Health Rocks

Health Rocks! Curriculum is a healthy lifestyle choices program for youth ages 10 to 16 sponsored by National 4-H Council. It helps youth learn skills such as decision-making, critical thinking, and stress management and places emphasis on the prevention of tobacco, drug, and alcohol use.

This program helps youth take control of their choices and addresses the impact of peer pressure, stress, and other emotional factors.

In Georgia, local Health Rocks!® teams work with youth in a variety of settings including in-school 4-H meetings, afters school programs, and summer learning opportunities. Health Rocks!® programs are currently offered 48 counties throughout the state.

Curriculum

Health Rocks! Curriculum is a healthy lifestyle choices program for youth ages 10 to 16 sponsored by National 4-H Council. It helps youth learn skills such as decision-making, critical thinking, and stress management but places emphasis on the prevention of tobacco, drug, and alcohol use. The program utilizes partnerships of youth and adult faciliators to deliver content.

Young people who have personal social skills and competencies are more resistant to substance use. Ultimately, we want youth who are already forming their opinions about tobacco, alcohol and drug use to take control of these choices and not make them because of peer pressure, stress, or other emotional factors.

Topics ranging from basic understanding of healthy choices to interpreting media messages actively engage youth and help them learn the importance of making critical, well-informed decisions. Examples of some topics covered include:

Keeping Healthy
Self-awareness & Stress
Making Informed Decisions
Peer Pressure
Building Refusal Skills
Media & Technology Messages
Serving the Community
Communicating Healthy Messages

Less Stress

The Healthy Living: Yoga for Kids program was developed in Arkansas. The routines outlined in the curriculum provide simple exercises that can be performed in a variety of settings, including classrooms, camps, and at home.

The purpose of this program is to increase fitness, decrease stress, and improve mental focus in a noncompetitive manner. The poses don’t have to be performed perfectly, just be sure to warm up with some light stretching beforehand and, most importantly, have fun!

To start, check out these videos to learn the basics of several yoga poses through the 4-H Pledge and Pose.