Celebrating World Mental Health Day!

Tuesday, October 10, 2023 was World Mental Health Day and Sward School celebrated by hosting a Family Wellness Night.

“In a world that often feels fast paced and demanding, it’s crucial to prioritize our mental well being. Sward families did just that and left Sward Family Wellness Night 2023 feeling relaxed, happy, and calm! A huge thank you to all the families and staff volunteers who came out and enjoyed the many activities offered while supporting their mental health.” Mrs. Hernandez, Sward’s Social Worker 

Here is a list of the opportunities families were able to visit throughout the evening. Thank you to Mrs. Hernandez for organizing this event for the Sward community and teaching us about self-care. 

Barre Exercise/Movements — Reduce stress and improve overall strength with this low impact and fun mini workout which can improve your balance, build strength, make you more flexible, burn calories, and improve stability through a stronger core.

The Ultimate Mindfulness Bracelet — Stringing beads is so satisfying. It is rhythmic, simple, and relaxing. Along with relieving stress and anxiety, making mindfulness bracelets can bring you joy.

Calming/Sensory Bottles — Create an engaging visual sensory experience which will promote focus and relaxation when feeling anxious, stressed or overwhelmed.

Worry stones — Paint your worries and stress away. You will leave feeling soothed, calm, and more focused.

Mandala Coloring — Coloring mandalas can promote relaxation, calms the nervous system, invokes positive energies, and balances body energies. It’s a great stress reliever and helps you reconnect with your inner child.

Sound Bowls/ Meditation — If you struggle with anxiety, stress, depression, or general relaxation, perhaps sound healing Yoga with singing bowls could be the secret to soothing your mind and body.

Stress Balls — Stress balls can help children calm down. Simply manipulating a stress ball and applying pressure on it with one or two hands while paying attention to their breathing can calm little minds and over excited little bodies.

Therapy Dogs — Dogs help kids regulate their emotions and behaviors; they become a best friend, a trusted confidant, and help children develop empathy, trust, communication skills and other prosocial behaviors

Tae Kwon Do — Taekwondo helps children thrive academically and improves their cognitive and academic performance. Through Taekwondo, children stay physically active, which keeps the brain healthy by boosting cognitive performance, facilitating the growth of new neurons, and improving concentration and memory

Bubble Breathing Techniques — Using bubbles is a great way for children to practice breathing exercises for anxiety. When blowing bubbles, perhaps without even realizing it, the breathing technique calms the mind and body.

Ear Seeds with Dr. Jamie Bailey — The placement of gold magnets on the ears (magnotherapy), has been shown to be very effective in helping children and adults diagnosed with ADHD and anxiety. This noninvasive technique stimulates pressure points on the ear without the use of needles, and aids with stress, anxiety, fear and digestive problems.