If you’re looking for some simple ways to nourish your body, look no further!
We are here to help you make small, realistic changes to reach your goals!
1. Use smaller plates and bowls
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Instead of big dinner plates, choose a smaller option. This is a simple trick to use for controlling your portions at meal times.
2. Focus on foods you can add to your diet, not foods to eliminate
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For instance, adding extra veggies to your meal while still enjoying the garlic bread you love! This way you get in some added fiber and nutrients while still enjoying the foods you love.
3. Practice mindful eating
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Mindful eating means focusing on your food and how it tastes and smells, while also listening to your hunger cues.
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Turning off the tv and putting down electronic devices helps with practicing mindfulness! Make the time to enjoy your food rather than rushing through a meal.
4. Try to eat small, frequent meals throughout the day
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It can be easy to get into the groove and before you know it, it’s 4pm and you haven’t eaten a meal yet and you are HUNGRY! This may lead to overeating. Smaller and more frequent meals help prevent overeating and help to get in more nutritious foods throughout the day.
5. Get a workout buddy
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Having a workout partner helps to keep you accountable while getting into a new workout routine. Could be your partner, best friend, or your dog! Doesn’t matter as long as it gets you up and moving!
6. Little activity changes still add up
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Try simple things like intentionally parking farther away, taking the stairs, or stretching, walking in place and doing lunges while watching tv.
7. Ditch Fad Diets
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Try the Mediterranean diet or the DASH diet instead of the trendy, fad diets. Both of these “diets” are similar and focus on a variety of foods & healthy behaviors surrounding food.
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The Mediterranean diet focuses on including fruits, vegetables, lean proteins (fish, chicken, turkey, nuts), & whole grains while encouraging meals with others instead of eating alone or in front of the tv.
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The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet focuses on preventing high blood pressure and includes low sodium foods and foods that provide more key nutrients . The DASH diet also includes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy, and lean proteins.
Try adding some of these simple changes into your everyday routine for a healthier lifestyle this year!
Getting a good night’s sleep every night is vital to cardiovascular health. Adults should aim for an average of 7-9 hours, and babies and kids need more depending on their age.
Poor sleep may put you at higher risk for:
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Cardiovascular disease
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Cognitive decline and dementia
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Depression
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High blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol
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Obesity
Learn the Benefits of Sleep:
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Healing and repair of cells, tissues and blood vessels
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Stronger immune system
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Improved mood and energy
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Better brain function including alertness decision-making, focus, learning, memory, reasoning and problem-solving
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Less risk of chronic disease
Tips for Success:
Clean up your sleep hygiene.
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Move it. Charge your device as far away from your bed as possible. Added bonus? The distance may help you feel less overwhelmed in general.
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Dim it. Dim your screen or use a red filter app at night. The bright blue light of most devices can mess with your circadian rhythm and melatonin production.
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Set it. Alarms aren’t just for waking up – set a bedtime alarm to remind you that it’s time to wrap it up for the night.
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Lock it. if you’ve got a scrolling habit you need to kick, try an app-blocking app that makes it impossible to get lost in after-hours emails, social media or gaming.
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Block it. Tell notifications to buzz off if they’re waking you up at night. Put your phone on “do not disturb” mode to block it all out when you’re trying to sleep.
Mindful eating, or tuning in to your food, body, and thoughts while eating, can help you establish a healthier relationship with food by encouraging you to appreciate the sensory experience of eating, notice hunger and fullness cues, and get in touch with the feelings you associate with certain foods.
Improve your relationship with food today with these tips:
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Recognize Signs of Hunger
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Sit to Eat
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Breathe Deeply
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Focus on Sensory Cues
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Stick to a Schedule
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Pack Your To-Go Plate First
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Indulge Outside of Holidays
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Practice Coping Mechanisms
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Set an Alarm
10. Slow Down
11. Enjoy
12. Cut Yourself Some Slack
Many find that the holidays bring as much stress as they do joy. But there are ways to ease through the season. To help make the most of your festivities, try some of these mindful tips:
But first, what is mindfulness?
