Back-to-School Power Box

1. Find the Parent/Student Goal card

This card is adhered to the inside of the box lid.

For Parents: Spend quality time with your student preparing Grape Dumplings and chat about the new school year. Find out what your student is excited and not so excited about. Help your student write down a few goals for the year and discuss how you can help make the year successful. Give your student the Mental Health Meter and encourage your student to use you as a resource when they are not feeling happy.

For Students: Help prepare Grape Dumplings with your family and open up about the new school year. Work with your family on a few goals you would like to sett and let them know how they can help make the year a success. Use the Mental Health Meter to help your family know how you are feeling throughout the year. Use your family as a top resource for sharing your concerns, anxiety, stress, sadness or anger through the year.

2. Find the Grape Dumpling Kit

The kit includes two 10oz bottles of grape juice, dry mix and a recipe card.

This fun cultural activity should be done as a family. The dry mix contains the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. The recipe card has step-by-step instructions and includes pictures.

The only ingredient we could not get into the kit was butter or shortening. You will need one tablespoon to add to the dry mix.

We spoke to an expert grape dumpling maker, owner of NATV restaurant in Broken Arrow. She told us “when making the dumplings you might need to add a little more flour if the dough is too sticky or a little more grape juice if the dough is too dry. We learned humidity in different kitchens can change the amount of flour needed.

We hope everyone’s grape dumplings come out delicious and if you want to compare yours to a professional, visit NATV restaurant at 1611 S. Main and try Chef Jacque’s. You can even find a coupon for 10% off lunch, in the Power Box!

3. Smart Goals

While the grape dumplings are cooling, the family can find our Smart Goal Card. As a family talk about the importance of setting goals, maybe even throw some examples of past achieved goals.

Smart goals are a specific type of goal and you can learn about what makes a goal SMART on the back of the card. Briefly, SMART goals are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-Boud.

Writing goals down is associated with goal success and having the support of family is always important in achieving a goal!

Keep the goal card and periodically go back and read the card. Use it to keep motivated.

4. Mood Magnet

Our SWAG for the Back-to-School Power Box is our Mood Magnet.

When you read our infographic on the statistics of mental health among American Indian/Alaska Native students, a shocking 45.5% felt sad or hopeless compared to 36.7% national average.

Native students are dealing with tough issues every year and our mood magnet is for the students to non-verbally express their emotions/feelings.

Family members can easily see mood changes which can be important in knowing when to celebrate a success that might have earned a proud mood vs lending support to a bad moment that might have caused a sad mood.

Parents, encourage your child to regularly use the mood magnet and place it in an area where parents can easily view.

5. Supporting Material

The Power Box also contains an Infographic focusing on mental health statistics, a conversation starter card with a list of open-ended questions to help engage conversation, an activities card that lists extra curricular activities and a resources card for American Indian/Alaska Native families.