Health education is a required academic subject that teaches students how to take care of their minds, their bodies, and their relationships with others. Health education is required for students every year, in grades K-12. In health class, students learn the concepts and skills they need to be healthy for life, including:

• Social and emotional skills

• How to set goals for life and health

• How to find and use health services

• Good communication and relationship skills

• How to set boundaries and resist negative social pressure

These skills are especially important during times when families and students are managing illness or other challenging situations. While your child is at home, you can support their physical, mental, social, and emotional development with the following free resources.

All Grade Levels

• KidsHealth from Nemours: A comprehensive health education website, with all articles by doctors or other health professionals. All resources are available in Spanish and English and have audio files.

• 20 Seconds or More: produced by Hip Hop Public Health: A hand-washing video featuring legendary rapper Doug E. Fresh and prominent music artists, public health experts, athletes, entertainers and families. Listen along and learn how to help stop the spread of COVID-19.

• Common Sense Media Parent Concerns

• School Mental Health Resource Training Center

• Action for Healthy Kids: Healthy Activities to Do at Home

• Laurie M. Tisch Center’s Food Ed Hub: A compilation of free, family friendly food and nutrition education lesson plans, videos, recipes, and activities developed by partner organizations.

Early Childhood

Videos 

• Learn Feelings and Emotions for Kids(Open external link)

• Sesame Street Name that Emotion(Open external link)

• When I am feeling angry/Feeling & Emotion Management by Baby A Nursery (Open external link) 

• Tuesdays with Twomey: Moro Reflex & Self-Regulation Calming Techniques(Open external link) 

• Please and Thank You(Open external link) 

• Feelings Circle: An SEL Kernels Practice for Kindergarten

Articles 

• How to Teach Kids about Their Feelings: Early Childhood(Open external link) 

• How to Talk to Your Kids About Coronavirus: Early Childhood(Open external link) 

Apps/Resources 

• At-Home SEL Strategies: Early Childhood(Open external link)

• Parent Toolkit: Social and Emotional Development(Open external link) (also available in Spanish)

Grades K-5

Videos 

• Controlling emotions for kids(Open external link) 

Activities

• Make a Mood Meter(Open external link): Children learn how to make their own mood meter to check in with how they are feeling and recognize when they are upset and others are upset.

Middle School

• BrainPOP(Open external link): An educational website with health-related short videos, engaging learning activities, and online games. 

• Social Emotional Family Toolkit (Move This World)(Open external link) : Students can use the journal prompts and writing activities on pages 24-27; caregivers can access other at-home tools and information. 

• Learning About Decision-Making(Open external link): Information about the effects of our choices and decisions, with questions to help students think about their own decision-making.

High School

• Love is Respect(Open external link): Helps young people learn about healthy relationships and how to prevent and end abusive relationships. The Relationships 101 section includes information for teens on dating, trust, consent, and conflict resolution. Site includes hotlines to text or call in crisis. 

• The Trevor Project(Open external link): A national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer & questioning (LGBTQ) young people under 25. Resources include a guide to being an ally to transgender and non-binary youth. 

• Let’s Talk: Your Health(Open external link) (Peer Health Exchange): Peer Health Exchange has created a library of health resources, including videos by peer health educators, to help teens take care of themselves during this time. Topics cover managing relationships as well as stress and anxiety during a pandemic, among other topics important to teens.

For more information visit: https://www.schools.nyc.gov/learning/learn-at-home/activities-and-supports/health-education