In My Heart (K-2nd Grades)

During our previous Mind Move Make class, the students started a self-portrait drawing after being inspired by the book In My Heart by author Molly Bang.  In the drawing they created themselves, but filled the area where their hearts would be with portraits of all the people in the world who are most important to them.  At the beginning of this class, I placed each drawing on a yoga mat.  I asked the children to sit where they saw their drawing.  After practicing two minutes of mindful breathing, I asked the students to think why they are thankful for each person in their drawing.  Then we shared one thing we are grateful for for each person.  One boy mentioned that he is thankful that his mom snuggles with him every morning.  Another student said she is grateful to her pet bunny because it makes her feel calm and loved when she is petting it.  It was great to hear the students reflect on why they appreciate the people they love the most in the world.

After moving through many different yoga poses, we worked hard to finish our self-portrait drawings!  Many students still had a lot of drawing to do, and some children were ready to add color.  The students got to choose between several different art media for the color portion of this work.  We taped the two pieces of paper together, one for the head and one for the body.  This was (unbelievably!) our last class for Session 2, so everyone took the drawings home at the end of the class.  Sometimes one hour doesn't seem long enough to get everything completed, but these determined artists worked hard and most of them finished by the end of class.

Here are pictures a few more In My Heart-inspired drawings!

A Kindergarten artist hard at work!

The work of another Kindergarten artist.

And here are pictures of the completed assemblage artworks, inspired by Alexander Calder:

Second grade artist

Kindergarten artist

Kindergarten artist

Kindergarten artist

Second grade artist

Second grade artist

Gratitude (K-2nd Grades)

During this week's Mind Move Make class we talked about gratitude!  I asked the students if anyone knew what the word gratitude meant, and we had many thoughtful answers.  Then I had everyone close their eyes and think about at least three things that they are grateful for.  I asked them to imagine all the things and people that they are grateful for surrounding them.  After that, we shared the things for which we are most grateful.  Several students were happy that they had a house to live in.  One student was thankful that he could hear and see.  Many students were thankful for their pets.

Then I asked them to think of smaller things, perhaps things they experience everyday, that they are thankful for.  As an example, I mentioned that I'm thankful for hearing my two-year-old's laughter and seeing things growing in my garden.  One student mentioned being thankful for the ability to run through the playground.  Another student talked about sliding down the slide at recess.

During the movement part of our class we played Musical Mats again!  The game is like musical chairs, but we use the yoga mats and no one has to sit out.  During the time the students were moving from mat to mat I instructed them to move in a specific way.  They leapt like frogs, lumbered like bears, and walked with a cane as if they were 100 years old.  When the music stopped each student scurried to a mat and I gave them a yoga pose to try.

Before beginning the art portion of the class I read the book In My Heart by Molly Bang.  It is the story of a parent's love for her child.  The book talks about how no matter what she is doing,  the mother keeps her little boy in her heart.  She is never alone because her child is always with her.

The students used the self-portraits they started during another Mind Move Make class and added a larger paper to create their bodies.  They drew the people they love the most in their own hearts.  Here are some examples of the drawings so far.  Next week we will complete them and incorporate color!:

Emotional Intelligence (K-2nd Grades)

Developing emotional intelligence is important in all human beings.  Doctors and scientists are beginning to discover that a person's emotional IQ is a larger determining factor of success and happiness than his or her IQ in terms of intelligence.  Here is an article from Johns Hopkins University discussing emotional intelligence in children.  It also gives parents tips on developing this important life skill in their children.

Today during Mind Move Make we worked on expanding this vital part of being human by bringing more awareness to our emotions.  I invited one student to come up to the front of the room and explained that he was going to act out an emotion that I whispered in his ear; kind of like playing emotional charades!  The other children were supposed to guess what emotion was being acted out.  A second grader volunteered and I whispered "angry" into his ear.  He turned to me and said, "I don't feel angry very often so I don't think I can act that one out."  Wow!  Instead he acted out embarrassed, and he did a great job.  I asked three more students to act out various emotions, and the remaining students guessed what they were.  Part of emotional intelligence is being able to identify what another human being is feeling and to be able to react in an appropriate way.  It is also important to be able to identify these feelings within ourselves.

During the movement part of our class we played a new game: Musical Mats!  It is kind of like musical chairs accept no one has to sit out.  I played the singing bowl and the students walked, hopped, or danced from mat to mat until I rang the bell.  Then each child scurried to the mat that was closest to him or her, and I announced a yoga pose to try.  Musical Mats was a fun way to keep the energy high and keep the students moving in between poses.

Art-wise, today we revisited the work of Alexander Calder and the idea of assemblage (see more information about this here!).  I put out many more recycled materials for the students to work with, and they began to design the background for their artwork.  All the materials for this project were obtained from Scrap in downtown Portland, an invaluable resource for affordable reused materials of all sorts.  Here are some examples of the students' works in progress!

Animal Eyes (K-2nd Grades)

Artist Alexander Calder with two of his wire sculptures

Today we explored mindfulness and our sense of sight!  We cultivated focus and attention through the power of our eyes.  In yoga, we call the visual focal point drishti.

To help with this I gave each child a rock to place at the top of the yoga mat.  I explained that I wanted the students to try to keep their eyes focused on the rock for one minute.  Of course they could blink as many times as they needed to, but the gaze should remain on the rock!  This helps them concentrate on one object, which also helps with keeping the mind focused.  If their eyes wandered somewhere else, I asked them to gently bring their gaze back to the rock.  They did a great job developing focus and attention!

