In essence this ‘living document blog’ is an attempt to record and articulate all the milestones, reflections, light-bulb-moments and struggles that happen everyday and pass unacknowledged into the great abyss of the subconscious or more productively, into, the teacher's metaphorical and invaluable toolbox of strategies, reflections and experiences. It is an untidy mish-mash of life as a teacher. Happy exploring!
Tips and
tricks for making mindfulness jars in a collaborative classroom.
Buy packs of bottled water.
I am not an advocate for buying bottled water and most definitely support
the reuse of jars. However, I have had a few troubles with getting children to bring
in their own jars from home. One is the lack of lids and another jars which
often happen to be too small. Many children regularly don’t bring in any jars
which in a collaborative classroom is usually around twenty percent. That’s quite
a few jars to source. So far using bottled water packs in a collaborative
setting for making mindfulness ‘jars’ has worked brilliantly because preparation
is minimised and the bottles are already full with water!
I have found that the most effective way of adding to the ‘jars’ is in
stations. (Eg. The food colour or dye table, the glue table and the glitter
table.)
Have the children name their own bottles with vivid before opening the
sealed lids.
When bottles are damp they do not take to being written on very well.
When the children name their own bottle beforehand this is a great opportunity for
them to chat and share the Vivids on the mat. It also means that their arrival
at the stations is naturally staggered. They don’t all go rushing up to the
stations at once.
Metallic paint can easily be sourced from dollar stores. Adding two teaspoons
to a jar helps to thicken the water. The most beneficial aspect is that the
glitter particles in the metallic paint take over two to three minutes to
settle allowing the children to watch the different weights of glitter settle
at different times.
What I usually add to our jars: stars, sequins, heavy glitter (larger
uneven flakes) fine glitter, metallic poster paint.
Adding glue is a great way to slow down the settling of glitter and papier-mache
paste is an easy option. Have an ice-cream container made up and ready at the ‘glue
station’ two teaspoons of thick paste works well. (Papier-mache paste is not
the best option and after a month or less it will lose its viscosity. It is
however the cheapest and most available option.)
A lovely adaption to a mindfulness jar is a jellyfish jar.
In the classroom I have jars along the window sill which look lovely
when the light shines through however they also offer a mindful reminder to
both myself and the children and are accessible for the children to use when
they need to. I have made a few jellyfish jars which work in a similar way.
One ‘thing’
that is often a feature at ULearn is the many references to speakers, authors
and fabulous book titles. Seeing as knowledge and learning is universal and in general we all learn from each other it is exciting to know the gateways of inspiration that lead these ULearn speakers on their own innovative journeys.
‘The End of
the Average’ Todd Rose
The assumption that metrics
comparing us to an average—like GPAs, personality test results, and performance
review ratings—reveal something meaningful about our potential is so ingrained
in our consciousness that we don’t even question it. That assumption, says
Harvard’s Todd Rose, is spectacularly—and scientifically—wrong.
In The End of Average, Rose, a rising star in the new
field of the science of the individual shows that no one is average. Not you. Not your kids. Not your employees. This isn’t hollow
sloganeering—it’s a mathematical fact with enormous practical consequences. But
while we know people learn and develop in distinctive ways, these unique
patterns of behaviors are lost in our schools and businesses which have been
designed around the mythical “average person.” This average-size-fits-all model
ignores our differences and fails at recognizing talent. It’s time to change
it.
‘Art as an Experience’
John Dewy
Art as
Experience (1934)
is John Dewey's major
writing on aesthetics, originally delivered as the first William James
Lecture at Harvard (1932). Dewey's aesthetics have been found
useful in a number of disciplines, including the new media.
‘The
Seventh Sense’ Joshua Cooper Ramo
A book that shows you how to build
(design) a life you can thrive in, at any age or stage.
‘The Future
of Learning’ Mark Tredwell
Having a theoretical model
for how the brain learns allows us to develop a Learning Process that optimises
how the brain applies its four+1 learning systems. The model is based on the
latest neuroscience, sociology and psychology research
‘Drive’ Daniel
Pink
From Daniel H. Pink, the author of the
bestselling A Whole New Mind, comes a paradigm-shattering look at what truly motivates us and
how we can use that knowledge to work smarter and live better. Most of us believe that the best way to
motivate ourselves and others is with external rewards like money—the
carrot-and-stick approach. That’s a mistake, Daniel H. Pink says in, Drive: The Surprising Truth About What
Motivates Us, his
provocative and persuasive new book. The secret to high performance and
satisfaction—at work, at school, and at home—is the deeply human need to direct
our own lives, to learn and create new things, and to do better by ourselves
and our world.
