We've also tried the "Take Five" breathing exercise. For this, the students spread their hands in front of them like a starfish. Then they trace each finger, starting with the thumb. Sliding their finger up the thumb, the students inhale through the nose. They pause at the top of the thumb, then exhale through the mouth as they slide their finger down the thumb. For each finger, the students inhale while tracing up, and exhale while tracing down the finger. This gives them the chance to focus on taking five good breaths, with the physical object of their own hand to concentrate on while breathing.
During another Mind Move Make class, in celebration of Halloween we looked at the emotion "scared". I read one of my favorite Dr. Seuss stories, What Was I Scared Of?, then we talked about different things that we are scared of in our own lives. The students had just experienced an earthquake drill that day and many of them said they were scared by the loud alarm that went off for the drill. After talking about our fears, each child designed a "scared" monster in his or her sketchbook.
Our last class was a "catch-up" day. Many students hadn't finished their angry "Bombaloo" masks, so I gave everyone the opportunity to complete the mask. Also, several students had unfinished monster designs in their sketchbooks, so they had time to go back and work on those. At the end of the class we took a group photograph of all the children wearing the "angry" masks that they designed. What a fun bunch of kids!
