Middle school and high school can be some of the most stressful times of life. Between the pressures of school, social life, and other activities, teens have a huge amount on their minds, at all times.

This three-part activity series will help kids and teens start (or continue) the important journey into social and emotional learning and understand how that contributes to positive mental health. The following are great resources to share with teens to complete during summer break either from a family or through Youth/Teen Center newsletter. To check out the below activities go to the National 4-H Website.

Grades: 6-12
Topic: Mental Health, Mindfulness
Estimated Time: 30-45 minutes

Meditation in a Bottle

In this activity, kids and teens will create a personalized bottle filled with slow-moving glitter as a tool to learn about meditation and the different ways it can be used to help relax their minds, reduce stress, and reset their focus.

Building Healthy Friendships

Emotional and social wellbeing are important factors when discussing mental health. This activity encourages youth to build strong and healthy friendships that last by learning the value of connecting with others.

Learn How to Stress Less

Life can be pretty stressful and while it’s normal to experience stress, it can quickly become overwhelming. In this activity, kids will learn to identify the impact of stress on their lives, discover healthy and productive ways to handle it, and who they can reach out to for guidance.