Covid-19 Updates
Taking care of ourselves throughout the corona-virus pandemic or during any other challenge leads to change and disruption of our daily lives. In times of unrest, we need to think about ways to support our health and social-emotional wellness.
Our team at Dignity Revolution has put together a list of evidence-based resources to support you during this difficult time. These hands-on activities address and teach essential skills targeted at the enhancement of emotional health and well-being for all ages.
These activities are fun and super easy to do! We invite teachers, parents and other adults to add these activities to any school curriculum be it face-to-face teaching, online distance learning, or to jump start a valuable discussion in your own home.
Weekly we will give you a new lesson! Check back for more information.
This Week’s Social and Emotional Competency: Self-Management
o The ability to successfully regulate one’s emotions, thoughts, and behaviors in different situations — effectively managing stress, controlling impulses, and motivating oneself. The ability to set and work toward personal and academic goals.
This Week’s Theme: Peace
o The Hebrew word for peace, shalom, has a wide range of definitions which include totality, completeness, fulfillment, harmony, security and well-being.
o Many of us strive for inner peace, especially when the world around us is full of chaos.
o COVID-19 can challenge our inner peace, especially when it comes to social media which hosts the potential for cyber bullying.
o What skills do we need to maintain our inner peace and value when we experience cyber bullying online?
Weekly Dignity Revolution Challenge: Dignity Shield
o This activity asks you to create a Dignity Shield.
o This shield enables a person to stand up for their own value and/or the value of others.
o When a person’s “peace” is disrupted, they can log off and disconnect from the internet, look at their Dignity Shield and remember they have value.
o The Shield helps a person create strategies they can use to respectfully stand up for their own value, affirm their positive qualities and strengths, as well as identify a person they value and trust to help them process the feelings of chaos they might have due to cyber-bullying.
- Learn More:
This Week’s Social and Emotional Competency: Self-Management
- Self-Management
o The ability to successfully regulate one’s emotions, thoughts, and behaviors in different situations — effectively managing stress, controlling impulses, and motivating oneself. The ability to set and work toward personal and academic goals.
- This Week’s Theme: Patience
o Patience is the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset.
o Some of us are really good at patience, and some of us really struggle with it.
o COVID-19 can certainly challenge our patience with regards to a plethora of uncertainties like graduations, celebrations, and employment. We desire to be patient, but often find ourselves feeling stressed and impatient.
o Patience is an important tool that helps us overcome frustration.
o Patience allows us to suspend judgment long enough to make informed decisions thus paving the path to a happy and peaceful life.
- Weekly Dignity Revolution Challenge: “My Dash”
- Dignity Revolution has an activity entitled “My Dash”. This activity has you imagine an 80-foot rope strung out lengthwise on a wall or driveway. This 80-feet of rope represents 80 years of life, your “dash”. The rope, “dash”, has a beginning and an end and somewhere on this rope is COVID-19.
o What will your dash reflect or “say” that you did during COVID-19?
o Were you patient? Frustrated?
o During this time of uncertainty, did you embrace the chaos and patiently allow it to unfold into unexpected growth? Why or why not?
o It’s said that sometimes it is helpful for a person to “step and stand” for a bit before they take their next step. What does it mean for you to patiently “stand” today? What do you need in order to do this?
o Remember, if anything is certain, change is certain. How can patience help you with change?
- Learn More:
- This Week’s Social and Emotional Competency:Self-Management
The ability to successfully regulate one’s emotions, thoughts, and behaviors in different situations- effectively managing stress, controlling impulses, and motivating oneself. The ability to set and work toward personal and academic goals.
- Impulse control
- Stress management
- Self-discipline
- Self-motivation
- Goal-setting
- Organizational skills
- This Week’s Theme: Value
You have the power to take positive steps right now to improve your resilience and emotional and mental health. Don’t wait until your world is crashing or you are in crisis to make your mental health a priority. Take steps today.
Using the My Wellness Plan Worksheet write a wellness plan on how you are going to improve your mental health for the next 48 hours.
Examples:
- Say 10 affirmations a day.
- Manage my stress: share my feelings with a friend for 10 minutes or more a day.
- Do a random act of kindness once per day.
- Choose to do a dance that makes me happy 30 seconds a day.
- Only text or post positive messages.
- Take 20 minutes each day to shut off the world and relax.
- Boost self-esteem by sharing positive attributes about myself each day.
How can you build resiliency?
There is no simple or single strategy to eliminate the stigma associated with mental illness, but some positive steps can be taken. Ask questions. Get help from a medical professional, licensed counselor, or Safe Contact. Make positive steps toward being mentally healthy.
If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, break the silence and get help! Call 1.800.273-TALK (8255). You matter!
- Weekly Dignity Revolution Challenge: “Value”
- Explain what the value is:
- When we value something, we give it relative worth, merit, or importance:
- Explain the how the value works
- Whether you realize it or not, you are making decisions regarding on how to spend your time, on what to pay attention to, on where to direct your energy. Our values are constantly reflected in the way we choose to behave.
- Explain why value impacts mental and emotional health
- Our mental health is just as important as our social or physical health.
- Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices. Mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through adulthood.
- Do you value your mental health? Why or why not?
- Explain the “action” we want people to take with value.
- Placing a value on our mental few resources to consider as you create a plan to enhance your own mental health plan.
