Believe it or not, February 1st is in two days. Where did January go?! I spent a lot of my January trying to get back on the good health train. One of my many resolutions for the upcoming year was focusing on feeling good and I knew consuming the right things for my body would make me feel good, physically and mentally. Do you have a New Year’s resolution or resolutions? Have you actually been keeping up with them? Statistics show that 41% of Americans make resolutions, but only 9.2% feel successful in achieving those resolutions. Types of resolutions range all over the charts, from self-improvement to obtaining better health to saving more and spending less.
New Year’s resolutions are an interesting concept. With the New Year often portrayed as a fresh start, many feel the need to make new goals for themselves. But who said that the New Year was the only fresh start? Just think—with a strong mindset you can make any day a fresh start. If you were part of the 90.8% who felt like you didn’t succeeded in your resolutions last year, do not fret! Do not let anyone (especially yourself) keep you from working towards your goals because you ate a piece of cake one night or spent an extra $20 at Target that one time. Start over the next day and move forward from there. Nobody is perfect and life is about balance. Resilience is what is key here. Tell yourself that you WILL succeed. With a little positive thinking and self-motivation, you will be on the road to success—no matter what day of the week it is.
0 Comments
Chinese New Year starts tomorrow, January 28th. How much do you know about it?
10 Things I Bet You Didn’t Know About the Chinese New Year:
Global Belly Laugh Day, January 24 is a healthy, happy, high achieving, laugh with me, 21st century holiday. On January 24, Global Belly Laugh Day laughing and smiling are encouraged and celebrated! We remember the people in our life past and present who smile and laugh with us. We remember the "now" I can laugh at those moments. My six-year-old LOVES to tell me jokes. And now that he can read them from the milk carton, he brings these little gems home almost daily. Y’all wanna hear a few? Ok, here we go:
Q: What’s a pencil’s favorite place to visit? A: Pennsylvania Q: Why did the goat get a ticket? A: Because he was a baaaaad driver. I hope these made you smile. They might have even made you LOL. If so, the mission of Global Belly Laugh Day was accomplished! Let’s face it, San Antonio kind of skipped the whole season that some call winter. Spring allergens are out and about and if you’re not one of the lucky ones to experience only a slight cough here and there, maybe these tips will help.
Here are just a few of the do’s and don’ts to get you through the season:
Since winter break, our minds have been on spring cleaning and making our way to a simpler and more manageable lifestyle. Thanks to the Netflix documentary, The Minimalists, conversations in the Community Education office have surrounded the thoughts of simple living. From cleaning out the closet to evaluating the true value behind the things that we’ve collected over the years, our weekends have been full of making steps towards simplicity. Now let’s take a step back for a minute. Value. Realizing the value behind why you have an assortment of wood-carved zebras that serve no purpose other than that they look cool is key. The value behind those zebras comes from the years of travel and memories spent searching through open air markets in third-world countries only to find wood-carved zebras (true story). So of course I’m not going to toss those! But the tiny jar that holds no purpose or value other than the fact that it was a sweet buy at Target may have to go. Let’s be honest… the jar is just pretty to look at. It doesn’t even hold anything in it!
Now, while having an abundance of things can be a blessing, having less things that hold more value can be bliss. Opening our homes for more memories rather than stuff is the objective. Do more with less. Feel the challenge? You don’t have to be a true-to-heart minimalist and live out of a suitcase, but maybe give the simplifying technique a try. Go through that junk drawer this weekend and see how freeing it is to get rid of what holds no value or real purpose for you. Let us know how you do. We’d love to keep the momentum going together.
Today marks the observance day of the late and great Martin Luther King Jr. I know when I was growing up, I only appreciated the holiday because we got the day off of school. I never invested the time to truly understand the impact Martin Luther King Jr. had on America. MLK is known as a fierce civil rights activist during Ronald Reagan’s presidency. On August 28, 1963, MLK gave his most well-known speech: I Have a Dream. Every now and then, I listen to this speech for pure motivation.
