Operation Shower of Appreciation

When your kids get into preschool, they are more engrossed in play rather than learn, which is generally okay, since the first three years are designed to encourage kids to learn to play in groups and with different types of children. When they enter middle school they begin to tackle school and friends, and most often than not, they prefer talking and doing things with friends than study and learn. 

If you notice that your kids tend to be more passive towards their school work, encourage them to join something that will not only help hasten to learn but also enlighten them to do more activities that are geared towards the development, growth, and progress of the youth. School and community clubs are some of the best avenues for your kids to join. This will expose them to practices that will help them practice their social and leadership skills as well. 

Check out some of these recommended clubs that you can consider if you want your kid to join one.

Types of Clubs and What They Do

Book club. One of the most educational and enriching clubs that you would love your kids to join. There are activities that are designed to keep the kids and teens interested, such as group reading time and role-playing time, where they choose a book and perform it, assigning kids different roles. They can also be classified into groups and help each other read a more advanced book. This practices reading as well as team building skills. 

Career Club. Teens as early as 13 to 16 years old can join this group. Its aim is to help the children decide the career or vocation that they want to pursue. They are led by a teacher or an elder who discusses with them different careers that they can follow, and then the children are asked to talk about the career they’ve chosen and why. This way, they will learn how to decide at an early age which path they want to lead. Joining career clubs encourage children to appreciate their strengths and develop their weaknesses. 

Sports and Recreation Club. The United States has created several of these clubs that encompass teaching children positive eating habits and physical activities that develop their mind, body, and soul. They have sessions where they are taught how to prepare meals that are healthy and nutritious. They also engage in physical fitness and games that help them get moving and practice teamwork and friendly competition. Kids are also taught the value of cooperation and cultivate interpersonal and social skills. The Boys and Girls Clubs of America has created a number of sports and recreation clubs for kids of all ages. Some of these clubs are the Triple Play, Play Ball, and All-Stars. 

Childhood Bereavement Club. This club is not only for those who have lost their loved ones but also those who want to help and reach out to those who need comfort in their time of grief. Kids and teens need to develop a strong mental and emotional foundation to get through their feelings of grief, sadness, and depression. They may have anger problems that need to be attended to. Adult leaders guide these kids and teach them how to cope with these challenges. For teens that are initially hesitant to express, they are encouraged to read online blogs and articles that may push them to learn coping strategies.

 

Encouraging Kids and Teens to Learn Early

These and many other clubs are available for kids and teens that are in the stage of curiosity and independence. Clubs are a great way to pull your children towards the right direction and keep them away from the possible dangers of growing up.  

Anxiety is a feeling that never really goes away. Anxiety is a reaction to a situation we perceive as stressful or dangerous,” Monique Reynolds, Ph.D., a licensed clinical psychologist. Sure, it leaves from time to time, but it also comes back. To many, it can get overwhelming and distressing. Sometimes it feels like it’s trying to choke or down them into thinking that they’re not normal.  

People with anxiety disorders keeps the mind and body on edge. It makes them always ask themselves if there’s something wrong or if everything’s alright. There are times when their habit of asking these questions to themselves will only worsen the anxiety they’re feeling. It’s because it makes the mind focus on the negative thoughts they usually relate to anxiety. 

 You must be thinking, “Then why don’t they just stop?” They want to do it, but it’s not as easy as that. Anxiety clouds your mind and your sight. Sometimes the cloud gets too hazy, and it blocks almost everything around you except the negative thoughts. You won’t be able to see the good things because anxiety is preventing them. There’s zero visibility except for the one you see ahead, and in this case, it’s the negative feelings. 

How To Get Off Anxiousness 

Anxiety is a disease of the mind. It plagues the mind until the mind can think of it and only it. When someone gets too engrossed up in it, it’s difficult to get them out of it because, during that moment, their mind’s focus is only on the anxious thoughts. 

However, there is one way to beat it. If anxiety plagues the mind, then use your heart. But how exactly do you use it? 

Be Grateful 

“When is the last time you took five minutes to truly express your thanks to someone who made a difference in your life? It’s such an easy way to get a mood boost (and seriously boost the mood of someone else) and you don’t even have to pay for a stamp and find a mailbox – you can just shoot off a quick email or text message.” – Amie M. Gordon, Ph.D.

The Art of Gratitude is the action of using your heart instead of your mind.  

It might seem absurd because how exactly can giving gratitude help you with your anxiety, right? But there have been people who spoke up about this and said it worked and gave them peace. In fact, the Heart Math Institute studied how the art of being thankful can help with stress and anxiety for 15 years,  

The Art Of Being Thankful 

Despite the fancy name, doing the art of being thankful is very easy. It’s a simple task that you can do at any time and any place. There’s no need for fancy machines or complicated steps. 

Just close your eyes and think of whatever you feel thankful for. “Gratitude is having the perspective that my entitlements are few and my blessings are great,” said Ryan Howes, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist in Pasadena, Calif. 

