Dragon's Gate (K-2nd Grades)

2008 Copyright Joseph R. McAuliffe
Carp leaping over Dragon's Gate

For the past two Mind Move Make classes, our Kindergarten-2nd grade artists have been inspired by a Chinese folktale in which a determined carp fish transforms into a powerful dragon.  In China, the carp is a symbol of endurance, perseverance, and strength.  The folktale is centered around a brave little carp who swims upstream along a river that flows down a legendary mountain.  The river's current is very strong; it is a difficult path to follow.  There are many waterfalls along the way that the tiny fish must traverse.  In the end, the river leads to Dragon's Gate.  There is one last waterfall that the courageous carp must jump over to meet its final goal.  As the carp leaps into the air, it can feel its body changing into that of a mighty dragon.

The Chinese have a saying that goes, "The carp has leapt through the Dragon's Gate".   This is used for students who pass their university exams.  It is also used to describe anyone who works diligently towards a goal and succeeds beyond their wildest dreams!  In traditional Chinese and Japanese artwork, both the carp (or koi) and the dragon are depicted often.

Both our movement work and our visual artwork have been driven by this story.  The students have imagined their skin transforming into the scales of the carp.  We thought about what the cold water of the river would feel like rushing against our skin.  I asked if any of the children had hiked up a large hill or maybe even a mountain and everyone's hand went up.  I asked them to imagine what it would be like to try SWIMMING up a mountain!  What a difficult task!

During our first class, the students used black ink to draw their carp fish.  I reminded them of the techniques we already learned in using the ink to create a painting.  During our second class, we used pencil and permanent markers to create a dragon image.  Eventually we will incorporate color into both artworks.

Movement-wise, during our next class the students will work together to create a performative piece telling the story of the carp becoming the dragon.  I will provide a few simple props to help them along, though the use of these will be optional.  Their goal will be to somehow, through movement, show the mountain, the river, the carp, and the dragon.  It will be fun to see what they come up with!  I'd like to give them a few classes to complete this performative piece and maybe show it to their parents during our last class!

Here are a few of the koi or carp paintings:

Kindergarten artist

Kindergarten artist

Second grade artist

Second grade artist

And here are a few of the dragon drawings:

Kindergarten artist

Kindergarten artist

Second grade artist

Kindergarten artist

Second grade artist

Second grade artist

What is mindfulness to you? (3rd-5th Grades)

This invented zine character was described by one student
as looking like a "disgruntled librarian".  You can see the student's
work in brainstorming for her ideas in her sketchbook.

During this Mind Move Make class we switched it up a little bit!  I didn't put out the yoga mats as I usually do.  Instead, we started class sitting on the floor together in a circle.  This was a much more intimate beginning to the class, and proved to be much better for encouraging conversation and connection.  I think we will start all of our classes this way for the rest of the year.

The girls in the class, a lovely collection of 4th and 5th graders, have participated in Mind Move Make for the entire year.  Many of them also participated in one or all of the sessions from last year.  After spending so much time cultivating mindfulness practice, I was curious about their personal ideas about mindfulness.  In their sketchbooks I had them answer the question, "What is mindfulness to you?".  I explained that I would share my idea of what mindfulness is, but that I would go last so that my response didn't influence what they would say.  The conversation lasted quite a while; everyone was attentive and interested.

Here are some of the ideas and responses that were shared:

"Making yourself calm and putting your mind to the present." -E.D.

"Mindfulness is breathing and paying attention to your breathing and finding your anchor, relaxing and maybe dancing." -J.W.

"Calm silence with joy in the air." -G.F.

After that we spent two minutes practicing mindful breathing, as we do each class.  There was something fantastic about practicing in closer proximity to everyone in class, in a circle on the floor.  We will continue practicing this way for our last six classes!

During every class this session, the girls have kept a gratitude journal.  Each week they write three things that they are thankful for in their journal, and on a small piece of paper they write one of the three things and place the gratitude paper offering in the singing bowl.  During our last class we will read many of these to remember all the things we've been thankful for over the twelve weeks of the class.

Art-wise, the girls are extremely self-motivated with the zine project.  During this class I introduced them to a Zine Checklist of requirements that I expect them to fulfill when the zine is complete.  The list asks each student if she has:

• Created interesting fonts, especially for the front cover and back cover                      

• Included at least one cropped, close-up image 
• Used at least three different types of media  
• Layered and blended colors in an interesting way 
• Included a message of hope     
• Developed an interesting layout for the zine

I believe each girl will be incredibly successful with meeting each of these goals. Here are a few photos of the artist at work!   

One inventive student decided to decorate her leg with remnants from the art room floor during our discussion!

