What is the imagination?

What is the imagination?  
Are all imaginations the same or are they all different?  
Where does your imagination live within your body? 

These were the three questions I posed to my students to encourage them to reflect on and dive into their own imaginations.  Several of the students were palpably excited about a discussion of the imagination because they go there often and imagination is a huge part of their lives.  On the opposite end of the spectrum, I had one student in each class who proclaimed, "I don't have an imagination." 

The discussion about what the imagination is was lively and wonderful as everyone had a different idea about it.  Upon asking the students where their imaginations live within their bodies, most of the children pointed to their heads, but a few of the younger students pointed to elbows, knees, and hearts.  Besides the regular classes that I teach, I also went into my son's preschool and introduced them to the same project and ideas.

The concept of the imagination came to life in a new way through exploring a book called Sarabella's Thinking Cap by Judy Schachner.  The book tells the story of a girl who lives in her imagination in such an intense way that no one around her knows what is happening inside her mind, especially her teacher and her classmates.  Her teacher gives a weekend assignment, designed specifically for Sarabella, with instructions to share what is in your imagination.  Only one piece of paper is provided, which just isn't enough for Sarabella!  Instead of limiting herself to one piece of paper, Sarabella designs her own thinking cap.  Her thinking cap depicts many of the things that exist within her imagination; she uses collage, drawing, and painting to express her ideas.  Sarabella's classmates exclaim, "So that's what you've been thinking about!"

During the mindfulness and movement parts of our class I asked the students to dive into their imaginations; to truly visualize what lives there.  I allowed them the time and the space to exist within their imaginations for a longer amount of time then they might usually have.  Then, I asked them to create a snapshot of what is there.  "This can be anything" I said, "shapes, colors, creatures, worlds, ideas."  It needed to be only a snapshot because they each received one small piece of paper. 

Simultaneously, my four-year-old son Harlow and I have been working on artwork for a show.  All the Mind Move Make students' artwork for this project will also be incorporated into the show that my son and I are developing.  It will be fun to see the work together in one space: Miss Zumstein's Bakery located in N.E. Portland.   The work will be up for the entire month of February.

Here are the artists at work, along with some of the finished pieces:

Artwork from my son's preschool:

I Am Yoga

Welcome to the first Mind Move Make class of 2018!  There are many new students in each class, so we talked about HOW WE WANT TO BE TREATED in the class.  I asked, "How can we take good care of one another?"  The students had many good ideas.  In all classes, the children agreed that they wanted to be treated with respect and that listening to one another is very important.  Another word that came up was kindness; we agreed that everyone wants to be treated with kindness.  This discussion was a great way to start classes in the new year.

We also played a few games to get to know one another better.  First, we went around the circle and said our name and one thing for which we are thankful.  Students mentioned their homes, families, friends; one student said he was thankful for pizza.  Then we played a game called Popcorn.  Sitting in a circle, each child crouched down pretending to be a tiny kernel of corn waiting to be popped.   On his or her turn, the child popped up and said his or her name.  Then everyone popped up and said that child's name.  The Popcorn game was a great way get to know everyone's names and it was also great exercise!

After that I introduced the idea of mindfulness.  I asked returning students to share their thoughts about what mindfulness is to the new students.  Many children talked about how mindfulness is something that helps them feel calm and relaxed.  We also discussed how we are PRACTICING mindfulness.  I asked the children if they practice anything else in their lives.  They talked about practicing the piano, soccer, horseback riding, and singing.  I explained that mindfulness is also something we will practice together, and for mindfulness we will practice focusing on the present moment (or what is happening RIGHT NOW!).  We began by practicing mindful bodies; bodies that are still, sitting criss cross applesauce with a straight spine.  I had several of the returning students demonstrate what a mindful body looks like.  Then we used the Breathing Ball to focus on our inhales and exhales.  Once again, I relied on returning students to lead us in this activity.  It is wonderful to have several older students who have been in the class for one or more sessions who are mindful leaders in the class.

Remaining in a circle, I then read the book I Am Yoga by author Susan Verde, illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds:

This is a book about a young girl who, in the beginning, feels out of balance.  She talks about how the world is spinning too fast and she feels as if she doesn't fit in anywhere.  Then she practices yoga and the practice helps her gain perspective, feel in control, and feel calm.  The book goes through many different yoga poses, and we took the time to try half of the poses presented in the book during this first class.  We will practice the remaining poses next class.  The book is a great introduction to many of the different yoga poses that we will work with throughout Mind Move Make's Session 2.

Lastly, for the art part of the class each student received a sketchbook.  I asked everyone to design a front cover image that either represented the thing that they were thankful for from the beginning of class, or to draw him or herself in one of the yoga poses that we tried.  Here are some of the fun front covers the students created!!!!

 

Superhero Self-Portraits

Kindergarten Artist: "Super Lion Saver" 

For the final project of Mind Move Make for 2017, the students developed Everyday Superhero alter-egos!  I explained that their superhero selves needed to help other humans, animals, or planet Earth.  Their invented superpowers needed to be focused on making the world a better place.

The students took the skills and ideas developed in the figure drawing exercises and applied them to their superhero self-portrait.  They worked hard in their sketchbooks designing a logo for their superhero, along with details of their costumes.  Some students even decided to create a superhero pet sidekick!  It was fun to see what everyone came up with.

The Alameda students developed their designs a little differently then the TIS students.  They designed their creations on large pieces of paper on which they had a partner trace their body.  It was easier for them to find the proportions of the human body this way.