Mindfulness is bringing your attention to the present moment with an element of nonjudgment and acceptance. It is noticing when we get caught up in thoughts about the past or the future, and returning our attention to the present — the only reality.
While mindfulness can be a formal meditation practice, there are also informal ways to practice this skill. This can give us perspective and decrease stress.
1. Accept Imperfection - Can good be good enough? Before you start preparing, acknowledge that things may not go exactly as planned. It’s OK if it’s not perfect. Imperfection is healthy and normal.
2. Don’t Lose Sight of What Really Counts - With long lines and nasty traffic, the holidays can get hectic. When overwhelmed by the hustle and bustle, ask yourself:
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Where does this fit in the grand scheme of things? If you’re frustrated by the long grocery line you’re standing in, remember that it is just a long grocery line — nothing more. Don’t let it spoil your afternoon.
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Can I use this moment of frustration as an opportunity to reflect? While the cashier rings up the customers ahead of you, take inventory of the good things that have happened today or the things you are grateful for.
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Even if this moment seems stressful, can I find a way to make it pleasant? Connect with someone else in line with a compliment or kind gesture, or notice what’s around you with fresh eyes and an open mind.
3. Respond with Kindness - You can’t change how others act during the stresses of the holiday season, but you can change how you respond to situations:
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Whenever you encounter a difficult person, tell yourself, ‘this person is suffering, and that’s why they’re acting this way.’ It can soften your frustration, help you be more compassionate and remind you that it’s not personal.
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Keep in mind that the holidays are especially difficult for those who are alone. See if you can extend an act of kindness to those you know are without family and friends during this time of year.
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If things do get tense with someone, take a few deep breaths. Those few breaths can shift things and give you new perspective.
4. Rethink Your Resolutions - Typical New Year’s resolutions can set you up for failure. If you want to better yourself in the New Year, follow these tips for success:
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Start small. Break your goal into tinier steps over the course of the year. If weight loss is your goal, it doesn’t have to be drastic. Try to eat more veggies during your first month and gradually cut back on sweets throughout the next.
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Be kind to yourself. If you didn’t achieve last year’s resolution or stray from the path this time around, let it go. Let go of that negativity and pick your goals back up without the guilt or shame.”
Practicing mindfulness and meditation may help you manage stress and high blood pressure, sleep better, feel more balanced and connected, and even lower your risk of heart disease.
Meditation and mindfulness are practices — often using breathing, quiet contemplation or sustained focus on something, such as an image, phrase or sound — that help you let go of stress and feel more calm and peaceful. Think of it as a mini-vacation from the stress in your life!
Stress is your body’s natural alarm system. It releases a hormone called adrenaline that makes your breathing speed up and your heart rate and blood pressure rise. It kicks us into action, which can be a good thing when we’re faced with a real danger or need to perform.
But that “fight or flight” response can take a toll on your body when it goes on too long or is a regular occurrence. Mindfulness meditation provides a method for handling stress in a healthier way.
Meditation can improve well-being and quality of life.
Recent studies have offered promising results about the impact of meditation in reducing blood pressure. There is also evidence that it can help people manage insomnia, depression and anxiety.
Some research suggests that meditation physically changes the brain and could help:
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increase ability to process information
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slow the cognitive effects of aging
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reduce inflammation
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support the immune system
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reduce symptoms of menopause
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control the brain’s response to pain
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improve sleep
Find the method that works for you.
There are many different types of meditation, including:
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compassion (metta or loving-kindness),
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insight (Vipassana),
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mantra, mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR),
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relaxation,
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Transcendental,
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Zen, and others
It could be as simple as sitting quietly and focusing on your breath. When your mind wanders (and it will!), gently bring it back to the breath again. Gradually increase the amount of time you’re able to stay focused. If you’re not sure how to get started, look for online classes on meditation, get recommendations from friends, or research different types that interest you.
