As part of our overall wellness unit, today we did an “Exercise Tasting” activity to give students a chance to try out a variety of different exercises. I did include Meditation as one of the exercises, because exercising and calming the mind is an important part of overall wellness.

I am blessed to have access to Beachbody On Demand, so I used the availability of different exercise programs through Beachbody to make today work. They had 7 stations, (Yoga, Weights, Kickboxing, Pilates, Cardio, Meditation, Walking). Students complete between 5 and 7 minutes at each station, and answered questions to evaluate each exercise after spending time completing the activity. It was a great way to get students up and moving and giving them a chance to try out different exercise programs. Exercise isn’t a one size fits all, and if students can find activities they enjoy now, they will be able to create healthy habits that will last into their futures. I had fun, and I hope they did too!

Here is the assignment sheet they completed during class. Exercise Tasting

As we moved into Personal Nutrition in my Nutrition and Wellness class, I wanted to find a way to personalize this unit to make it real for my students.  To start, I gave each student a small notebook (fits in a pocket), and we talked about how many calories they needed a day for survival, weight loss, or weight gain. Then we divided the days out and students began simply tracking what food they were eating everyday, how much, and their water intake. After two days, we analyzed their calorie intake from both days to see where their current eating plan fits into a healthy lifestyle based on calorie intake.

They have tracked their diet for two more days and when we come back from Spring Break, they will analyze how those two days fit into the My Plate Guidelines and if they are eating the right foods for their dietary needs. Through all of this, we have had great discussions on healthy eating and  making small lifestyle changes. These activities have been a great way to get students interested in seeing how nutrition plays a critical role in their overall health.

Here are the two assignments students completed or will complete to analyze their diets.

Daily Calorie Intake

Food Groups Analysis