'Create Your Calm' to Defuse Emotions, Enhance K-12 Learning

As students and teachers across the state head back into K-12 classrooms this month, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services' (MDHHS) Stay Well program is offering educational tools and resources to help create and maintain a calm learning environment.

Among the free tools available are child-friendly "Create Your Calm" posters, stickers and magnets. These items demonstrate simple breathing and emotional grounding exercises that anyone can do when feeling overwhelmed, anxious, tense or distracted. The items may be ordered by completing this form, which is available on the "Resources for Schools" page of the Stay Well website.

The grant-funded Stay Well program launched in early 2020 to help Michiganders cope with emotional distress caused by the COVID-19 public health crisis. The program is sharply focused on serving youth and their caregivers, including parents, teachers and school counselors.

"Numerous studies show the mental health of our young people declined during the pandemic," said Jody Lewis, Stay Well program director. "That has made teaching all the more challenging, leading to burnout and emotional stress among educators. Create Your Calm is intended as a reminder to kids and adults alike that we can concentrate and learn better when our minds and bodies are relaxed. We hope schools -- and youth-oriented organizations of all types -- will take advantage of these free resources."

Also available on the Resources for Schools page are recorded webinars with strategies for addressing behavioral and mental health issues among students:

Helping Students Thrive: Tools for promoting social-emotional development.

Part 1 -- Self-compassion

Part 2 -- Relaxation and mindfulness

Part 3 -- Control: noticing and managing thoughts

Psychological First Aid: Supporting students during a pandemic.

Be Kind to your Mind: Friends helping friends. This webinar is for teens who want to know how to help their struggling friends (i.e., what a panic attack looks like, the best ways to offer support, warning signs of suicide) and also how to improve their own mental wellness.