Over the Ocean

Second grade artist

 During two Mind Move Make classes we became intimate with Taro Gomi's lovely book Over the Ocean.  Japanese author and illustrator Taro Gomi is best known for her hilarious book Everybody Poops.  All of her books share charm and whimsey.  Over the Ocean tells the story of a little girl standing on a beach and wondering what exists on the other side of the ocean.  She is young enough to invent all sorts of interesting, imaginary scenarios about what might be across a vast expanse of water.

In starting the class I asked the students if they had ever visited the ocean.  Everyone raised their hands.  I asked if they ever imagined what was on the other side?  We shared a few ideas before I began reading the book.

One thing I adore about teaching children is that they always notice things that I might not.  After reading the book, a couple of my students recognized that the same boat is in every single picture frame throughout the book.  Together we looked through the book a second time and observed that one small boat travels from one side of the book to the other throughout the course of the story.  The only page it does not exist is the last one, and we are left to believe that it still travels on beyond the scope of our vision.  What a beautiful detail and how wonderful that my students saw it.  This reminds me that there are many ways of paying attention in the world.

After exploring this discovery, the children went on an imaginary trip to the ocean.  They had the opportunity to become comfortable, close their eyes, and tap into their senses to recreate the ocean in their minds' eye.  We went through all of the senses and they imagined what they would hear, see, smell, taste, and feel in a place where water meets sky.  Then I asked them to visualize what could be on the other side of the water.  All students had the opportunity to share what they saw as we went around the circle and shared our experiences.  Standing in a circle, each student became something her or she saw, heard, felt, or tasted during the imaginary experience.  The room filled with seagulls, seashells, ocean waves, and sunshine as the children transformed themselves.

Then the students got to travel to the ocean through movement.  They started by becoming the ocean waves in a seated position, rolling forwards and backwards through the spine.  In child's pose we became seashells, arms and legs waving we became jellyfish.  Through yoga poses and movement we transformed ourselves into seaweed, mermaids, starfish, and dolphins.  Then we found ourselves on a sandy beach, lying in Savasana and enjoying the warm sunshine on our skin.  What an adventure!

Over the course of two classes the students created a collage inspired by the book Over the Ocean and by our imaginary travels.  I provided beautiful, decorative paper in many shades of blue and green that these artists turned into waves of the ocean.  The students also had the opportunity to cut out the drawings of what they contemplated existed on the other side of the water and add them into the picture.  Here are some of the works in progress along with some of the completed creations.  

Kindergarten grade artist (work in progress)

Kindergarten artist

Kindergarten artist

Second grade artist

Fourth grade artist

Kindergarten artist

Third grade artist

Kindergarten artist

Sending Ourselves Kind Wishes

Kindergarten Artist

During our last few Mind Move Make classes we focused on sending kind wishes to people we love.  Today we will concentrate on sending kind wishes to ourselves.  We will only spend one class on this, but it is such an important practice!  Mindfulness teaches us to hold ourselves gently and non-judgmentally and offers us a healthy dose of self-compassion.  Practicing sending ourselves positive thoughts can feel strange at first, at least it did to me.  But it is imperative that we give ourselves the same kind of care and love that we offer to others around us.  Children can start negative self-talk at a very young age, and this practice is the opposite of that.  So many wonderful things are taught at school, but unfortunately self-care and self-compassion are usually not part of the curriculum, and these are some of the most important tools that we need to be happy throughout life.

I asked the students two questions and we discussed them:

Why is it important to be kind to yourself?

                                                            What do you do to take good care of yourself?

I had the students turn to a friend sitting next to them and talk about these questions, then we shared together as a group.  We talked about how mindfulness can help us take care of ourselves because it allows us time to listen to our emotions.  It allows a pause, a rest, a time to connect with what is happening without worrying about past or future.

After that I invited the students to find their mindful bodies and close their eyes if they felt comfortable doing that.  I asked them to imagine themselves doing something they love to do, something that makes them happy.  "Imagine yourself with a big smile on your face and pay attention to how you are feeling," I said.  After letting them settle into that picture in their minds, we sent ourselves these wishes:

May I be healthy

May I be happy

May I be peaceful

Afterwards, we discussed how it felt to send kind thoughts to ourselves.  All the students seemed to feel pretty good about it!

During the art part of our class we began creating self-portraits.  I demonstrated some very basic things about the proportions of the human face and they got started creating themselves!  We are incorporating the hearts we designed with all the people we love inside them into the self-portrait drawing.  Here are both works in progress and a few of the finished artworks!

Second Grade Artist

Kindergarten Artist

Kindergarten Artist

Kindergarten Artist

Second Grade Artist

Fourth Grade Artist

Kindergarten Artist

First Grade Artist