Mindful Joy and Hot Chocolate!

This year we are focusing on Mindfulness for 4th graders and this week we learned about "Mindful Joy".  Our breathing exercise of the lesson was "hot chocolate breathing" - and their homework is to teach at least one person how to do this breathing exercise, so hopefully you have already heard about this  😏
Students also did a mindfulness exercise when they envisioned the hot chocolate, taking deep breaths, and envisioning things that bring them joy.  After we walked through this exercise, students wrote down four different things in their lives that bring them joy.  We discussed how paying attention, or being mindful, to these things that bring us joy improve our mood and can help us appreciate all that we have to be grateful for.  Students glued these "marshmallows" to a "cup of joy" and will be bringing them home. 
Because students did such a great job of imagining hot chocolate, I surprised them with an actual cup... many had mentioned during the exercise that they thought they could really smell the hot chocolate in the room - turns out, they were right!! 

Watercolor Worry Monsters!!!!

One of my favorite creative counselors to get ideas from is "Counselor Keri" and this idea for her Worry Group was exactly what I was looking for as I began my "Worry Warriors" group this month with 2nd and 3rd graders! Counselor Keri Worry Group Art Activity.  She got the idea from this site, which gives other ideas for creating monsters using watercolors, straws, and stickers: Watercolor Monsters.

After we went over introductions and created group rules, each student got a piece of watercolor paper, two small round stickers and a straw.  I instructed them to put the two stickers on as if they were "eyes".  The next step was getting enough watercolor paint on their papers, which was a bit of a challenge, so I had to help them with that part!  Students then blew through the straw to push the watercolors every which way on the paper - leaving a messy looking paper. 

We let the papers dry until the next session and their homework was the "name" their worry.  I encouraged somewhat silly names, ones that would at least make them giggle a little bit!

"Personifying" worry allow students to "talk" to their worry and to tell it to leave them alone.  When we recognize we are getting anxious or nervous about something, we can say "Hey, Betsy, Leave me alone right now.  I've got this."  Separating themselves from their worry allows them to see that they can be in control and not let worry boss them around. 

Thank you to Counselor Keri for such a fun activity that had my kids asking all week long "When is our next group??"

"Fantastic Elastic Brains!"

When a school counselor walks into a craft store and spots a squishy brain in the Halloween toy section, they cannot help but buy several for their Growth Mindset lessons!!! 😄

Our 2nd graders have been learning about growth mindset and how important it is as learners to understand that our brains are constantly growing and getting stronger when we try challenging things!  In our last lesson, we read the "Your Fantastic Elastic Brain" by JoAnn Deak Ph.D and Sarah Ackerley.  It talks a lot about the different parts of the brain, which is always fun for me to teach!  Students know parts like "amygdala", "cortex" and "hippocampus" and how these parts of your brain help you learn, grow, and keep you safe.

We will continue to talk about how our brains work to help illustrate just how pliable they are and how growth mindset is scientifically backed.

Mindfulness for 4th grade!!

This entire year, 4th graders are learning about mindfulness.  We are learning new breathing techniques each lesson and will add on grounding exercises when we reach that point.  This week, we talked about mindful gratitude.  Taking a moment to just think about the things we are grateful for.  As a busy adult, I can attest to doing this quite poorly.  Studies show that doing a "gratitude journal" can actually increase your quality of sleep, improve your mood and your heart health!  We watched this interesting video that talks about the science of gratitude The Amazing Effects of Gratitude   We then did a "Gratitude Scavenger Hunt" where students were asked to reflect on 15 different things they were grateful for that was "in nature", "someone you love", "something that makes a beautiful sound" etc.

Has your 4th grader taught you our breathing exercise of the day? It is their homework for Life Skills! 😉  Last time, we learned "Dragon Breathing" and this time we learned how to "Finger Breathe".  I encourage all students to at least try this in class and then to teach one other person after class.  I then tell them they never have to do it again after that if it isn't calming for them.  By learning one new breathing exercise each lesson, students will be exposed to many different ways to breathe mindfully and hopefully find at least one that they like doing!

 Finger breathing with 4th graders!

How do you make goal setting EXCITING? You THROW things!!! 😄

3rd graders have been learning how SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely) can help them find success in everything they do.  We have been breaking down the acronym and spent a lesson on "Specific" and "Measurable" already.  Today we demonstrated why it is important for our goals to be possible and rewarding, thanks to one of my favorite activities from Tom Jackson's Activities that Teach.

First, we talked about a time we tried something that was challenging and we succeeded - how did you feel?  "Proud", "Excited", and "Relieved" made the top of the lists. 

Next, students were challenged to toss beanbags into a bucket when they were about a foot away.

Not surprising, students got all three in their bucket and said it was "Too Easy".  There were no feelings of "Pride", "Excitement", or "Relief"!  

Next, students were asked to toss the beanbags from the other side of the room.

Turns out, this didn't fill students with pride, excitement, or relief either... because no one got anything into their bucket!  This challenge was "too hard" or "not attainable".

We discussed afterwards how this part of SMART is kind of like the "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" part of setting goals.  Goals need to be "just right" - not too hard, not to easy!  

As we continue to talk about setting goals, we will be referencing this activity to make sure we are choosing goals that are attainable and rewarding/relevant!

2nd grade Listens to their Mindset!

Prior to beginning our big unit on Growth Mindset this year, I used the "Paper Challenge" to get a sense for what our "mindset" is in 2nd grade. I constructed several "paper sculptures" (with the help of YouTube!) and set them around the room, asking students to replicate them WITHOUT being able to touch them.  All they were given was cardstock and scissors.

While students were attempting to reconstruct this themselves, I wrote down the things I was hearing them say.  "This is impossible!" with "But if Mrs. Flier did it, it has to be possible!" as a retort.  "This is too hard!' "Can I try again?" and "I don't get it" were among the common responses.  Afterwards, we talked about what our response is to having challenges and what that means for a "Growth Mindset" vs. "Fixed Mindset".  Students also took a "pre-survey" to reflect on how they currently handle challenges.
Many kids said they wanted to challenge their parents, so see if you can figure out the trick! :)

Mix It Up Day!

On October 22nd, we celebrated "National Mix It Up Day" with millions of other kids around the globe!  Each student received a DumDum sucker prior to sitting down at lunch.  Each table had a sign with a flavor on it, so students found the table that matched the flavor they were given.  The idea was to have kids sitting with other peers they might not otherwise sit by.  There were conversation starter questions on each table and it was fun to hear the chatter between new friends!
For more information on Mix It Up Day, visit Teaching Tolerance