    

Empowerment Plan and Non-Judgement (3rd-5th Grades)

With my 4th and 5th grade students, I love talking to them at the beginning of class to find out how they are, what they're up to, and how they are feeling.  During the art portion of class, the students often share more about their lives and interests, both with me and with each other.  We've truly cultivated a positive community together!  At times these dynamic girls can still be challenging as many of them are high energy.  Some of them struggle with remaining silent during mindful breathing, but each is accepted for where she is in the practice.

During each class, all students write down three things they are grateful for in their sketchbooks.  One of these is also written on a small piece of paper, folded, and placed in the singing bowl.  During our last class we will read through many of these gratitude papers as a reminder of being thankful for things everyday.

After that, I read a story from the children's book Zen Shorts.  The story is a Chinese tale about a wise old farmer who seems to have a string of bad luck.  But with every seemingly bad thing that happens to him, something very good comes out of it.  The last "bad" thing that happens is that his son falls off a horse and breaks his arm.  The farmer's neighbors say, "Oh, how awful!".  The wise old farmer responds with a simple, "Maybe".  In the end, the son's broken arm saves him from being drafted into a violent war.

After reading the story, I asked the students to decipher its message.  They shared that you never know if something in life will be good or bad.  I brought in the idea of judgement to the conversation. Individuals in our culture are quick to judge if events in life are good or bad.  Mindfulness teaches the skill of non-judgement, something the wise old farmer had mastered.  We never know if something that seems like bad luck is really something positive in disguise, or if our attitude towards the event to transform it into a positive!

While the students ate their snacks, I showed them a video about Empowerment Plan, an amazing non-profit organization based out of Detroit.  Empowerment Plan is devoted to "educate, employ, and empower homeless individuals to create a better life for themselves and their families while producing humanitarian products for those in need".  They create an extremely warm winter coat that transforms into a sleeping bag.  All the individuals who fabricate the coat were formerly homeless.  Empowerment Plan has taught them sewing skills so that they can do the work required for the job.  Here is a video about Empowerment Plan if you'd like to learn more!

A photo of the coat that transforms into a sleeping bag, designed by Veronica Scott, founder of
Empowerment Plan!

Then it was time for the students to dive into their own creative adventures: designing a ZINE that shares a message of HOPE!  All of this goes with our Central Idea: Art has the potential to be a positive influence in the world.  This week I introduced students to the many different forms of media that they can incorporate into their zines.  My expectation is that they utilize at least three forms of media!  The girls were excited to begin incorporating color into their creations.  Here are the artists at work:

Becoming a Tree (K-2nd Grades)

Kindergarten artist

We begin every Mind Move Make class with two minutes of mindful breathing.  Before the start of each class I have at least two students ask if they can be the mindfulness leader for the day.  The students have embraced this role; they look forward to leading the rest of the class in our initial mindfulness practice.  Hooray!  

Before all of my lovely kindergarten through second grade students arrived for this class I put each child's painting on a yoga mat.  When they entered the classroom I directed them to find their painting and take a seat.  I asked the students to visualize the tree they created in an immense forest.  We pretended to look up and see the branches of all the trees in our imaginary forest against the blue sky.  I asked the students if the trees were separate or if they were all connected.  We agreed that each tree is it's own separate entity, but that the branches of the trees overlap, touch, and connect in many ways.

I explained that tree roots are usually as wide if not wider than the span of their branches.  In that way, the root system kind of echoes the shape of the tree underground.  So in a dense forest, the roots of different trees criss-cross and overlap underground while the branches do the same thing in the sky.  Usually the trunks of the trees remain separate, but the roots and the branches touch the other surrounding trees.

I asked each student to imagine him or herself as a tree in the forest.  How are we separate from one another?  How do we connect with others around us?  The children were very responsive and interested in discussing this!  We talked about how our words, feelings, and actions touch the people around us.  One student described this in a wonderful way.  She said that our feelings "bump up against" one another.  Another student said that this reminded her of the idea of empathy.  We agreed that we can each choose to put out positive actions, words, and feelings into the world, or we can choose to do the opposite.

After that I had each child stand in Tadasana with both feet firmly planted in the ground.  We imagined becoming the trees we created.  Our skin became rough like bark and our legs fused together into a trunk.  Our arms became long, wide branches and we felt our fingers extend longer and longer into the sky.  Hair became leaves.  We imagined what types of animals lived in our branches.  I asked, "What would it feel like to have a squirrel scurry up your trunk?  What would it feel like if a bird built a nest in your hair?".

During the art part of our class, each student drew him or herself becoming a tree.  Here are a few of the results!

Kindergarten artist

Kindergarten artist

I also gave the students fabric and bamboo from my garden to complete their sumi-e tree paintings.  The results are beautiful.  

Second grade artist

Kindergarten artist

Kindergarten artist

Kindergarten artist

Second grade artist

Second grade artist

Kindergarten artist