Practice this with your students this week and let’s discuss how it went:
- Try this at the beginning of the class period: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3hXqh93QR0&feature=youtu.be
- What do we think about her language? The energy she projects? How does it compare to your typical “teacher energy?”
Tool Kit:
Reflections on personal practice and using it with students:
- working individually with kids, had each one do the body scan. then asked follow up Qs:
- responses:
- calm, happy, relaxed, angry b/c took so long, not so tired and a little relaxed but my brain wants to play a game next
- what did you hear them say? breathe (even though only said this a few times), close eyes, calm down and relax
- when can you use it? to feel freedom because you feel happy, feel angry to calm down, don’t say mean things, if you have a phone and someone took it from you just take a deep breathe, when you get angry with your family just go to the happy place,
- responses:
- I’ve been feeling more space between whats happening before I react and feeling more relaxed during stress.
- what do you say to kids to explain why you do this?
- had kids focus on their breathing and then focus on a moment this week when they felt gratitude and then when they were patient. meditated on that. after that then we went through a text to look for gratitude and patients
- it certainly focused the sat morning group because it helped them know what it felt like to be patient/gratitude to help them connect with identifying when the character felt that
- I want practice that will facilitate them being more focused:
- try focused sound practice: ring bell/meditation bowl/cymbals then they listen to sound and when it stops ringing they raise their hand
- can do this three or four times to break up the class, before do meditation exercise etc
- can be helpful to do this after lunch to calm down
- notice five things
- try focused sound practice: ring bell/meditation bowl/cymbals then they listen to sound and when it stops ringing they raise their hand
- difference between teacher reading through script v. using audio from online
- when I try to lead myself its not as effective as when I put on a video
- maybe its hearing a different voice from our own
- teaching empathy through literature:
- when doing readings, setting intentions to connect with the characters and more fully connect and feel what the characters are feeling
- there are some kids who just underline things they think is important and are clearly not connected
- in elementary: we’re pushed to make everything academic but I think it’s more valuable for them to think ‘what would it be like for this person’
- feeling hesitant about starting in my classroom:
- worried about the buy in, confidence in doing it
- should just try it-coming to this Monday mindful practice and we can unpack what you tried and how it went
- When a kid acts out do you continue modeling for them or do you redirect them?
- When I lead a practice and a student acts out I calmly and with my eyes closed I ask them to return to the practice or to put their phone away
Itag Mindfulness 