TimeWise2 & Live Your Why!
Healthy Lamoille Valley created Live Your Why (LYW) in 2020 with TimeWise: Taking Charge of Leisure Time (Caldwell, 2005) concepts at its core. The LYW afterschool edition was created to help youth build self-awareness, resource development, connectedness, self-management skills and other skills which encourage them to make the most out of their free time. It can help youth to identify meaningful activities, alleviate boredom, and increase their own personal responsibility for how they spend their time. LYW is an integral part TW2!
What is LYW?
LYW organizes leisure and free time activities into wellness/leisure benefits themes that help youth understand how their choices impact their overall well-being. This framework supports students in reflecting on the benefits they gain from their activities, encourages trying new things, and promotes awareness of healthier, more balanced lifestyles.
Standalone or Integrated with TimeWise2 program:
- Standalone Tool: LYW can be used independently as a resource to help students explore free time, discover interests, and reflect on how their activities support wellness. Educators can select individual themes or activities based on student needs or interests.
- Integrated with TimeWise2: LYW complements and enriches the TimeWise2 curriculum by providing a structured way to organize and deepen discussions on wellness topics such as motivation, positive risk-taking, and healthy leisure.
Consider a “Build Your Why” Challenge! Help Others Live Their Why:
-Facilitate students designing new opportunities: e.g., a recess/free time activity, a club, a game, a space, for the school, program, or community, etc.
-Brainstorm ideas. Think about:
- Who is it for?
- What is the need?
- How does it help the community?
- Outline a plan for achieving the goal.
-Help students bring their ideas to fruition! Even small steps are important to achieving the goal (acknowledge some ideas may be easier than others to implement).
Flexible Implementation Options:
- Whole-Class/Group Exploration: Use wellness themes to guide group discussions, reflections, or activities, exploring one theme at a time or several at once.
- Individual Reflection: Have students complete activity inventories or worksheets to identify which wellness themes they engage with most and which they want to develop.
- Project-Based Learning: Encourage passion projects or goal setting aligned with LYW themes to build skills and confidence.
- Activity Selection: Help students choose recess, afterschool, or free time activities that balance physical, social, mental, and creative engagement.
Benefits of Live Your Why for Educators & Students:
- Provides a clear, relatable framework to categorize and reflect on activities.
- Build skills in self-awareness, goal setting, and decision-making.
- Encourages holistic wellness aligned with developmental needs.
- Helps students identify healthier leisure alternatives.
- Enhances curriculum engagement by connecting it to students’ lives.
- Offers scaffolding adaptable to all grade levels.
Tips for Successful Use:
- Introduce LYW early in the year for foundational wellness awareness.
- Revisit themes regularly for deeper understanding and skill development.
- Connect LYW reflections to other TimeWise2 sessions on choices and motivation.
- Help students recognize that many activities offer multiple wellness benefits.
- Use LYW to support conversations about balancing screen time and active leisure.
- Engage families and community through passion projects and fairs.