- https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/managing-stress-anxiety.html
- https://afsp.org/story/taking-care-of-your-mental-health-in-the-face-of-uncertainty
- https://www.mhanational.org/taking-good-care-yourself
- Explain what the value is:
- This Week’s Social and Emotional Competency: Relationship Skills
- Relationship Skills: The ability to establish and maintain healthy and rewarding relationships with diverse individuals and groups. The ability to communicate clearly, listen well, cooperate with others, resist inappropriate social pressure, negotiate conflict constructively, and seek and offer help when needed
- Theme: Respect Respect Email
- Weekly Dignity Revolution Challenge: “Check in”
- Explain what the check in is
- Explain the how the check in works
- Explain why a check in impacts mental and emotional health
- Explain the components of the check in
- Explain the “action” we want people to take with check in
- Learn More:
- 3-3-3 video
- Respect Email
- This Week’s Social and Emotional Competency: Self-Awareness
- Self-Awareness: The ability to accurately recognize one’s own emotions, thoughts, and values and how they influence behavior. The ability to accurately assess one’s strengths and limitations, with a well-grounded sense of confidence, optimism, and a “growth mindset.”
- Theme: Be Courageous
- Explain what Be Courageous means/what is the intended outcome for this week’s theme
- Be Courageous Email
- Weekly Dignity Revolution Challenge: “Find Your Courage”
- Explain what Find Your Courage is
- Explain how the Find Your Courage works
- Explain why a Find Your Courage impacts mental and emotional health
- Explain the components of the Find Your Courage
- Explain the “action” we want people to take with Find Your Courage
- Find Your Courage
- Find Your Courage ★ illustrates individuals who have courage and what it takes to stand up for the value of every person.
- This Week’s Social and Emotional Competency: Relationship Skills
- Relationship Skills: The ability to establish and maintain healthy and rewarding relationships with diverse individuals and groups. The ability to communicate clearly, listen well, cooperate with others, resist inappropriate social pressure, negotiate conflict constructively, and seek and offer help when needed.
- Theme: “Love BIG”
- Love Big EMAIL
- Weekly Dignity Revolution Challenge: “Encouragement Bubbles”
- Explain what the Encouragement Bubbles are
- Explain how the Encouragement Bubbles works
- Explain why Encouragement Bubbles impacts mental and emotional health
- Explain the components of the Encouragement Bubbles
- Explain the “action” we want people to take with Encouragement Bubble
encouragement bubble challenge
- This Week’s Social and Emotional Competency: Social Awareness
- Social Awareness: The ability to take the perspective of and empathize with others, including those from diverse backgrounds and cultures. The ability to understand social and ethical norms for behavior and to recognize family, school, and community resources and supports.
- Theme: My “Pledge Word” Challenge
- #MyPledgeWordChallenge Email
- A challenge can be accomplished when we choose to work as a team. When a community of people make a pledge, take collective action, they can influence behavior
- Take the Pledge http://www.DignityPledge.com/the-pledge
- Weekly Dignity Revolution Challenge:
- Explain what the pledge is
- Explain how the pledge works
- Explain why a pledge impacts mental and emotional health
- Explain the components of the pledge
- Explain the “action” we want people to take
- This Week’s Social and Emotional Competency: Self-Awareness
- Self-Awareness: The ability to accurately recognize one’s own emotions, thoughts, and values and how they influence behavior. The ability to accurately assess one’s strengths and limitations, with a well-grounded sense of confidence, optimism, and a “growth mindset.”
- Theme: “H.O.P.E. and Positive Attributes”
- DR HOPE Email
- Explain what H.O.P.E. and Positive Attributes means/what is the intended outcome for this week’s theme
- Weekly Dignity Revolution Challenge: “The Dice Game”
- Explain what the H.O.P.E. and Positive Attributes is
- Explain how the H.O.P.E. and Positive Attributes works
- Explain why a H.O.P.E. and Positive Attributes impacts mental and emotional health
- Explain the components of the H.O.P.E. and Positive Attributes
- Explain the “action” we want people to take with H.O.P.E. and Positive Attributes
- positive attributes
- This Week’s Social and Emotional Competency: Self-Awareness
- Self-Awareness: The ability to accurately recognize one’s own emotions, thoughts, and values and how they influence behavior. The ability to accurately assess one’s strengths and limitations, with a well-grounded sense of confidence, optimism, and a “growth mindset.”
- Theme: Instill Hope
- Explain what “Instill Hope” means/what is the intended outcome for this week’s theme
- DR We Can Help Email
- Weekly Dignity Revolution Challenge: “The Dice Game”
- Explain what the dice game is
- Explain how the dice game works
- Explain why a dice game impacts mental and emotional health
- Explain the components of the dice game
- Explain the “action” we want people to take with dice game
Dice Game ★ encourages students to talk about their feelings and how they impact themselves and others.
Find the pdf printable version of the student handouts here: Parent Resource Guide or Dice Game
These activities are purposely aligned with CASEL social and emotional learning competencies. Click the picture below for more information on CASEL.
What is social and emotional learning and how do we embed these skills in our daily lives? Social and emotional learning (SEL) enhances students’ capacity to integrate skills, attitudes, and behaviors to deal effectively and ethically with daily tasks and challenges. Bottom line social and emotional learning teaches us how to develop essential skills that enhances our emotional and mental health. SEL skills are divided into five competencies.
So far, 142,472 have taken The Pledge. Will you?