Look back at your life and think of the challenges you have overcome, of the people who were there for you during those times. Think again about the people who supported you, loved you unconditionally, and made life worth living. Remember your progress, where you started and where you are now. Remember how much you have improved.  

Everyone has at least one thing to feel thankful for. If people would focus on those thoughts and the people who matter instead of the negative ones, they’ll be able to have more control over their lives and with their anxiety. 

This isn’t a complicated exercise so don’t over think or complicate it. The best things in life are the ones that you take as it is. Do this every day, and you will feel better and more in control of your lifeyou’re your anxiety. 

Millions of children around the world suffer from anxiety disorders and they are often dismissed by parents and teachers as being shy or just a “phase.” Parents and teachers likewise consider the possibility of an anxiety disorder when it is too late and they have gone past the age of being treated like kids. It is important that we as parents and teachers manage to differentiate shyness from anxiety.  

“Anxiety is the sense of discomfort, restlessness, or uncertainty that is internally generated,” says David Spiegel, MD, director of Stanford Medicine’s Center on Stress and Health. “It’s being a worrier without having the stressors outside.” When kids with an anxiety disorder are left alone or dissed by their friends, they start feeling empty and alone. Children with this disorder need extra attention. A child who is not making friends at all needs some sort of care because it is not normal human behavior. You can identify children with anxiety quite easily. They will seem distant from other students and sit alone during lunch breaks. These kids might feel uncomfortable around others and avoid participating in the class at all. They get extremely nervous and shaky during class presentations as well.

It is important that we keep an open eye and look for such symptoms. If you are a student then you can help other students out as well. You can take help from an existing club or introduce a new club that aims to help kids with an anxiety disorder. You can do the following to help out students that suffer from anxiety.

• Introduce Calming Methods

“Anxiety is a reaction to a situation we perceive as stressful or dangerous,” Monique Reynolds, Ph.D., licensed clinical psychologist.  When anxiety kicks in, our body starts to react in different ways such as increased heartbeat, dizziness, muscle tension, and heavy breathing. The balance between carbon dioxide and oxygen gets disrupted resulting in anxiety. During your club meetings, you must teach all members different methods to calm themselves down in a situation of an attack. These include inhaling and exhaling slowly as well as holding your breath for 2 seconds and then exhaling for 6 seconds. 

• Ignore The Negativity

Children who have an anxiety disorder think negative thoughts. They start believing that their opinions don’t matter and they won’t be appreciated by others. They are also scared of what people might say, they think everyone will say negative things about them. It is important that members and leaders encourage each other to overcome failure and negative thoughts. Conquering negative thoughts isn’t easy and it takes some time to overcome. You should teach your club members how to recognize the patterns set by negative thoughts and identify them as unrealistic. Push them to replace the negativity with positivity and then make it a habit. Thomas A. Richards, a psychologist, wrote, “Thoughts grow with attention.  If you focus on negative thoughts, they will grow and grow and become even larger.  If you focus on your progress and the new thoughts you are learning, they will grow stronger and take “automatic” control.”

• Teach Them To Resolve The Issue 

Kids who are familiar with their anxiety status often avoid involving themselves in situations that cause stress for them. For instance, when kids with anxiety are out for dinner with family, they avoid ordering for themselves and most parents are fine with it. However, avoiding the situation altogether does not solve the problem. You as a leader of the group can encourage them to interact socially and make decisions for themselves. Talk to them about the issue and ask them to solve the problem as if they are solving a maths equation. Look for possible ways to achieve the end result without giving up. No matter what happens at the end, completing the task is important. This teaches them to solve problems on their own instead of relying on others. 

• Facilitate Communication

Children with anxiety hesitate when making conversation. The constant fear of being wrong and disliked is what stops them. It is a little difficult to make them talk, however specific activities can help them out. You can make pairs and ask them to talk to each other for a few minutes. You can rotate the pairing method and increase the time as they start to get comfortable with each other. It is important that you come up with such activities because this encourages them to communicate with each other and be more open about their feelings. It takes time for them to overcome the fear but they do overcome it eventually. Every once in a while you can bring a role model into your support group as an inspiration and ask them to give a motivational speech so the children can relate to it.

Make sure that you recognize the symptoms and try to help these students out. Remember they are fragile so choose your words wisely with them. Don’t push them too hard to speak publically, they will when they are ready.  

Almost everyone might have had the chance to address a large group of people. For some, it must have been a great opportunity to express themselves, whereas for others it might have been a stressful experience. Nonetheless, it is of utmost importance to find and seek an anxiety attack help to lead a better, more confident life.

Reasons For Public Speaking Anxiety

Anxiety is usually triggered in situations where one finds himself or herself in a position of vulnerability. “Anxiety is the sense of discomfort, restlessness, or uncertainty that is internally generated,” says David Spiegel, MD, director of Stanford Medicine’s Center on Stress and Health. “It’s being a worrier without having the stressors outside.” Standing alone on the stage, with hundreds of people staring can definitely make a person feel vulnerable, and hence consequently anxious.

