Dear all,
Thank you for another good week at ISHCMC. I realize that
not having breaks and outdoor activities is hard for you and the students but
feel that it is something that we need to be doing to protect our student’s
health. Last week we did have pollution readings that were off the top of the
AQI index. Attached to this email is a letter that I have written to parents
that explains the procedures that we are following in line with the Clean Air
Policy that we wrote last year. I have been asked by many people about the cause of this pollution and have just read this article that might explain it. Let’s hope that next week we return to some
normality regarding pollution.
On Friday we have Celebration of Cultures. This PTO run
event will be taking place in the MPR and Gymnasium. It will start at 8:30 with
a flag parade and school song. Students will be expected to be seated in either
the MPR or Gym by 8:20 following Mindfulness. The country performances have
been split between the two venues and there will be a 20 minute interval to
allow the audience stretch time/ light refreshments and the opportunity to move
to a new venue for part 2 of the country presentations. Each country will
perform their presentation twice in the same venue. The event will last
approximately 2 hours 15 minutes. We did look at moving the event to the
afternoon but decided against this because of it being another change for
parents, lunches too early and for our younger students a much longer day. More
details about final arrangements will be shared early in the week.
This week’s Food for Thought is a short article that
suggests 7 activities that you could add to your repertoire of Mindfulness activities
to do with your class. It also links with the second attachment to this email
which is an excellent opportunity, starting after the October break, to take an
8 session Mindfulness course run by Dr. Rashmi Bismark. Details attached.
7 Fun Ways To Teach Your Kids Mindfulness
I taught a mindfulness class at
my daughters’ elementary school this week. Unsurprisingly, the kids taught me
way more than I taught them.
While I was doing
research to develop the class, I came upon a wealth of information about
mindfulness programs in schools. For one, I learned that actress Goldie Hawn
has been working with neuroscientists, cognitive psychologists and educators to
develop a mindfulness curriculum for schools. I was thrilled to find out that
their research reported that mindfulness education in schools has proven
benefits: it increases optimism and happiness in classrooms, decreases bullying
and aggression, increases compassion and empathy for others and helps students
resolve conflicts.
If you ever want to
be inspired and also have a giggle, ask a group of kids what they think
“mindfulness” is. “Relaxing out of our daily troubles and stress,” “A way to
stay yourself when you’re going through something troubling” and “It’s like
getting off of one railroad track and getting onto another one” were some of my
favorite answers from the recent class meeting. Kids can really be
fountains of spiritual wisdom!
When I told them the
dictionary’s definition (“a mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness
on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one's feelings,
thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique"), the
kids weren’t entirely sure what I was talking about. And so we did some
exercises to test it out. Feel free to try these at home!
1. The Bell Listening Exercise
Ring a bell and ask
the kids to listen closely to the vibration of the ringing sound. Tell them to
remain silent and raise their hands when they no longer hear the sound of the
bell. Then tell them to remain silent for one minute and pay close attention to
the other sounds they hear once the ringing has stopped. After, go around in a
circle and ask the kids to tell you every sound they noticed during that
minute. This exercise is not only fun and gets the kids excited about sharing
their experiences with others, but reallyhelps them connect
to the present moment and the sensitivity of their perceptions.
2. Breathing Buddies
Hand out a stuffed
animal to each child (or another small object). If room allows, have the
children lie down on the floor and place the stuffed animals on their bellies.
Tell them to breathe in silence for one minute and notice how their Breathing
Buddy moves up and down, and any other sensations that they notice. Tell them
to imagine that the thoughts that come into their minds turn into bubbles and
float away. The presence of the Breathing Buddy makes the meditation a little
friendlier, and allows the kids to see how a playful activity doesn't
necessarily have to be rowdy.
3. The Squish & Relax Meditation
While the kids are
lying down with their eyes closed, have them squish and squeeze every muscle in
their bodies as tightly as they can. Tell them to squish their toes and feet,
tighten the muscles in their legs all the way up to their hips, suck in their
bellies, squeeze their hands into fists and raise their shoulders up to their
heads. Have them hold themselves in their squished up positions for a few
seconds, and then fully release and relax. This is a great, fun activity for
"loosening up" the body and mind, and is a totally accessible way to
get the kids to understand the art of "being present."
4. Smell & Tell
Pass something
fragrant out to each child, such as a piece of fresh orange peel, a sprig of
lavender or a jasmine flower. Ask them to close their eyes and breathe in the
scent, focusing all of their attention only on the smell of that object. Scent can really be
a powerful tool for anxiety-relief (among other things!).
5. The Art Of Touch
Give each child an
object to touch, such as a ball, a feather, a soft toy, a stone, etc. Ask them
to close their eyes and describe what the object feels like to a partner. Then
have the partners trade places. Both this exercise and the previous one are
simple, but compelling, ways to teach the kids the practice of isolating their
senses from one another, and tuning into distinct experiences.
6. The Heartbeat Exercise
Have the kids jump
up and down in place for one minute. Then have them sit back down and place
their hands on their hearts. Tell them to close their eyes and feel their
heartbeats, their breath, and see what else they notice about their bodies.
7. Heart-To-Heart
In this exercise,
the meaning of "heart" is less literal. In other words, this activity
could also simply be called "Let's talk about feelings." So sit down
and casually, comfortably ask the children to tell you about their feelings.
What feelings do they feel? How do they know they se feelings? Where do they
feel them in their bodies? Ask them which feelings they like the best.
Then ask them what
they can do to feel better when they aren’t feeling the feelings they like
best. Remind them that they can always practice turning their thoughts into
bubbles if they are upset, they can do the Squish and Relax Meditation if they
need to calm down, and they can take a few minutes to listen to their breath or
feel their heartbeats if they want to relax.
My hope for the
mindfulness class was to give the kids
some tools they can use anytime: tools to calm down, slow down and feel
better when they are troubled. I sure wish I had these tools at my disposal
when I was their age. Imagine if all the children around the Earth learned to
use these tools during their childhoods. What a change our world would
experience within just one generation!
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