Mindful Listening and Breathing

We had a great time last week learning about the difference between mindfulness and mindlessness.  It was fun to see the kids get engaged as soon as they made the connection that mindfulness is applicable to their hobbies and interests, not just at school.  They realized that being mindful helps them pass more levels when playing video games, stay in step at dance classes, and win more face-offs at hockey games.  Who knew mindfulness could be so useful?!?

This week we will learn two techniques that are helpful when reminding ourselves to be mindful---mindful listening and mindful breathing.  Calling attention to our breath in the midst of stress and chaos allows a chemical to be released from the pre-frontal cortex of the brain called acetylcholine.  Acetylcholine travels to the amygdala and helps calm it’s flight/fight/freeze reaction, allowing us to calm down and focus.  And that’s why everyone tells you to take deep breaths when you’re feeling scared or anxious!

We will be practicing deep breathing with the “belly breathing” we learned last fall when we talked about anxiety, as well as “volcano breathing” which we practiced when we did yoga.  We will also be using some props---pinwheels, bubbles, and hoberman spheres---to reinforce the idea of breathing in and out slowly.  It’s the difference between blowing out birthday candles and blowing up balloons.  I have to give props to Ann Kilgore, our district’s occupational therapist, as she was a great resource as I planned this lesson.

Next week we will begin bringing awareness to mindfulness and our senses.  More fun!  If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.  Have a great week!

Friendship Group Update, Week of Jan. 10

Learning about the brain is so much fun!  I just love our mindfulness unit.  We had a great time last week learning about the pre-frontal cortex, amygdala, and hippocampus.  I hope your child came home excited to quiz you on your knowledge of the brain.  This week we take what we learned last week about the different functions of the brain and apply it to the concepts of “mindfulness” and “mindlessness.”  When we use our pre-frontal cortex to slow our brains down and process information, rather than just react to information, we are being mindful.

In addition to discussing mindfulness, in group this week we will also be doing a mindful listening activity and drawing pictures of our mindful selves as well as our mindless selves.  Next week we will be building on our mindful listening and breathing skills. 

As always, let me know if you have any questions or concerns!

Bucket Fillers!

One of my responsibilities at Hilltop is to help develop our school-wide character education curriculum.  I am excited to present to you this month's theme of Bucket Filling.  Below is a letter that will be posted on each classroom teacher's website explaining what we hope to achieve this month.  If you have any questions or suggestions on how we can build on this concept, don't hesitate to let me know.  Have an excellent weekend!

Dear Parents,

This month at Hilltop we are becoming “Bucket Fillers” as part of our character education program.  Based on the books Have You Filled a Bucket Today? by Carol McCloud and How Full Is Your Bucket? by Tom Rath, we are embracing the concept of filling one another’s “buckets” and making sure our “buckets” stay filled by saying and doing kind things for one another.

Throughout the course of the month we will be working on meeting the following goals through this curriculum:

1. Teach children how to reach out and express love, respect and appreciation to others

2. Help children become other-centered rather than self-centered

3. Help children express their feelings (good and bad) in a healthy manner

4. Help children understand where feelings originate and how to protect their feelings from being hurt

5. Establish a framework for more constructive words and actions and less bullying

6. Create more positive home and school environments

(Taken from www.bucketfillers101.com)

Each week students will participate in creative classroom lessons that will teach and reinforce the concepts listed above.  Additionally, staff school-wide will be watching for students who are filling the buckets of others.  Those students “caught” filling buckets will receive special recognition at the end of each week. 

Be sure to ask your child about how they’ve filled someone’s bucket or how their bucket was filled each day!  It’s a fun and easy way to stay connected to what’s happening at school, as well as a great strategy to try within your own family.  We are excited about the positive impact this will have on our student body and school climate and as always, we thank you for your support!

Sincerely,

The Hilltop Staff

 

Mindfulness Begins! Friendship Group Update...

Happy New Year!  I hope this finds everyone happy and healthy as we embark on a new year and new unit in Friendship Group!  I am very excited about the month of January as this is the month that we begin my favorite unit of the year: Mindfulness. 

For those parents whose children I had in group last year, you might remember the curriculum called “MindUP” which is a product of The Hawn Foundation.  It is a social emotional learning program designed to enhance a child’s self-awareness, social awareness, focused attention, self regulation, problem solving, pro-social behaviors (helping, sharing, and cooperating), and positive human qualities, such as happiness, optimism, and altruism.  We will work our way through the most updated curriculum until spring break, refreshing on lessons learned last year, as well as going more in-depth into content of the curriculum.  Check out MindUp’s website for more information (www.thehawnfoundation.org/mindup).

This week we kicked off our mindfulness unit by learning about the brain.  It’s amazing how kindergarten through fourth grade students alike are completely enthralled by the brain!  We learned about three specific parts of the brain and their functions this week: prefrontal cortex, amygdala, and hippocampus.  Each of these parts play a role as we train our brains to be mindful.  Your child will be bringing a worksheet home with the brain labeled on it, as well as notes to help them remember the function of each part.  Discuss this with your child and prepare to be amazed! 

As always, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to get in touch!

Friendship Group Update, Week of Dec. 13

At school it feels like we’re going down the homestretch….the last week before a well-earned winter break.  (I have a feeling that parents aren’t quite as excited about this as teachers are!)  In the spirit of play and fun, we are doing a couple of different things in group this week to practice our play skills as well as build on our ability to cooperate with one another. 

I introduced a new group of folks to students this week to help incorporate play and emotions: the Emotes.  They are an animated bunch of characters whose name indicates what feeling they represent (Abash is embarrassed, Jumpy is shocked, Joi is excited, etc.).  I’ve got a poster with the full collection, as well as the first comic book, and (best of all) the action figures.  For the boys, it was an especially fun way for them to act out emotions through their play.  You can check them out at www.emotes.com.  I haven’t vetted the site too thoroughly, but it’s certainly interesting at first glance!

Finally, we worked cooperatively to make bubbles.  Students had to work together on teams to create the biggest bubble they could by using water, dishsoap, and straws.  It was a fun activity and I am quite impressed with the bubble-blowing talent at Hilltop. 

I hope everyone’s winter break goes well and I am looking forward to kicking off our unit on mindfulness in January.  Have a happy holiday season!

5 Point Scale Books

I forgot to mention earlier that the 5 Point Scale Booklets that we worked on throughout October and into November will be going home with the kids this week.  They turned out pretty cute and hopefully they're a helpful tool as well!

Friendship Group Update, Week of Dec. 6, 2010

This week in group we’re just going to continue right on playing!  Last week we finished up our anxiety plans, discussed ways to choose and make friends, and played a fun game.  With the younger students we focused more on the fundamentals of play: taking turns, following rules, and being a good sport.  This week within all of the groups we will be directing our attention to the communicative aspect of play: asking to join a group, listening and responding appropriately to others, and being mindful of what our body language is saying, as well as the body language of others, during social situations.  (I know how to take the fun right out of playing, don’t I?)

For some students the social nuances of play come naturally, while for other students they must be learned and practiced.  Next week we’ll be playing team-building games which will require a great deal of communication, cooperation, and flexibility.  Watch out! 

I should mention that I was hoping to do a game with the groups on the Smartboard this week, but a lot of the games I came across that would be appropriate for what we’re learning would be best suited on the computer for one student, not a whole group. I recommend going to Jill Kuzma’s website (www.jillkuzma.wordpress.com) for some great computer game ideas.