Healthy Children Are More Productive at School

School can be challenging for young students, with the combination of dealing with developing emotions whilst making friends and learning new things, with the added pressure of taking exams. School is a mixture of both instructional, and developmental learning which cannot be compartmentalized as one or the other. Each child (depending on their family life and upbringing) enters school relatively healthy, and it’s important to maintain their emotional and physical health as research shows their mental state can severely impact how well they do at school.

This blog post is the second in a five-part series exploring how the arts can contribute to the education of the whole child for each of the five whole child tenets. Here, I will discuss the importance of ensuring students are physically and mentally healthy and why it is essential for preparing students for success.

Why Health Matters to the Whole Child

The school environment needs to nurture healthy children, and encourage them to live a healthy lifestyle, creating good habits to lead them into adulthood. Ideally, each student should enter a school healthy, and learn how to practice and maintain a healthy lifestyle. It would be counterproductive to provide a child with the best education possible if they are not healthy enough to absorb that education, or to perform at their optimal capacity. 

Types of Health for the Whole Child

The emotional and physical health of a student can be impacted by what they eat in school nutrient wise, how often they take breaks, health education, and after school activities. Their interactions with other children can also have an effect. In general, all of these factors contribute to a child leading a healthy lifestyle and being the most productive that they can be.

Healthy eating habits starting with a nutritious breakfast al the way to lunch, and snacks have been linked to more positive behavior, concentration, and focus. Getting children into the habits of eating foods in high protein and whole grains, fruits and vegetables will help them to crave less junk food and improve their mood and concentration which means they will do better in school. 

Exercise has also been linked to improving sleep, reducing stress, and generally improving overall health. At least 60 minutes of activity can improve performance at school and influence better behavior. 

Watching out for signs of anxiety and stress in children is important too. Art can serve as a way for children to release stress and negative emotions which may otherwise build up inside them and lead to frustration and resentment towards school in general. 

Teaching children about the importance of getting enough sleep, and reducing screen time is also important.

Excessive use of mobile phones, TVs, tablets, and computers can damage health as the blue light that they emit reduces the production of melatonin in the body. This is the hormone which is responsible for your sleep- wake cycle.

The Arts Contribute to the Health of the Whole Child

Participating in the arts helps children get off their phones and do something practical reminding them to be in the moment and build manual dexterity skills. The arts can also act as a “mental break” from more academic subjects and encourage relaxation and creative freedom. The arts also help to encourage collaboration and networking between students working on group projects or discussing individual work. 

Healthy development also means addressing different learning preferences and development styles, and some children may be more receptive towards learning though the arts, especially social and interpersonal skills which they will use throughout their lives.  

Conclusion

There are several factors which help maintain the physical and emotional health of children, art is one factor which can be beneficial to maintaining balance. If children are more emotionally, physically, and mentally healthy they are more likely to do well in school.

In the next part of this five-part series about the arts and the whole child, I will explore how supported children are whole and how the arts contribute to ensuring .

I’m Amanda, and I align standards and integrate content to help teachers meet the needs of the Whole Child in art class! I have yet to find a standard that I couldn’t teach through art, and I want to share it all with you.

Not sure where to start with bringing art and content together? This freebie guide is packed with 25 ideas to align your art lessons with math and ELA standards. Your students will be crafting art and practicing algebraic thinking. Win-win!

I want all students to feel successful in the art room, so I created a standards-based Daffodil Collage lesson to do just that! The lesson includes an artist study, student reflection, and more, so push your artists to their full potential.

Follow along on my Instagram page for more tips on teaching the Whole Child in the art room!

Connecting art and content together doesn’t have to be mind-boggling. I’ve made it simple with 25 math and ELA art lesson starters - for free! Plus, I included 15 worksheets for students to reflect on their art-making journey.