Becoming the Ocean (3rd-5th Grades)

One student experiments with adding teardrops to
her water mask.

Our last class was the best one so far.  The first thing I had students do was reflect on WHY it was our best class.  When we shared our insights together, most of the students came to the conclusion that it was our best class because they were able to find the balance between being focused and playful.  It is fantastic to see that the girls in the class are really owning the concepts of focused and playful and recognizing that finding the middle ground between the two is essential for creative group work.

After playing with movement and experimenting with calm and un-calm bodies, the girls relaxed on their yoga mats.  I encouraged silence during this part of the class and played the sounds of the ocean for them which connected with our ongoing exploration of water.  While listening to the waves moving back and forth along the coastline, I asked the students to imagine that they were a tiny organism in the ocean.  Then they were to imagine they were a jellyfish, a fish, a dolphin, a whale, and then imagine they were the entire ocean itself!

After engaging in a game of group juggling, the girls worked together to create different forms of water using movement.  The challenge was that no one could talk during the exercise.  They had to figure out how to become various types of water silently.  I explained that they could choose to collaborate with other members of the group or work independently.  The results were very interesting!

We started by creating rain, then moved to an ocean, then a river.  Each one was unique and lovely.  The ocean was the form of water that everyone chose to collaborate in creating.  After this exercise I asked which form of water was most successful and many of the girls agreed that the ocean was the most successful.

After that, we worked on the masks once more.  Students cut, glued, painted, and glittered their creations.  Here are a few pictures of them in action!