: Use larger (re-fillable) water bottles; implement 30-second “water breaks/reminders” during your classes; keep a post-it note at your desk to track water consumption throughout the school day.

Take more steps.

Ideas: Don’t use escalators or elevators for a month; take a short class break to walk in place or take a quick lap of the classroom; set up a schedule to walk your pet (or your neighbor’s pet!).

Try a new form of exercise.

Ideas: Dance to five of your favorite songs every day; join a sports team; try a new sport or game at recess.

Practice mindfulness.

Ideas: Sit quietly for 5 minutes every day; listen to a calming instrumental song every morning while you get ready for school; get the entire class to spend two (quiet) minutes focusing on their breath after coming back from recess. (Trying to figure out how to teach mindfulness to your elementary students? Get started with Lesson 7 in the Compassion Project.)

Create healthy sleep habits.

Ideas: Read a few pages of a book before bed; don’t look at screens for 30 minutes before going to sleep; spend a few minutes stretching before bed.

Reduce stigma around mental illness.

Ideas: Join a support group; visit a school counselor or outside therapist; learn about various mental health illnesses. (Explore mental wellness basics in this online course for middle and high school students.)

Get involved in the community.

Ideas: Volunteer somewhere after school; participate in an event held at a nearby library; raise money for a charity you like.

Save money.

Ideas: Create a budget; learn about potential career paths; open a savings account. (Try out a lesson on budgeting, savings accounts, and other basic financial education topics in Vault for elementary students, FutureSmart for middle, or EVERFI: Financial Literacy for high school.)


Rosemarie is a K-12 Program Coordinator based in Washington, D.C. She works closely with teachers and K-12 Schools Managers in the South Central region of the United States to implement EVERFI’s online learning resources. In her free time, she can be found with her nose in a book or trying out a new coffee shop.

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