Transcendental meditation is a technique that allows your mind to focus inward, staying alert to other thoughts or sensations without allowing them to interfere. It’s typically done seated with your eyes closed for 20 minutes, twice a day. Mindfulness meditation may use an object of focus, such as the ringing of a bell, chanting, touching beads or gazing at an image.
Healthy self-esteem is one of the most important characteristics of healthy child development. A child's social, behavioral, and emotional health plays a crucial role in how they handle setbacks, peer pressure, and other challenges throughout life.
Positive self-esteem is also a protective factor for good mental health. Cultivating confidence contributes to positive social behavior and works as a buffer when your child experiences stress and negative situations.
Here are some small but significant ways you can impact your child's self-esteem in a positive way each day.
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Know What Healthy Self-Esteem Looks Like
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Show Unconditional Love Every Day
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Play Together and Have Fun
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Give Your Child Responsibilities and Chores
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Encourage Independence
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Refrain From Insulting Your Child
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Make Setbacks Learning Experiences
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Watch Technology Use
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Let Them Create and Show Off Work
Manage Stress and Manage Your Health
Stress happens, especially these days. (One in two U.S. adults reports that COVID-19 has negatively impacted mental health.) While you may feel too busy to de-stress – you can decide to take back your “me time,” one moment at a time. Reduce stress for a healthier version of you.
Watch these videos to help you stress less:
More videos can be found here.
The mind-body connection is an important concept for kids to understand. Children are regularly taught about physical health and feelings. But what may often get left unexplained or unexplored with kids is the powerful link between our bodies and our brains.
Knowing what the mind-body connection is can help children (from toddlers to teens) to better understand—and achieve—physical and emotional well-being.1 Learn how to teach your kids about the connection between how they think and feel emotionally and how they feel in their bodies.
What Is the Mind-Body Connection?
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The mind-body connection describes the idea that how you think and feel is inextricably linked to how your body feels and functions. The reverse is also true—your physical health has a profound impact on your thoughts and emotions.
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This connection is at play in the way experiencing anxiety can impact how your body feels. Conversely, the way your body feels physically can impact your psychological stress levels.
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For example, if you're under a deadline, feel annoyed, or are upset about something, you may get a headache or stomachache, your muscles may tighten up, you may feel tired or wired, or generally unwell.
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Alternatively, if you have an illness or injury, you may feel excess stress or concern, or even become depressed or anxious. Self-care and other stress coping measures (more on this below) can be used to help mitigate this potentially harmful cycle.
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On the other hand, when you're happy or excited, your body may feel energized, more coordinated, or lighter. When your body is feeling good, you're likely to feel less stress and greater contentment.
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In this situation, you can use your good mood or good physical health to boost the other, in a positive self-affirming loop. In fact, studies show that people with a more positive outlook tend to enjoy better health, tolerate pain more effectively, and recover faster from injury or illness.
Alternatively, studies show that having a positive, hopeful outlook contributes to many physical health benefits, including the following:
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Better heart health, including lower risk of heart disease
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Better sleep
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Faster healing and better recovery from illness
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Healthier blood sugar levels
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Healthier body weight
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Longer life
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Lower blood pressure
It's challenging to know exactly how much influence a positive or negative mindset will have on physical health, but a strong association has been conclusively found. Researchers also note that good or poor physical health can boost or diminish one's positive outlook, too.
Putting It in Practice
Let kids know that caring for the mind is just as important as taking care of the body, as both systems working in harmony is vital to their overall well-being. Once kids understand the general principle of the mind-body connection, they can begin to use it to their advantage.
Coping skills like mindfulness, meditation, yoga, asking for help, sleeping and eating well, breathing exercises, or simply hanging out with friends can help kids manage their stress levels. These relaxation practices may feel more compelling to kids when they know that they will also be positively impacting their physical health.
Kids who are familiar with how emotions affect the body (and vice versa), may also be more likely to ask for help if they are struggling with mental health issues. Knowing that physical distress may be reduced with emotional regulation and that big feelings may be alleviated with physical activity offers powerful coping skills to kids.
