Extra Extra

Hey teachers and any other followed of this blog!

I attached a link to a video that you could share with young ones or your students about thoughts and mindfulness for the purpose of them understanding it better!

https://youtu.be/RVA2N6tX2cg

Enjoy,
Em

Final Touches - Final Update

Ladies and Gents the TED Talk is almost here! I hope you have been excited as you wait for the final product to appear - I know I have been.

As the weeks come to a close I am mind blown at all the information and research about mindfulness in a classroom and how a teacher can make a classroom a mindful environment. Personally, I feel like because I was passionate about this topic prior to my Genius Hour Project, that I have just grown to be even more passionate and positive about it. I hope that when I am an educator and have my own classroom that I can provide my students with an environment that at the end of the day they are leaving mindful and not mind full.

Today's society and world is so quick and on the go that I can only imagine the endless positive possibilities and influences that mindfulness in a school environment can create and I cannot wait to see how the schools change as more teachers begin to incorporate these amazing activities into their daily routines, lessons and lives.

Keep checking above for the final update of the TED Talk and my closing thoughts about my Genius Hour Project. Thank you again for following along with me on this journey and I cannot wait to share with you my findings.

Take care,
Em

Belly Breathing

Belly Breathing is my favourite activity, in addition to many others, that I have learned about through studying mindfulness in children and in the classroom! Belly breathing is just the first step to the activity or other exercises such as the 4 -7 -8 breathing shown in the video URL below! Check it out and see if you can try belly breathing.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uxbdx-SeOOo

Belly breathing is so important, like the video said so many of us breath from our chests when we should be deep breathing from our diaphragms. Not only does belly breathing, like shown i the video, help students with stress levels and anxiety but it can also bring their attention back to the task that they are focusing or supposed to be concentrating on. Practice makes perfect so start Belly Breathing and make sure to check in with me next time of how it is helping you! (I always like using this tool if I am driving and someone does something SILLY - instead of acting out or wasting anger or upset feelings on that driver I belly breathe and I am able to move past that part of my day! Enjoy and make sure to let me know how it is working for you, your friends, kids or students!

The only trouble I encountered prior to this blog post - would have to have been the students that may not be able to sit and breathe with a teacher for this long. Although mindfulness is beneficial for all students some students might be rewarded for doing this once a day or for doing 3- 6 -7 and slowly increasing the seconds as they practice.

Next stop - Wrapping up my Genius Hour information! I cannot wait for you to see my final product and I hope that you have had as much fun following along as I have had keeping you in the loop! See you soon:)

Em

First week research update!

So much to learn, so little time!!

I am thrilled to share with you what I have learned thus far after researching the importance and the teaching of mindfulness in a classroom. As someone who tries to include meditation and some mindfulness activities in her everyday, I am very excited to see it become integrated into schools. I know that this could make a difference for so many students once teachers just get started.

I have learned that somewhere to start, as a teacher, when trying to introduce mindfulness to the students (younger in this case) would be to introduce them to their Five Senses. Although most students by junior grades are away of their five senses there are multiple activities that a teacher can use just from that alone. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1xNuU7gaAQ

Click above for a kid friendly video on senses - in order for students to be able to achieve or do this grounding and calming activity they must be knowledgeable about the 5 senses. Enjoy!

If a student is having a difficult time, may it be they are angry, upset, annoyed, etc, they could list of 5 things to their teachers. 5 things that match their senses or 5 things specific to one sense of their choosing. This activity would help ground the students and be aware of their surroundings which will in the end help them to talk about what is going on. 

I have done this activity on my own before so I feel confident that I could help students with it because I know of its success. 

Uh - oh..

I think the only problems I am having this far is trying to find research that is not based on opinions of those who have incorporated mindfulness into their classrooms. Of course I do believe it works but it would be interesting to read of those who oppose the notion of integrating it into the curriculum and or classroom environments. 

......Next Stop - Belly Breathing 101

Copyright not Copyleft

       

Teaching Copyright in the classroom

Plagiarism Cartoons and Comics - funny pictures. (n.d.). Retrieved October 10, 2016, from https://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/p/plagiarism.asp

What is copyright? A question that many students have asked in the past and will continue to learn about due to the importance of copyright laws today. I feel like it is very crucial to teach my students in the future about copyright and all that it entails. The differing copyright laws, rules and the idea of the work belonging to someone else. An interesting concept introduced in the article I was directed to read for this blog post included that it would be a fun task for teachers to teach students and guide them in creating their own graphics. By doing this the students can understand that their images are theirs and will want to protect their own work just as others do. They can also learn to make their own music, videos and the list goes on. What a great lesson and plan for students to learn the tools they need to produce legal products on their own. 

Children at school |camera | Lucélia Ribeiro | Flickr. (n.d.). Retrieved October 15, 2016, from https://www.flickr.com/photos/lupuca/8720604364 

Another example that I believe to be very crucial in regards to copyright is students forming a works cited with their work. Whether it be a works cited, a bibliography or a sources page the students learn that with every product they use from another source or person they need to provide recognition for. In addition to all of the important notes I have gathered on why it is important to teach my students about copyright I have also learned a substantial amount about what teachers can and cannot use and what is considered appropriate in regards to copyright. I learned about the term Fair Dealing and the Copyright Act and what it entails for a teacher.

Children using computers. | Branch: Pearl Avenue. (n.d.). Retrieved October 13, 2016, from https://www.flickr.com/photos/sanjoselibrary/2839901913/

Thanks for stopping by and seeing all that I am learning! So happy to be sharing with you all the fun facts I am lucky to be taught!

Until next time, take care!

Emily