End-of-Year Health Project: Healthy Habit Spinner Craft
My elementary students loved this end-of-year health project - a healthy habit spinner craft. The goal of this craft was for students to create a learning artifact they could reference at home during the summer. Each wedge of the spinner features a healthy habit related to one element of the BEST Model. At home, students could spin the wheel for ideas on healthy habits to practice each day or as a checklist to keep track of the habits they’re building. I can’t wait to show you how this activity works!
Table of Contents
What You Need for the Healthy Habit Spinner:
Before we dive into how to make the healthy habit spinner and teaching ideas for how you can use it, let’s look at the supply list for this activity:
Print and cut the two spinner pieces (Member Access!)
Coloring supplies
Round head fasteners, one for each student
How to Make Healthy Habits Spinner
After printing out the pieces of the spinner, I opted to cut them, just to save time during the lesson.
Students color and design their wheel.
Cut out the circles and poke a small hole in the center.
Optional: Laminate the circles. - I laminated them for my students. It makes them more durable and easier to spin.
Use a round-head fastener to secure the two circles.
Ta-Da! Student’s wheel is complete! Challenge them to take it home and do one thing on their wheel each day of summer!
How to Use the Healthy Habit Spinner Craft
I used this spinner with elementary students as an end-of-the-year activity. I wanted a fun, interactive activity that would be meaningful and help them continue to intentionally build healthy habits throughout the summer. I also wanted them to create a learning artifact that would help them remember the elements of the BEST Model.
Just for a quick refresher, here are the elements of the BEST Model:
B - Body: Take care of your body and understand its needs.
E - Environment: Access clean, safe, and secure spaces to thrive in.
S - Self: Know yourself and manage your mental well-being.
T - (Social) Ties: Build strong connections and feel a sense of belonging.
The purpose of the spinner was to give them a quick way to identify healthy habits they could practice on a daily/weekly basis at home. Here’s a look at the healthy habits featured on the spinner:
B - Body
Ride Your Bike
Eat a Yummy Snack
E - Environment
Care For Your Garden
Play Outside
S - Self
Fill Your Gratitude
Draw Your Emotions
T - (Social) Ties
Play a Game
Have a Play Date
How the Spinner Worked in Real Life
I used this spinner craft in my son’s elementary classroom. So we got to prototype it at home. My two kids (7 and 4) loved it. Some days, they would spin it to see how many things we had already done. If there was something we hadn’t done yet, they would come up with an idea for how we could do it. Other days, we needed to get them doing something, so they would use the spinner to get motivated.
Overall, it was a great interactive and meaningful craft! Next time I teach it, I want to give a parent piece to better educate the parents on how it could be used!