Negative words about a person's own body are upsetting to hear from anyone, but it can be really heartbreaking when they’re spoken by kids as young as preschool or kindergarten age. However, research has shown that some children may begin to worry about body weight and physical appearance as early as age 3 to 5. Additionally, many young children openly express unhappiness about their bodies.
Kids learn about body image—and develop anxieties about their appearance—from a variety of sources, including culture, parents, friends and peers, and the media. Parents can play a crucial role in encouraging a sense of good body image in kids.
Here are some tips to keep in mind:
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Watch Your Words
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Don't Focus on Looks
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Focus on Healthy Habits
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Scan Their Toys
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Promote Body Positivity
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Limit Screen Time
Journaling is one of the most important tools a parent has at their disposal for practicing writing skills with their children, especially teenagers. The versatility of journaling means it can be incorporated into many different areas of learning.
Keeping a journal about daily life and their feelings offers an excellent outlet (and writing practice) for tweens and teens. For children who have a hard time expressing their needs verbally or making decisions about things, keeping a journal of their thoughts is a great way to learn emotional organization and processing. Even if all they do is write about an interaction they had during the day, putting it on paper can provide more objective reflection and effective coping.
Note: Remember, your child will only be able to use journaling as an effective outlet if they feel secure that this journal is for their eyes only.
Journaling provides the opportunity for kids to:
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Develop emotional intelligence
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Examine the pros and cons of something in order to be more decisive
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Express fear and uncertainty
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Feel and process anger, sadness, regret, and other challenging emotions
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Gain insight into their own and other people's feelings, thoughts, patterns, and motives
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Look more carefully at their thoughts about something after the immediate situation has passed
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Plan out difficult conversations ahead of time
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See the positives as well as the negatives
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Track feelings and thoughts over time
We know physical activity and good nutrition are vital to keeping our bodies healthy. But don’t forget about a good night’s sleep! The importance of sleep and its health benefits cannot be overlooked.
Let’s see what makes sleep so important and how we can get the most out of it.
Getting a good night’s sleep can:
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Boost your energy levels
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Help you maintain a healthy weight
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Boost your immune system
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Lower stress and improve your mood
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Improve your concentration and productivity
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Reduce your risk of heart disease
How much sleep do I need?
The amount of sleep that you need changes with age. Each person requires a different amount of sleep each night. Pay attention to how you feel with different amounts of sleep. Here are the recommended amounts from the National Sleep Foundation.
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Newborns (0 to 3 months): 14 to 17 hours
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Infants (4 to 11 months): 12 to 15 hours
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Toddlers (1 to 2 years): 11 to 14 hours
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Preschoolers (3 to 5 years): 10 to 13 hours
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School-age children (6 to 13 years): 9 to 11 hours
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Teenagers (14 to 17 years): 8 to 10 hours
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Adults (18 to 64 years): 7 to 9 hours
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Older adults (65+): 7 to 8 hours
How can I sleep better?
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Keep a sleep schedule
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You may have heard this before, but a consistent bedtime and wake-up time, including on the weekends, will help you get enough sleep more often. Life gets in the way but stick to the schedule as much as possible. Once your body is used to the schedule, it will be easier to fall asleep and wake up.
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Make small changes
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If your sleep schedule is not ideal, don’t try to make it perfect overnight. Instead, make small adjustments to your sleep schedule over time until you reach your goal. For example, if you want to get to sleep by 10:00 PM, but usually go to bed at midnight, start by going to bed at 11:45 PM the first few nights then 11:30 PM the next few nights and so on. Use the same strategy for your wake-up time.
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Stay active
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Physical activity can help you sleep better and longer. Find opportunities to be physically active most days to improve your sleep!
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Perhaps you have a rough idea about how exercise affects your health, weight, and energy levels. But do you know about its impact on the brain?
This article goes over how exercise affects the brain, the 10 neurological benefits of exercise, how exercise reprograms the brain, what exercise does for cognition, memory, and the aging brain, how exercise can remove brain fog while improving concentration, and much more.
