During a freshman seminar class, the Student Peer Navigators led an engaging activity using the “Rock, Pebbles, and Sand” metaphor to help new students understand the importance of prioritizing their time and responsibilities. In this activity, the “rocks” represented the most important commitments—like family, health, and academics. The “pebbles” stood for secondary priorities such as extracurriculars or part-time jobs, while the “sand” symbolized the small, everyday distractions.
By guiding students through this visual and hands-on exercise, the Peer Navigators emphasized that if you fill your time (the jar) with the small things first, there won’t be room for what truly matters. But if you start with the big priorities, everything else can still fit around them. This powerful lesson encouraged freshmen to reflect on their goals and make intentional choices about how they manage their time in high school.
