Also, I've recently completed the Mindful Educator Essentials course through the well-respected organization Mindful Schools. I'll be combining elements of the Mindful Schools curriculum into the mindfulness component of the class. I'm looking forward to putting the training into action!
After introducing the students to our Central Idea, we focused more specifically on mindful breathing and the idea of an anchor spot. We talked about why breathing is important to humans, what breathing does for us, and why we'd want to pay attention to our breath. In terms of anchor spot, I asked the students if they knew what an anchor is in a boat. Several students had great explanations for this. Then we thought about how touching either the stomach or the chest while breathing mindfully helps anchor us to our breath because we can feel its movement.
After that we were ready to move our bodies! I asked the students to focus on how they felt before and after engaging in movement. We talked about how our minds and bodies need to work together in order to be happy. We moved through a few Sun Salutations, then I led a few poses with which the students are already familiar. Then I introduced them to Crow Pose (Bakasana), a challenging arm balance pose. A few of the students were able to get into it, and the others worked hard trying! I like adding in challenging poses at times as it gives the students a goal to work towards.
Then we were ready to make artwork! We started a self-portrait, but I explained that we'd be using photographs of ourselves as a collage element in the artwork. I took a picture of each child and I'll print them to be used in the next few classes. We discussed the ideas of self-portrait and collage. The students began to use oil pastels to mix a skin tone for him or herself. During our next class we'll be looking at the artist Romare Bearden and his use of collage.
