Breathe, Relax and Create through Journaling
Updated: Nov 11, 2022
5-day 'Self-Care Anywhere' Challenge helps students let go and pour into themselves
"Oftentimes, a movement begins with a single voice, and if we empower our youth to share their stories, we can help them be in control of their emotions, create stronger connections and become healthier youth. " - Dr. Marty K. Casey
Help your students spread kindness - with others and themselves - with the 'Self-Care Anywhere' Journaling Challenge. The journal provides you with key strategies to teach youth how to practice self-care and speak about their emotions from a personal perspective. This challenge involves using the Breathe, Relax, Create Journal downloadables (with full access available for you to use with students) along with five self-awareness and community-building activities that help create collective healing.
About Dr. Marty K. Casey
When challenges and difficulties arise, Dr. Marty K. Casey uses her gifts to provide care, love and guidance through the arts. In 2018, Dr. Marty K. Casey was inducted into the United Nations as the first female Goodwill Ambassador of Peace in the Midwest. Dr. Casey founded Show Me Arts Foundation for youth in Ferguson, Missouri after the tragic shooting of Michael Brown, which was awarded as BeyGOOD Award by Beyonce. Dr. Marty continues her work through the UnGUN Institute, focused on disarming Trauma in individuals to heal from collective trauma events, which plague the black communities. Dr. Casey uses the arts as her platform to “un-gun,” meaning to unload negative things.
What does it mean to UnGUN?
To UnGUN is to grow, and growth has purpose...
To Grow is to move beyond what you have been through and grow stronger from it.
Often times, we feel pain that breaks us. But we always Grow once more.
Our bonds are stronger, and we have more knowledge to guide us.
That knowledge may make us hesitant, but only because we are afraid of breaking completely. And that’s okay.
However, we should always try to think of what we have and have done that is currently making us Grow so that we can become Stronger.
Being GRATEFUL for what we have is a good place to begin our Growth.
With these practices and techniques, youth will begin showing up better and feel better which will promote them to do better.
Breathe, Relax, Create Journal:
Gratitude & Healing Every Day
Motivation Monday
Affirmation Tuesday
Dedication Wednesday
Participation Thursday
Restoration Friday
Anticipation Saturday
Relaxation Sunday
Your Printable Breathe, Relax, Create Journal Planner
For the last week of Bullying Prevention Month, use the Breathe, Relax, Create Journal by Dr. Marty K. Casey along with a daily activity to bring self-awareness and reflection to your classroom. Just download the printable planner below and click to be brought directly to each activity in the app! Premium members can access the list in an easy-to-use playlist.
CLICK the Breathe, Relax, Create Journal Printable below to download
All of the Planners are CLICKABLE to take you straight into the activities!
How to Use the Breathe, Relax, Create Journal Planner
Download Kikori through Apple, Android or Desktop for free! Each of the activities for the planner are available within the Kikori platform along with 500+ more experiential activities aligned with CASEL Social Emotional Learning standards!
How does Kikori ensure these activities build social emotional skills like self-awareness and relationship skills? Each activity provides you with instructions that follow the experiential learning cycle. This means the activities help youth actively engage and then provides reflection questions related to the activity.
These questions help youth reflect and build self- and social-awareness (what happened during the activity?), make meaningful connections to their own lives (how did what happened during the activity connect to other experiences?), and engage in personal growth (what are they going to take from this activity into their lives?)
BONUS: Along with aligning activities with CASEL's Social Emotional Learning Standards, activities are also aligned with the 21st Century Skills and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals!
CLICK the Breathe, Relax, Create Journal Printable below to download
All of the Planners are CLICKABLE to take you straight into the activities!
Every Day Habits
Each day of the journal starts off with the following habits:
Daily Intentions
Gratitude
Self-care
Goal-setting
Feelings check-in
Motivation (mo-ti-va-tion):
The reason(s) one has for acting or behaving in a particular way
Daily Plan: Motivation Monday Journal Prompt + Anthem
Affirmation (af-firm-a-tion):
1. The action or process of affirming something or being affirmed
2. Emotional Support or encouragement
Daily Plan: Affirmation Tuesday Journal Prompt + I am... Words of Affirmation
Dedication (ded-i-ca-tion): The Quality of being dedicated or committed to a task or purpose.
Daily Plan: Workout Wednesday Journal Prompt + UnGUN 3-1-4 Activity
Participation (par-tic-i-pa-tion): The action of taking part in something
Daily Plan: Participation Thursday Journal Prompt + Creative Corner for 'Self-care Anywhere'
Restoration (Res-to-ra-tion):
The action of returning something to a former owner, place, or condition
Restoration Friday Journal Prompt + Restoration Day
CLICK the Breathe, Relax, Create Journaling Planner to download
All of the Planners are CLICKABLE to take you straight into the activities!
New to Kikori?
How to Use Kikori and Kikori PLAYlists
On Desktop? Print the Planner Printables above and click right into the activities to get instructions, reflection questions and more!
On your phone? Use the search bar to easily find the activities.
Do you want the Breathe, Relax, Create Journal in the palm of your hand?
Sign up for the Free 30-day Trial and you will receive access to every playlist!
Click into the Playlists icon in the Menu. The Planner includes each of the Breathe, Relax, Create Journal Challenge curated activities.
Click the heart on the Playlist to save it to your Favorites found in your Home (with the heart!).
Click the Share icon in the top right corner to share the Playlist with your fave educator or facilitator friend!
Don't forget to print out the Breathe, Relax, Create Journal Challenge Planner above to use as a guide.
Last but not least!
Complete each activity once (unless otherwise stated) and check off as you go! Each day will be around 20-30 minutes of team building / social emotional skill building.
About Dr. Marty K. Casey:
Dr. Marty K. Casey is the Founder and President of Show Me Arts Foundation and CEO of UnGUN Institute, which helps people to disarm their trauma by engaging with the arts to achieve positive outcomes in their own lives and to build healthy relationships and communities.
Dr. Marty. K. Casey is a proud recipient of a series of firsts - among others, the first African American woman to receive a full scholarship in music and the first African American Woman Freshman Class President at Missouri Baptist University.
Dr. Marty K. Casey founded and continues to manage Show Me Arts Foundation, a non-profit Multi-Cultural Artistic Development Foundation which has reached more than 3,000 under-served children and young people ages 5-18. This program received a prestigious Beyonce #BEYGOOD Award.
