Take roughly 5 minutes at the beginning of every meeting to conduct an opening connection to get to know other students. An opening connection is also a great time to introduce yourself and share your pronouns. Let’s normalize sharing pronouns and make sure we refer to each other by the correct pronouns.

• Rose, Thorn, Bud
  • Rose – something going well
  • Thorn – something going not so well
  • Bud – something looking forward to
• Smoke, Spark, Fire
  • Smoke – something that has been clouding your mind recently or something that is not going so well
  • Spark – something that you recently have become interested in
  • Fire – something that you have enjoyed for a long time
• High, Low Buffalo
  • High – something good that happened recently
  • Low – something not so good that happened recently
  • Buffalo – something weird that happened recently
• Phone Analogy
  • We are constantly thinking about how to keep our devices charged. We sit near a plug to charge our mobile devices, have portable chargers, sometimes the computer needs to be constantly plugged in to work. But how often do we think about our personal charge? How often do we think about doing something for ourselves to keep ourselves healthy, energized and filling up our own cup? Our personal charge encompasses so many things: our mood, energy, efficiency, ability to function. There are also internal and external factors that impact our wellbeing, our experience in the world and ultimately, our personal charge.
  • Phone Analogy: What is your phone or computer charge right now? What is your personal charge right now (I.e. your mood, energy, feelings etc.)?  What are you doing to recharge yourself?
  • Depending on our own personal experiences and identities, we experience the state of the world differently and therefore wherever we are now, whatever our charge is in this moment, that is okay.
• Questions
  • What is your favorite movie, tv show, or book?
  • What is your intention for this meeting?
  • What do you hope for or dream of?
  • What is something good that happened recently?
• Speed Friending
  • This activity is a great way to get people moving around and getting to know each other all at once! Have students spread out in two lines facing each other (you can have multiple sets of two lines if you have a large group). Each person should have a partner across from them in line. Explain that you will be reading prompts and that each pair will have 60 seconds to answer, or 30 seconds per person. It’s helpful to let them know when 30 seconds have passed so they know to let the other person share!
  • Once the 60 seconds has passed, instruct one student at the end of the line on the right to go around to the other end of the same line, with everyone else in the right line shuffling up one person. Nobody in the left line should move. Now, everyone should have a new partner for the next prompt. Repeat these instructions for as many prompts as you’d like! Some sample prompts are as follows:
    • Do you read reviews before you do anything or go into it fresh?
    • What does your ideal weekend look like?
    • In which television show’s world would you most want to live in
    • What is your most valuable possession?
    • If you had your own talk show what would it be about?
    • If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?
    • What is your favorite part about your favorite holiday?
    • Would you rather only live in the daytime or nighttime?
    • What is something you are secretly very knowledgeable about?
    • What is your favorite thing to do when visiting a new place?

Finish off your club meeting with a closing mindfulness. This could be a mindfulness practice, an expression of gratitude or a kindness challenge.

• Mindfulness Tracks, developed by our partners at Evolving Minds
  • Mindfulness techniques for grounding during moments of stress, fear and reactivity
    • Paced Breathing (5:14 min)
    • Conscious Relaxation (5:18 min)
    • 5 Senses (4:26 min)
    • Mindful Pause (4:30 min)
  • Mindfulness fundamentals for developing a better understanding of mindfulness and expanding worldview
    • Mindfulness of Breathing (4:10 min)
    • Compassion (4:49 min)
    • Loving Kindness (4:35 min)
    • Mindful Living (4:48 min)
  • Mindfulness practices for inspiring creativity, playfulness and positive emotions
    • Mindfulness of Sounds (4:48 min)
    • Interconnection (4:12 min)
    • Gratitude (4:26 min)
    • Joy (4:47 min)
  • Additional mindfulness practices
    • Mindfulness of Emotions (4:51 min)
    • Holding Space for Where We Are (5:32 min)
    • Self-Awareness (4:47 min)
    • COVID Self-Reflection (5:50 min)
• OMM Mindfulness Youtube Playlist – choose a video to watch with your club!
• Take 5
  • This exercise allows us to ground ourselves in the present moment, and it can be helpful for coping with anxiety as well. Invite participants to take a moment to be still and silently name the following:
    • Five things you can see. Four things you can touch. Three things you can hear. Two things you can smell. One thing you can taste.
• Positive Affirmations
  • Invite participants to close their eyes and place hand on heart if able to do so. Read off the following affirmation slowly:
    • I honor and support myself 3x
    • Lastly, let’s take 3 deep breaths together and end with a smile.
• Statement of Gratitude
  • Sharing something that you are grateful for!