‘The Mindful Leader’ Michael Bunting
The Mindful Leader combines
scientifically-proven mindfulness principles with world-class leadership
practices. The result is a practical guidebook that provides all the tools to
transform your leadership style and dramatically improve all areas of your life.
‘World
Peace and other 4th Grade Achievements’ John Hunter
In John Hunter’s classroom,
students fearlessly set about tackling global problems-and discovering
surprising solutions-by playing Hunter’s groundbreaking World Peace Game. These kids—from high school all the
way down to fourth grade, in schools both well-funded and under-resourced—take
on the roles of presidents, tribal leaders, diplomats, and military commanders.
Through battles and negotiations, standoffs and summits, they strive to resolve
a sequence of many-layered, interconnected scenarios, from nuclear
proliferation to tribal warfare.
Now, Hunter shares inspiring stories from
over thirty years teaching the World Peace Game,
revealing the principles of successful collaboration that people of any age can
apply anywhere. He offers all of us not only a forward-thinking report from the
front lines of American education, but also a generous blueprint for a world
that bends toward cooperation, rather than conflict. In this deeply hopeful
book, a visionary educator shows us what the future can be.
'Creativity,
Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration'
Ed Catmull, co-founder (with Steve
Jobs and John Lasseter) of Pixar Animation Studios
The Academy Award–winning
studio behind Inside Out and Toy Story, comes an incisive book
about creativity in business and leadership—sure to appeal to readers of Daniel
Pink, Tom Peters, and Chip and Dan Heath. Fast Company raves that Creativity,
Inc. “just might be the most thoughtful management book ever.”
‘The
Myth of the Perfect Girl' Ana Homayoun
The Myth of the Perfect Girl explores the changing dynamic of today's
culture of perfectionism, and offers practical, thoughtful solutions to promote
the healthy social, emotional, physical and spiritual wellness of today's young
girls and women. The book is an inspiring look at how we can help our
youngest generations create their own blueprint for personal success and
happiness.
When I was first introduced to Mindfulness a few years ago the 'permission' and support in creating a time and space to teach my children these very important 'soft skills' was both freeing and mind-blowing. I owe a lot to an incredibly understanding and empowering principal and the school's health mentor for the opportunities provided to develop this journey of mindfulness.
I must say that I was more than a little put out when 'mindfulness' became the new fad and 'in' word around schools. It's popularity seemed to cheapen the progress, social development and self-management skills which the children developed through the 'Mindfulness in Schools Program'. And, as the years ticked past, making time for specifically teaching mindfulness became less prioritized. It was not until earlier this term when I had the opportunity to attend the Gifted and Talented Symposium that it came once again to the forefront of my philosophy.
One of the workshops I attended at the Symposium was called 'Philosophy for Children' (P4C). It was structured around oral language etiquette and the articulation of ideas. Afterwards I dived into the great world of Google to find out more.
Here's how P4CNZ defines itself...
'Whether it is truth or beauty, friendship or fairness, what’s right
or what’s real, philosophy deals with so many things that children love
to discuss. Set these ideas and concerns in stories and novels written
for children. Add to this the procedures of classroom inquiry based upon
the philosophical tools of reasoning and imaginative exploration. Top
it off with a teacher whose role is to develop and challenge the
students thinking. This is the starting point for philosophy for
children.'
Some interesting avenues to explore:
What excited me was how much of this we as teachers already used in one way or another this structure in school. It was just more fine-tuned and so closely linked to the Curriculum's Key Competencies not to mention the oral language, confidence and respect it was reinforcing everyday.
Look! Here is an example of P4C with three year olds! ( Three year olds!)
So, in getting back to the classroom what did this all mean to my mindfulness journey and how was I going to use these new epiphanies with the class.
I began by creating a structured 'Circle Time' every morning. This began with the children sharing their news around the circle. It was predictable. They could 'pass' if they wanted to and zone out (often). They knew when their turn was coming, how long they had to wait and whether or not they had time to get their news together.