Here are a few picture of both the TIS and the Alameda students' final artworks.

TIS Artists:

This third grade artist gave her superhero the power to purify water so that everyone has clean water to drink.

Fourth grade artist

Kindergarten artist

Second grade artist

Fourth grade artist

Second grade artist

Second grade artist

Alameda Artists:

Second grade artist

Second grade artist

Third grade artist

Emotions

In mindfulness practice it is important to notice feelings.  I try to remind students to check in with how they are feeling several times throughout class.  At the beginning of one class I asked each student to use one word to describe how he or she was feeling at that time.  Most students found it very difficult to use only one word.  They had a story to go along with their feelings and most wanted to share that story.  One boy talked about being angry with something that happened during a kickball game at recess.  Another girl said she was happy because she was with our Mind Move Make group and it only happens once a week.  Two girls identified that they were not happy and not sad, just "normal".  It is very beneficial to check in and notice emotions because this is part of what makes up our present moment existence.  It also allows us awareness of how quickly our emotional state can change throughout the day and the impermanent nature of our emotions.  All of this helps to build emotional intelligence.

After warming up the body with some stretches and a few Down Dogs, I introduced the students to three of the Warrior poses.  We discussed how in yoga the warrior is not necessarily about fighting, but about finding your best self.  We moved through Warrior 1, Warrior 2, and Peaceful Warrior (or Reverse Warrior).  As we moved into Warrior 1 I had the students repeat, "I am strong!"  For Warrior 2 they said, "I am powerful!"  And for Peaceful Warrior they said, "I am kind and peaceful!" which was a great place to end our movement practice.

During the art part of our class, the students practiced figure drawing in their sketchbooks.  We talked about proportion, or size relationships between different parts of the body.  While standing, I asked the students to feel the size of their neck compared to their head, to feel their shoulders and how wide they are, to feel where their arms hit on their legs to think about how long their arms are.  Our hips are just about the midpoint of our bodies, so the legs are almost half of our height!  I provided students with some visuals with examples of figure drawing in relation to proportion.  I also brought in my wooden figure model which bends into all kinds of movement-oriented positions so the students could see proportion and movement in 3D.

I explained to the students that today we were practicing figure drawing in our sketchbooks, but this practice was leading to drawing themselves as an Everyday Superhero!  The students will be inventing themselves as an Everyday Superhero character.  Stay tuned to see what happens! 

Inner Superpower

Third Grade Artist
Inner Superpower: Caring and Art

During our previous classes, Mind Move Make students focused on individuals in the community that they consider Everyday Superheroes.  They reflected on how many people help them in their lives.  Each student then gave particular attention to one special person, celebrating their awesomeness by creating a postcard for that person.  Here is one student in a photo with his Everyday Superhero, his Grandmother.  She is holding the postcard he designed for her:

Kindergarten artist with his Everyday Superhero, his Grandmother

Currently the students are turning inward and contemplating how THEY are Everyday Superheroes.  They started this reflection by thinking about all the Inner Superpowers that exist inside of them.  I asked them to make a mental list of all the things that make them special, and also to reflect on how these gifts help them and help others around them.  I shared a few of the Inner Superpowers that I have: Creativity, Appreciation of Beauty, and Good Listening Skills.

The students also reflected on their hands as one of the main ways humans perform actions in the world.  They focused on their hands by rubbing them together and feeling the warmth and heat generated.  Then they brought all of that warmth to their hearts and thought about their Inner Superpowers.

During the movement part of class the students imagined they were Everyday Superheroes, first pretending to get dressed in their Superhero costumes.  With Halloween around the corner, this was a big hit!  Even Superheroes need to stretch, so the first few minutes of movement were devoted to stretching.  Then, using their Super Sight, the students pretended to noticed a cat stuck in a tree and a dolphin caught in a fishing net.  The students maneuvered through many different yoga poses to save both the dolphin and the cat.  After saving the dolphin, everyone ended up on a beautiful, imaginary sand-covered beach to relax in Savasana.  Because even Superheroes need to relax!

Art-wise, the students used the shape of their hands as a starting point to create their latest art pieces.  They wrote one or more of their Inner Superpowers on the shape of their hand and created detailed designs and patterns all around the hand and in their backgrounds.  I introduced the art concepts of warm and cool colors to the students.  They chose to add either warm or cool colors to their hand, and the opposite combination to their backgrounds.  Here are the finished Inner Superpower hand creations!

Alameda Artists:

Third Grade Artist
Inner Superpower: Kindness

Second Grade Artist
Inner Superpower: Humor

Kindergarten Artist
Inner Superpower: Mindful

Second Grade Artist
Inner Superpower: Helpful

Kindergarten Artist
Inner Superpower: Creative

First Grade Artist
Inner Superpower: Kind

The International School Artists:

Second Grade Artsit

Inner Superpower: Multiple Ideas!

Second Grade Artist

Inner Superpower: Kindness

Second Grade Artist

Inner Superpower: Love

Second Grade Artist

Inner Superpower: Invisability

Fourth Grade Artist

Inner Superpower: O.K. With It-nes

Second Grade Artist

Inner Superpower: Scary (inspired by Halloween I think!)

Second Grade Artist

Inner Superpower: Kindness

Kindergarten Artist

Inner Superpower: Thinking

Fourth Grade Artist

Inner Superpower: Nature

Second Grade Artist

Inner Superpower: Respectful

Kindergarten Artist

Inner Superpower: Helpful