How Does Exercise Affect the Brain?
Exercise Improves:
Why Exercise Is Good For Your Brain:
10 Neurological Benefits of Exercise:
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Decreased stress
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Decreased social anxiety
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Improved processing of emotions
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Prevention of neurological conditions
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Euphoria (short-term)
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Increased energy, focus and attention
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Hinderance to the aging process
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Improved memory
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Improved blood circulation
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Decreased ‘brain fog’
Even though our world may seem like it has slowed down since the start of the pandemic, it is actually changing now more than ever, and it can be overwhelming to us as adults. But think about what it is like for kids to deal with change and watching their parents and providers dealing with the changes.
Here are some tips to help get through these times:
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Recognize your child’s feelings and behaviors.
Tantrums, constant need for attention, sleeping problems, and bed-wetting may all be signs they are not adjusting to the changes in the household or center. Take the time to talk to your child and acknowledge what is happening so you can help them understand their feelings and feel comforted. -
Spend time with your child and take time to be present with them.
Go for a walk, paint, dance, etc. Most important just pause what you are doing and take time to truly be present with your child. -
Take time for you!
It is ok to step back and just breathe. Self-care is often pushed to the side when we are stressed or dealing with change. You must take time to rest, build up your own strength, and know that you are not alone before you can help others. -
Social distancing should not mean distancing ourselves from our support systems.
Instead it should be called physical distancing. You must maintain your systems of support such as friends, family, and co-workers. Reach out and talk to each other and support one another. We don’t have to be isolated and deal with the change alone we just have to physically distance ourselves from others. There are lots of ways to teach kids how to still be “social” even if they may be different from what they are used to.
Silence can also send some strong messages and can confuse children. When adults are silent and avoid the discussions, it sends the message to kids that the changes are not ok to talk about and can cause more anxiety and unease. It also forces them to figure out their feelings on their own and rely on other sources such as neighbors, friends, and technology to deal with the changes.
Children are constantly watching you and your behaviors, and they rely on you to help them figure out what is the truth and how to understand what is happening in the world today. Take the time to embrace these learning experiences and time with your child. You may find that it will be beneficial to both you and your child.
It appears that the changes from routines, the stress at home and not knowing what to expect set many toddlers and preschoolers into fight-or-flight reactions as ways to deal with the changes, and it is hard for them to “bounce back". Despite the known saying that kids are tough, and they will bounce back.
Tips for Building Resilience
Create a safe space with props, such as puppets, calming jars, music and art supplies, to help express their emotions/feelings.
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By having these various props and spaces, they will use them to talk/play through their emotions that they may not be able to verbalize.
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Many kids will internalize their emotions, as they are too scared to talk about them in fear that the provider or parents will get upset. These feelings may show up as:
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Sleep issues; not wanting to go to bed or get up.
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Difficulty with transitions, such as going to school, etc.
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Exaggerated reactions to a small crisis.
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Increased difficulty with peers or siblings, such as aggression or withdrawal.
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Clinging to familiar things or family.
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Changes in eating, dressing or toilet habits.
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Use real and accurate words when talking about the stressors or events going on. “Sugar coating” may confuse kids and the parents, who will also be helping explain the situations at home.
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You don’t have to go into detail on what is happening, but be honest.
Maintain a daily routine and consistent rules and expectations in your classroom/center.
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This will help them have some sense of “normalcy” when other parts of their life are inconsistent.
Be a good listener and let them openly express their feelings without a reaction/solution.
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My favorite quote: “Sometimes it’s better to react with no reaction.”-Anonymous
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By sitting down and acknowledging their feelings and really taking the time to listen, it will reaffirm that the child can come to you when they are experiencing these feelings and build their resilience.
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To be a good listener you must exhibit these four steps:
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Give full attention (you may need to take the child away from the group of kids or to another room).
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Give eye contact, so they know you care and are listening.
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Ask questions about what you are hearing to get a better understanding, but don’t take over the conversation with your solutions.