I gradually began to change this by adding in a hug circle to our circle time. Two children would hug each other and then turn to 'pass' it along to the person on the other side of them.
More changes were added.
Children needed to say good morning to the class even if they didn't have news. Children needed to stand up and speak. A ball was added. Children had to think about who to pass it to. A turn was no longer predictable.
There were tears, embarrassment, impatience, and plenty more struggles.
But how does my mindful classroom look like now?
This morning after the roll all the children scoot up and tuck themsleves in close to my feet. We watch a video on my laptop which I discovered on facebook the night before. It is about a little girl, who while eating dinner in a cafe notices a homeless man outside and gives her dinner to him.
The children then wiggle themselves backward into the circle. "Thinking time!" I call. " What was happening in the video? What did the little girl do?...and why?"
Immediately hands start popping up or waving around by knees. ( We are still working on indicating with our hand on our knees rather than by waving it around in the air.) I roll our little globe ball to a child. Children indicate when they have something they want to say and can agree with others or disagree. They can speak as many times as they want. They all listen as one child is speaking. They are free to share their own childlike ideas without the interruption of an adult trying to form or change their thinking. They think about and process what other children are saying. If someone passes the ball to them and they don't have anything to add they simply smile, say 'good morning' and pass it on.
I indicate for the ball and lean the topic towards 'What does it mean to be homeless.' The children relate this to homeless people they have seen and take the conversation of their own accord as to why someone might become homeless. To wrap up I ask the children to think about some of the things that they are grateful for and we finish by listening to our mindfulness bell and as the sound finishes children pop their hands on their shoulders to share some of the things they are grateful for.
Some of the things I have noticed:
-Children are more aware and interested in what each other is saying.
-It is valid and relevant to them.
-They are safe and do not see the others in the classroom as a threat.
-Participation is for all children (Two boys in my class who are on the spectrum have grown in confidence, joy and participation in engaging and relating to the children in the classroom at this time.)
-self-management and calm has blossomed
-anxiety has lessened
... and what excites me the most is that the children are listening. Really listening. Listening to each other and listening to themselves, processing their ideas, thinking, noticing and respecting each other.
It is a wholesome place to be and it is the favourite part of my day!
- Interesting - Woolf Fischser research program lead by Rachel Williamson hired students and teachers to engage with and respond to the children's blogging and posts over the summer break to maintain engagement and provide quality comments and feedback. Children were showing a high percentage of fluidity in writing and surface features in their blogging and commenting. This was notably different to the deficit idea that children's poor surface features (spelling, sentence structure, punctuation etc. ) would reflect poorly on the school or reinforce poor writing as these comments would not be sustainable to proofread and manage.
Some of our concerns and questions about student Sharing:
Sustainability
- How can we ensure quality not quantity?
- How do we build classroom sharing into the classroom program without making extra work?
Accuracy
- How do we ensure that children's messages get across correctly? - eg. If they comment and spell things wrong.
- This is a public forum - How do we ensure that things are 'ok' and not a 'bad' reflection on the school eg, langugage, ideas, spelling
Proofreading or Not
Kate and Simon's response:
In our class there is a requirement to post one thing a week. Kate responded to some of the questions and concerns by explaining the modelling of good tasks to put on blogs and being perceptive about the children who needed their topic/subject matter learning directed to or helped in selecting which learning to put on blogs. Simon mentioned that 'best' bloggers (most prolific) would only post 3 times per week at most because they were aware of quality and effort required to give quality learning.
Rubrics have also been designed for blog posts and comments. Children now know what to do with practice.
Marks response to proofreading - Use Google read/write. Teach the children to highlight and select google read so they can hear where they have made the mistakes.
Other ideas we discussed were the deliberate and specific teaching of our children to analyse and reflect on what they were sharing and 'saying' (digitally)
Right time, right place, right thing...
Are our parents good models of these things?
Sharing parameters - require a lot of reinforcement and teaching on how to comment.
'A digital playground with no one on duty'
'These children will grow up to be 'good' parents because they have been taught how to be responsible 'sharer's' Mark Maddren
Some ideas in reflection:
How much sharing do we do as adults?
What do we share?
How do we manage all the different sharing forums? - Instagram, snapchat, facebook, twitter etc.
'Teachers need to be willing to change their practice in the classroom. That is the only thing required for the children to begin raising their standards of learning.' Mark ( In the context of working with Mark Maddren on technology)