Tips To Cope With Public Speaking Anxiety

“I was terrified: as a student, my heart used to race at the mere thought of raising my hand in class. For weeks beforehand, I had nightmares about forgetting my lines, waking up in a cold sweat. No matter how much I practiced, for the three days leading up to the speech, I could hardly breathe.” – Adam Grant, Ph.D. 

“The good news is that schools are increasingly tuning in to mental health needs, and they’ve gotten better at diagnosing anxiety disorders,” says school counseling expert and researcher Mandy Savitz-Romer. There are several ways to cope with these feelings of anxiousness during public speaking; a few are mentioned below to help out.

1. Practice makes perfect

One of the biggest causes of public speaking anxiety stems from the fear of either forgetting what one has to say or saying the wrong thing. Hence, this is why practice is the key to perfection in this case. It is important to set aside time for practice. Try writing down your speech to remember it clearly, time yourself and also try speaking in front of a mirror. Persistent practice will definitely help you master the skill of public speaking.

1. Focus on rhythm 

It would be a great idea to structure your speech in such a manner that it allows you to create rhythm while you speak. Try keeping your sentence short, so that you not only forget them, but it also gets easier for your audience to understand them. Also, try taking small pauses in between key points; it will make your audience anticipate your next point.

1. Get a friend’s critique

It is always best to try your speech on a test audience. Find a friend who is free to listen to your speech and give you an honest opinion about it. This constructive criticism will help you fix any error before the big day, hence making you feel more confident about what you are going to say.

1. Warm water

You might feel your mouth getting dry and itchy after speaking for so long; it might make you feel self-conscious and nervous. A good tip for this would be to drink water that is either warm or at room temperature; perhaps squeeze in the lemon as well. It will prevent your throat from drying out as you speak.

1. Dress comfortably

Sometimes the fear resides in facing the crowd. You might feel your legs are jelly and you cannot stand confidently on the stage. Dressing to please your own self, perhaps in something that you are comfortable in, would be a great idea. This way you would not have to care much about how you look and would rather concentrate more on delivering your message to the audience. 

1. Pick something inspiring

Choosing the right topic to talk about is important. Try picking something that interests you or something that you are extremely passionate about. Furthermore, you must also be comfortable with speaking about the topic in public; prior research would really aid you when you are preparing your speech. 

1. Channel your energy in the right direction

Nervousness is in itself a form of adrenaline rush a person might feel while facing a huge crowd. The key is to learn ways to channel this excess of energy in a positive manner by giving a more impassionate speech. In addition to this, one must also try meditating every day for five minutes in order to feel in control of his or her emotions. 

Therefore, the best technique of dealing with the fear of public speaking is to understand what scares you the most. By understanding the source of your anxiety you can find the perfect way to cope with it. 

 

If you have been planning to join an art or hobby club so you can release your hidden talents, you can always choose from a variety of clubs in your school. Here are some of the most common art or hobby organizations that you can join in high school.

• Photography Club. If you love taking beautiful angles of trees when the sun’s rays would hit their branches, then you ought to join the high school photography club. Here, you might learn different techniques from fellow students who may have been learning photography longer than you. You can also help those who are new to the craft and share what you have learned so far out of your experiences. Together, you can all benefit from the club by organizing an exhibit of your pictures of your school, perhaps, or your community.

 

• History Club. This club will interest you if you are one who admires the past stories of local and international heroes and their stories. You have an opportunity to criticize some of the past artists’ work, as the club would typically talk about the contribution of some of the most famed artists and what you think of them. You’ll be amazed at how beautiful (and expensive) old paintings and artifacts are!

 

• Sports Live Broadcasting. If you’re more on the active side and would love to take videos of school sports and other activities, you are a good fit to be in sports broadcasting. You’ll learn more about your hobby if your leader coordinates with the school and invites a popular basketball or football player who can talk about the specific sport, and you create a video production of it. You can spread this quickly through YouTube and other active platforms.

• Chess Club. Chess is an intelligent way to keep yourself occupied and ‘polished.’ You can practice with your fellow members and eventually join chess tournaments and bring pride to your school club. It would also be nice if you could host a chess competition and invite other high schools as well. You can also invite chess gurus or past champions and let them talk about their greatest strategies.

 

• Cooking Club. This club is not only for students who do cook in their homes but also for those who would like to learn how to cook. It could be all about sharing recipes and learning from each other while in school and trying to cook it at home for your family. Also, if you have sufficient funds, you can plan a trip to the neighboring community and check out their restaurants together.

 

• Esports League Club. Only the gamers would know what this is. Yes, there is a legit High School Esports League that hosts matches, season playoffs, and tournaments. Its members even provide scholarship programs. You can check out Esports websites to know more about how to start the club.

• Film Club. As the name implies, members of this club usually watch classical, Tagalog, and other types of movies and discuss the movies that they watch. What’s more, you can also make your short film and decide to submit it to one of the many sites that are looking for original short films.