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Summarize what they said at the end, and then help them think of how to solve/decrease these emotions or stressors in their life right now.
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How much impact does sleep have on health?
In a world of plenty, people can’t seem to get enough sleep. The amount of sleep a person gets, or the lack thereof, can have a significant impact on overall health and wellness, quality of life and safety—both on the roads and in the workplace. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 25 percent of U.S. adults get insufficient sleep or rest at least 15 out of every 30 days. This lack of sleep has a bigger impact on health than many people realize.
Why Sleep?
Decades of scientific research into the question of why people sleep has yielded inconclusive answers.
Popular theories have been proposed:
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Inactivity theory: Sleeping at night, as opposed to during the day, is an adaptation to help organisms stay out of harm’s way.
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Energy conservation theory: Demand for energy (food) is reduced at night when it is least efficient to search for food.
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Restorative theories: Muscle growth, tissue repair, protein synthesis and the release of growth hormone all occur while the body is at rest.
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Brain plasticity theory: Sleep is the time for changes to the brain’s structure and organization.
Whether one or all of these theories is correct is still being explored. Regardless of the reason, quality sleep is important and beneficial for people of all ages and in all stages of life.
Benefits of Sleep
Adequate, restful sleep has numerous benefits. In addition to feeling refreshed and alert, sleep enables the body to fight off infection; supports the metabolism of sugar to prevent diabetes; can improve academic performance; and increases safety and effectiveness in the workplace. Additionally, it can reduce the risk of chronic diseases. Getting enough sleep on a daily basis can improve quality of life and overall health.
Consequences of Insufficient Sleep
A lack of sleep can have both short- and long-term consequences. Insufficient sleep impacts everything from interpersonal relationships to work productivity to memory function. Sleepiness is a factor in injuries and accidents, and driving while drowsy is comparable to driving while under the influence of alcohol. In fact, being awake for 18 hours straight causes a person to drive as if having a blood alcohol level of .05; being awake for 24 hours is like driving with a blood alcohol level of .10 (.08 is the legal drinking limit in most states).
Perhaps the most significant side effect of chronic lack of sleep is an increased risk for chronic diseases and health problems. Poor sleep has been linked to obesity, diabetes, heart disease and hypertension, mood disorders, reduced immune function and decreased life expectancy.
Sleep and Appetite
The negative impact sleep has on chronic diseases and weight gain can be partially explained by the link between sleep and hormone regulation. During sleep the body produces hormones to help control appetite, energy metabolism and glucose processing. Poor sleep is linked to increased insulin production after meals, decreased levels of leptin and increased levels of ghrelin. These three hormones perform the functions of regulating glucose, promoting fat storage, alerting the brain that it’s had enough food, and stimulating appetite. The over- and underproduction of these hormones is detrimental to health and weight control.
Sleep Recommendations
Research into the amount of sleep needed to experience the benefits of adequate rest led to a joint consensus statement from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society. According to these groups, adults (18+ years) should regularly sleep seven or more hours every night for optimal health. Healthy sleep is commonly measured by duration, but also requires good quality, appropriate timing and regularity and the absence of sleep disturbances and disorders. Additionally, nine or more hours of sleep might be necessary for young adults, people with illnesses or those recovering from partial or total sleep deprivation.
The amount of sleep kids need varies greatly from that of adults. A consensus statement of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends the following:
Getting adequate sleep during adolescence is a subject gaining attention nationally. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics, nearly 70 percent of teens sleep seven hours or less on a school night, despite the recommendation to sleep for eight to 10 hours per night. The phenomenon is so severe that later start times are recommended for high school to better match adolescents' biological clocks. Lack of sleep often contributes to skipped breakfast, a meal that is particularly important for growth and mental function in adolescents.
How to Improve Sleep
Most experts agree that there are simple steps to take to start getting better sleep:
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Reduce caffeine consumption after 12 p.m.
