STAY CONNECTED ‌ ‌ ‌ LiveWELL PlayWELL EatWELL WorkWELL por tu salud Take charge of your health and put yourself on the path to wellness. Health and wellness means living life fully with vitality and meaning. Wellness looks different for each individual and evolves as our lifestyles change. The summer is winding down and it’s almost time for kids to go back to school! Wellness AtoZ wants to help you with some tips around making back-to-school fun, healthy and smooth. Check out some great information about back-to school shopping, snacks, giving back, and exercise!

LiveWELL Shopping for a Safe Backpack for Back-to-School

It’s that time of year again: Time to go school supply shopping! Among the many things on your list, one of the items you most likely will have is a backpack. See tips below on how to pick out a backpack that is safe for your kids. Lightweight pack: Look for a backpack whose material won’t add additional weight to your kid’s load. For example, while a leather backpack might look more stylish, the material is heavier than canvas backpacks. Two, wide padded shoulder straps: Stay on the lookout for wide straps, as too thin of straps can dig into the shoulders and be painful. A padded back: A nicely padded backpack is not only more comfortable, but it also protects any knick-knacks and sharp school supplies your kids might be carrying like scissors, pencils, rulers, etc. A waist belt: If you’ve ever experienced back or shoulder pain from carrying a heavy pack, you’ll understand the importance of this tip. If you can, find a backpack that comes with a waist belt that helps evenly distribute the weight of the backpack across the body. Multiple compartments: Not only is it great to have multiple compartments to place things in and stay organized, but it is also beneficial for safety. The more compartments, the more evenly distributed the weight will be in the backpack. Article derived from kidshealth.org

PlayWELL 30-Minute Workout for Parent and Kids

Looking for a way to squeeze in your exercise for the day? Look no further. This simple workout only consists of 10 simple exercises that will get your heart pumping. Furthermore, it is a workout that your kids can join you in doing. Not only is it an opportunity to exercise, but it is also an opportunity to bond and spend time with your kids. The added and long-lasting benefit of exercising with your children is that they learn to make movement a part of their routine and lifestyles too. To complete this workout routine, turn up both of your favorite music, go through each exercise for 60 seconds and repeat the circuit two or three times. Exercises: Squats, Push-Ups, Mountain Climbers, Plank, Wall Sit, Star Jumps, Inchworm, Plank to Low Squat, Alternating Reverse Lunges, Burpees. Remember to prep a water bottle and stay hydrated before, throughout, and after your workout! Workout from activekids.com

EatWELL Healthy, 2-ingredient Yogurt Swirls

YOGURT SWIRLS It’s still summer and the kids are back to school! We found a simple, easy, refreshing, and healthy snack that can be tossed together and ready for when the kids are home from school. Check out the two-ingredient recipe for Yogurt Swirls in this section. INGREDIENTS: • Vanilla Yogurt • Blueberry or Strawberry Preserves DIRECTIONS: Pour some vanilla yogurt into the bottoms of cone-shaped paper cups. Add a small amount of blueberry or strawberry preserves to each cup. With a toothpick, make a swirl with preserves into the yogurt. This is the fun part! Repeat until the cone is full. Insert a popsicle stick into each paper cup. Place cones in cups to keep them standing upright. Freeze and enjoy! Recipe and photo from parents.com

WorkWELL Health & Wellness Webinars

If you missed any of the WorkWELL Webinars or would like to view them again, you can access them at wellnessatoz.org. Stay tuned for more information about our upcoming WorkWell Webinar in August that will focus on mental health. We also launched the Spanish series of our webinars, TrabajarBIEN. We partnered with local leaders and experts to bring forth education around health and wellness in the workplace to the Spanish-speaking community. These can also be accessed at wellnessatoz.org. Please feel free to revisit these webinars and share them with your team, your networks, and the community. If you share them on social media, don’t forget to tag us @GoWellnessAtoZ!

WELLCommunity Harvest Compassion with the Harvest Compassion Center

If you can lend a helping hand to a family in need this fall, the Harvest Compassion Center offers different ways to volunteer or donate food items and/or personal hygiene, baby & clothing items. Check their webpage to see a list of the items they need most.