Aside from his I Have a Dream speech, MLK did a number of incredible things promoting nonviolent resistance while fighting against racial segregation. MLK Jr. founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in which he led many nonviolent campaigns, including the Albany movement and the Birmingham campaign. Did you know that MLK also led the 1955 Montgomery bus boycott? The boycott followed Rosa Parks’ refusal to give up her seat on a bus just because of her race.
All of this extraordinarily brave work did not go unnoticed. In 1964 MLK Jr. was presented with the Nobel Peace Prize. After his death in 1968, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Honor and the Congressional Gold Medal. No one has had quite the impact as MLK Jr. when it comes to nonviolent resistance, so I urge you to continue the conversation with your kids or your friends when it comes to Martin Luther King Jr. Today wasn’t just a day off of school—it’s a day to remember that violence is not the answer. Let’s be real here, whose New Year’s resolution isn’t to get healthier? A healthier you is always a good thing to strive for. We don’t always take into consideration that a healthier you rarely looks like a ‘healthier someone else.’ Although the media is getting a little bit better at confronting this truth, there is definitely still a ‘template’ of what a healthy person should look like on TV, on the 52 billboards you pass on the way to work and amongst your social media news feeds. That template might be what a couple of healthy people look like, but that doesn’t mean that’s what everyone should or even can look like. We all have different body types and at the end of the day, it’s about how you feel, not what you look like. More often than not, people try to tackle way too many new healthy habits at once. Instead of attempting to go to the gym 5 times a week, mediating 3 times a week and meal prepping for the week ahead—focus on one thing. Studies show that creating one good habit can lead to creating other good habits. Once you realize how good it feels to stay consistent at one thing, you’ll want that feeling to filter into other parts of your life. Building one habit can be tough, but all it takes is a little focus. Healthy habits don’t just consist of what you consume or how often you are active. Getting enough sleep, worrying less and practicing positive thinking are also healthy habits. Here are 50 ideas for new healthy habits you can start the year with: Take charge of your life and work on a healthier you! 2017 is your year. Go out there and take it!
We are always on the lookout for instructors who are knowledgeable in their field and passionate about sharing that knowledge with our community. If this sounds like something you would be interested in exploring (or if you have someone in mind) then please complete our online course proposal form by clicking here. Once your form is submitted it will be sent via email to the coordinator. We will be planning our summer semester soon so don't delay. Get your proposal in today.
The basics you will need to provide include:
It’s our first full week back from winter break and spring after school classes are right around the corner (two weeks to be exact). There’s much to look forward to this semester with science experiments, drama productions, art projects and new skills to be learned.
Take a minute, if you haven’t done so already, to see what classes are available after school. You can find a full list of after school classes, in alphabetical order, on our website http://communityed.neisd.net. Click on more details for school locations, start dates and times. While there are no discounts for after school classes, every penny spent towards enhancing your child’s education is priceless. Not only will they have a safe place to be after school, they will learn something new and make new friends too! Don’t delay, enroll today! Space is limited. Have you ever found yourself mid-year with no idea of what your next step will be? Don’t find yourself in the same place in 2017.
Get your party hats out as the second Saturday in January (January 14, 2017) has been deemed National Vision Board Day! A day set aside as a way for friends to plan, set goals and get creative in a fun environment with high hopes for the year ahead. A vision board serves as a mounted reminder that’s easily available to reference when you feel like you’ve lost your way through life’s twists and turns. It’s a daily reminder that you can really achieve what you set your mind to. This year say “no” to mid-year days feeling lost and confused, and say “yes” to a world of possibilities. Check out this blogger who lists 6 easy steps to get started on your vision board, she calls it Vision Board 101. From questions to ask and reflect on, to gathering the supplies, creating a personal vision board should be a fun, relaxing way to mentally prepare for the year ahead. A key part in this is setting the end result in a place that you can visually be reminded of the things that you would like to accomplish. Have fun, get creative and plan on! 2017 will be awesome. |
AuthorNEISD Community Education Archives
August 2017
Categories |