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Get regular physical activity, but not within three hours of bedtime
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Sleep in a relaxing environment, free of screens
These are general guidelines for improving sleep; interventions should be specific to an individual’s sleep health needs. A problem for one person may not be an issue for another, so it’s important to identify unique sleep habits and problems and to get help from outside sources if necessary.
Together with physical activity and healthy eating, sleep habits lay the foundation for a lifetime of overall health and wellness. Adequate rest reduces disease risk, helps create safer roads and workplaces, and contributes to an improved quality of life.
Looking for stimulating, at home activities for all ages?
Fun Brain has Games, Free Books you can read online, Kid-friendly Videos, Virtual Playground Fun, and a Math Zone filled with math related games.
You can also browse through this content by grade.
Mancala the game - Build your own
If you have an egg carton and dried beans, you can make your own game! Mancala is played around the world, especially in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. The word mancala comes from the Arabic word naqala, which means “to move.”
What You Need
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1 empty cardboard egg cartons
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Scissors
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Tape or stapler
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36 dried beans (or marbles or paper clips)
Make The Game
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Open up the egg carton. Cut off any flaps that
are used for closing the carton. Cut off the top of the carton and cut it in half across its middle. -
Slide one half of the top underneath each end of the bottom, extending beyond the bottom by a couple of inches to make a well at each end. Use tape or staples to attach them.
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Put three beans in each of the egg cups, and leave the wells on each end empty. You’re ready to play!
Play The Game
The object of the game is to capture as many beans as you can. The player with the most beans at the end of the game wins. Sit across from your opponent. The six holes nearest to you are yours, while the six holes on the opposite side belong to your opponent. The large well on each player’s right side is their mancala.
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The starting player takes the beans out of one of their holes and puts one bean in each cup, moving around the board counterclockwise. Keep going around the board, putting one bean in each cup, until you run out of beans. You should place a bean in your own mancala along the way, but not in your opponent’s mancala (if the beans get that far).
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If your last bean lands in your mancala, you get another turn. Otherwise it is your opponent’s turn. But if your last bean lands in one of your holes that is empty, and the hole opposite contains beans, you steal your opponent’s bean from that hole and place them and your last bean in your mancala, and it is then your opponent’s turn.
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The game is over when one player is out of beans, or when a player’s mancala holds more than half the beans in the game.
Top 12 STRESS BUSTERS
When you find yourself getting stressed out, try one of these to help you relax:
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Take a deep breath, exhale slowly. Repeat.
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Jump up and down, swing your arms and shout.
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Be physically active—run, jog, jump rope—anything to get your body moving.
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Take a bath or shower.
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Sing—in the shower, in the car, or anywhere!
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Put on music and dance wildly!
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Take a nap—get some sleep. Amazing results!
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Have a good cry, take a shower, and go for a walk.
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Put on some soothing music, lie on your back, and let yourself relax, from head to toe.
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Go outside in nature and remember you’re part of the bigger picture of life.
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Visualize yourself getting through this stressful event by imagining yourself in a favorite
peaceful and stress‐free place. Concentrate on that image.
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Ask for help from a friend, relative, teacher, or clergy. Don’t feel like you have to handle a
stressful situation all by yourself.
Top 12 Ways to Prevent Burn-Out for the Long Term
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Eat a healthy, balanced diet with a variety of wholesome foods, for long-lasting energy.
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Don’t rely on caffeine and sugar to keep you going—they stress out your system, causing energy “highs,” then “lows.”
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Regularly do those things that are most enjoyable to you.
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Take time to physically relax or meditate for at least 15 minutes each day.
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Sleep at least eight hours each night.
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Do something active every day. Exercise helps your body deal with stress!
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Learn how to meditate, do yoga, tai chi, dance, or some other stress-reducing practice.
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Write in a diary or journal regularly.
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Find a hobby or creative expression and take time to do it.
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Take time to reflect on past achievements. Build your confidence daily by thinking about times when you were able to handle difficult situations. Remind yourself that you can get through this one too.
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Try not to sweat the small stuff! Try not to take yourself so seriously!
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Always remind yourself, “This too shall pass.” Try to go with the flow of life.