. y o u t h e n g a g e m e n t 4 .
"We are the sum total of our experiences."
-Thomas Gilovich
For this week’s youth engagement, I wanted to talk to the students about gratitude for people in our community. The first full week of November is recognized as “Animal Shelter Appreciation Week”, so I thought this would be a great opportunity for the students to understand what an animal shelter is and how the people who work there contribute to our community by taking care of animals that don’t have homes.
“Why is it such a big responsibility to take care of animals”, I asked. Through their answers, the students demonstrated empathy and compassion by recognizing that animals depend on others for food, water, and a clean place to live. To help the students have a real-world understanding of what a humane society is, I played a three-minute video: “A Day in the Life of an Animal Shelter”. As the students watched, I pointed out how the workers were caring for the animals by cleaning the facility, providing food and water, taking the dogs for walks, playing with the cats, and making sure animals are adopted to loving homes.
After the video, I asked students to think about how they’ve felt giving an animal a treat. Then I asked, “Wouldn’t it be great to give those workers some treats to share with the dogs so they can feel that way too?” The students worked together to share the supplies that I brought for decorating. At the end of the activity, we had several doggie bags stuffed with homemade treats ready to deliver to the South Wood County Humane Society along with a recorded video thank-you message for all the workers to see and hear.
It is my hope that this experience facilitated feelings of confidence, competence, connectedness, and compassion that encourage the students to continue exploring ways they can feel their best throughout all the dimensions of wellness.
Analyze wellness as it affects the developmental spectrum through each of the wellness model dimensions
Intellectual
When school-age children are encouraged to share their thoughts and ideas with others, they experience the benefits of feeling competent. Competence is a component of resiliency. This activity provided an opportunity for students to exchange knowledge and skills in a learning environment where they were encouraged to be curious and inquisitive.
Spiritual
Spiritual wellness challenges us to find meaning in situations that may seem confusing or disappointing. The students identified that it feels good to be able to give their own pet a treat. Through this activity, the students were able to expand their awareness and demonstrate how they can share that feeling with the workers at the humane society by decorating treats for them to share with the dogs. Gratitude can be a spiritual practice that doesn’t subscribe to any particular denomination or belief system, rather it teaches us to consider “the good in our lives arises from a multiplicity of people and events around us”(Neff, K. & Germer, C., 2018).
Emotional
School-age children are developing awareness of and placing increased importance on their relationships with others. This activity provided an opportunity for the students to work together with their peers toward a shared goal. Emotionally positive experiences like this encourage children to express their thoughts and feelings and consider how their peer's thoughts and feelings affect their own.
Occupational
Through this activity, students demonstrated teamwork to accomplish a shared goal. Some of the students demonstrated natural leadership skills as they raised their hands to contribute their thoughts and ideas while others demonstrated awareness and initiative to help others. Occupational wellness asks us to consider what motivates us and what feels rewarding. Activities like this can help youth identify new areas of interest and motivate them to pursue curiosity in constructive ways.
Physical
Self-esteem, confidence, and self-control are components of physical wellness. This activity promoted the student’s creative freedom and physical movement in a way that was stimulating and structurally different from the typical school day. The students were engaged and physically active as they learned and had the hands-on opportunity to decorate gifts for the humane society workers and the animals.
Social
Social wellness promotes feelings of connectedness to our surroundings and others. This activity provided students with the opportunity to understand more clearly how the work of others contributes to the well-being of our community and that it is within their ability to express appreciation for what they do.
Community-based resilience-building activities encourage youth to develop to their potential by providing guidance, protection, and opportunities for positive peer, school, and community experiences.
Supporting the students from the sidelines while observing the students working together to create an end deliverable intended to demonstrate gratitude for others
Providing a hands-on activity for students to recognize their unique skills and abilities can create positive experiences for others.
