THE HEALTHY TRACK: BACK TO SCHOOL FALL 2021
August is here, which means one thing to a lot of families: SCHOOL. During the past year, defining a normal school routine was challenging and possibly replaced but this year, as schools have re-opened and are back in full swing, so are our busy lives. In this healthy track, find YOUR way to get back into the swing of things. Do not try to mimic what you used to do or what your neighbor is doing, do what’s best to manage a healthy lifestyle as well as your family’s.
Set some alarms in the next few weeks to find your ‘back on track’ for your healthy back to school!
Alarm One: Write out a list. Go ahead and roll your eyes, but writing out a physical list and plan, can help to set yourself up for success. There are lot of things that can get crammed into the last week of Summer so set yourself up to plan, and plan now with a task list a few weeks out from the first day of school:
- Things/events you still want to accomplish before the school year
- Appointments, check-ups, errands that need to be done before the first week of school
- Arranging schedules: start to get an idea of where you need to be where and when and how it can happen
- MOVE-through all this planning, it’s easy to let anxiety and stress set in, so regardless of how far your school year are is, incorporate movement. Set times to take a bike ride or family walk or schedule a time to meet up with a friend at the gym. Again, when we physically write it out and plan, we are more likely to succeed in the task or intention.
Alarm Two: Organize-It’s very easy to let a Summer routine lose structure (which is very necessary sometimes) and allow each day or even the weather determine your tasks but for the school year, the tasks and intentions can sneak up on us and cause chaos. Thus, organize your schedule, organize your closets, organize your refrigerator. Organize the unorganized.
- Write out the priorities of organizing a specific area and then conquer them first, each day or week add in a new area/place to organize
- Let your kids become involved! Have them organize toys/old clothes or the playroom. When they are set up with tasks and succeed, provide them with recognition! They want to feel successful too.
Alarm Three: Set some goals as a family. What are some things you want to accomplish TOGETHER? Maybe it’s eating dinner together three times per week, turning off electronics at a certain time each night, or planning an activity each weekend, but whatever the intention, make it a priority for the whole family and include the insight and opinions from kids! Ask them what makes them feel good or healthy? It could be as simple as putting up a star chart but when you involve the whole family, a lot more can be accomplished as well as the act of togetherness.
Final Alarm-Now it’s time to get up! Whatever plans you make, intend for some to fall apart or not going as planned and know it’s OKAY! We must fall sometimes to learn and improve and understanding this makes the next attempt that much better. Thus, as a family, allow for setbacks or hiccups and encourage one another to keep working hard and living a healthy, balanced lifestyle that will no doubt have a few days of unplanned chaos or events that didn’t go according to your plan, but you’ll also have those days of remarkable memories and learning. We can do our best but sometimes it’s not the way we want so all you can do, to plan and continue to do your best is understand that these setbacks are normal and apart of the unplanned plan. Life still awaits around the corner, next to School, so hop on your back-to-school track now and prepare for the best year yet!
Stay Well,
Emmy Smith, Health & Wellness Director: Butler-Gast YMCA & Maple Street YMCA