Next, we talked about different animals that have really good eyesight.  I asked them to name a few, and the children mentioned eagles, lions, and owls.  Then we pretended that we had an animal's eyes!  The students could either stay on their yoga mat or walk slowly through the art room taking in as much visual information as possible, trying to notice small things they might have never seen before using their new animal eyes.  I think they enjoyed imagining to have the eyes of a tiger or a hawk while seeing the art room with a different perspective!

I asked them if they noticed anything new, and everyone raised a hand.  One girl observed the specific way the lights attached to the ceiling with wires.  A boy saw a yellow box that he never knew was there.  I asked if they would like to have animal eyesight all the time, and most of the children were excited about this idea.  Though one girl said she thought it would be tiring to see, take in, and notice things that intensely all the time.

After moving our bodies with a few yoga postures, I introduced the students to the artist Alexander Calder, specifically his sculptural work with wire.  You can find out more about "Sandy" Calder here.  I explained that they would be creating a relief sculpture assemblage using many, many different materials.  We started constructing a self-portrait based on the detailed drawings that we created last class.  During this class we only outlined the shape of the face, neck, and shoulders but these works will continue to develop and change as more objects are added!

Here are a few more inspirational sculptural wire works by Alexander Calder:

Generosity (K-2nd Grades)

I started this class by asking if anyone has practiced mindfulness outside of our time together during Mind Move Make.  Several students raised their hands.  One girl shared that she used mindfulness in the car that morning on the way to school.  Another girl used mindful breathing when she thought her tooth was going to fall out.  A boy said he used mindfulness in the mall over the weekend.  It was wonderful to hear that many of the children are using the tools we're learning in class in their daily lives!

After that, I asked if anyone knew what it meant to be generous.  Almost every student raised his or her hand and had an idea about what generosity is.  "When was the last time someone was generous with you, and how did their generosity make you feel?" I asked.  Everyone agreed that it feels good when others show generosity towards us.  I also asked them to think of a time that they were generous with someone else, and how that made them feel.  Being generous makes other people around us feel happy, which is usually contagious and the happiness is passed on to us!

During almost every class, we practice several sun salutations.  The children raise their arms into the air, and I ask them to imagine that they are grasping the sun between their hands.  At the end, I have them bring the sun down to their hearts.  Just about every class, one Kindergartener says, "Now my heart is on fire!" with a huge smile on her face.

Art-wise, today we created very detailed self-portraits using mirrors.  Our Central Idea for this class is Exploring Magnificent Me, and we are continuing to do this through mindfulness, movement, and art.  We talked about what it means to observe, and how artists use observation all the time.  I asked the children to try and show every eyelash, every freckle in this self-portrait; to really spend time observing even the smallest details.  We will use these drawings as a map to create a self-portrait relief sculpture using many different materials.

 

Stars and Wishes (K-2nd Grades)

 The students are excited to participate as mindfulness leaders!  It's fun watching them ring the bell and feel proud that their classmates listen to their instructions.  I think everyone has taken our mindfulness practice to heart now that they are involved in guiding what we do.

Today we talked about the fact that sometimes it is easy to stay focused on the breath while practicing mindfulness, and sometimes it can be difficult.  The mind has a tendency to wander in many different directions; a student might think about what's for dinner, or plan what will happen after class is over.  This is very normal, but with mindfulness we always want to gently bring ourselves back to the present moment.

Today I taught the students how to use anchor words to stay focused on the present.  We used the phrase "breathing in" during the in-breath and "breathing out" during the out-breath.  Just like the anchor of a ship, these words can help us stay connected to the present moment.

During the art part of our class, we started with a work-in-progress discussion!  The students paired up and I asked them to give their partner two "stars" and one "wish".  In this mini-critique, "stars" are compliments about the artwork and "wishes" are suggestions for making it better.  Everyone was very respectful and engaged in the conversation.

Today we put the finishing touches on our Romare Bearden-inspired artworks.  Some children were still cutting and gluing collage elements, and everyone worked on adding color and detail to the backgrounds.  Almost everyone finished, so here are the completed artworks!

2nd Grade Artist

Kindergarten Artist

2nd Grade Artist

Kindergarten Artist

Kindergarten Artist

Second Grade Artist

Second Grade Artist

Collage Creations (K-2nd Grades)

I've decided to have a mini assistant become the mindfulness leader during every class!  Having each student take ownership of this is wonderful for developing confidence, pride, and interest in mindfulness.  The assistant's responsibilities include reminding everyone to find his or her mindful body, ringing the singing bowl to signal the beginning and end of our practice, and squirting down the yoga mats at the end of class to wash them.  When Session 2 is finished, every student will have the chance to guide us through the experience.

During this class we took a trip around our entire body.  We started by focusing on how we feel, beginning with our feet and ending with the hair on our heads.  I introduced them to the concept of "sensation".  We talked about how hot, cold, tingly, and heavy are some of the sensations we can feel in our bodies.   We also talked about WHY it is important to pay attention to how our bodies feel.  Our bodies do so much for us each day: our feet help us walk and run, our hands allow us to pick things up and explore the world.  Being aware of our bodies helps us to take care of ourselves.

After that, everyone was ready to move!  We practiced two Sun Salutations together, matching breath to movement.  I think one of the students' favorite poses is the upside-down insect.  For this pose we lay on our backs and move our arms and legs around as if we were insects turned over on their backs.  Usually an imaginary gust of wind blows through the room and turns all the little insects right-side-up!

We took a look at Romare Bearden's work again when we engaged in the art part of our class.  I asked if anyone remembered what a collage is, and everyone knew!  We looked more closely at Bearden's artwork and identified the parts in which he used collage.  I gave the students the photographs that I'd taken of them a few classes back, and they started incorporating eyes, noses, and mouths into the portraits that they started.  These pieces of art aren't complete, but we already have some really fun works in progress!