This month we began the Second Step program. We have been focusing on Unit 1 which revolves around the skills for learning. We discussed being respectful, focusing attention and listening, and self-talk to help us be a better learner. We also read the book, The Jelly Donut Difference, a story about kindness. We talked about a mindful body verses a non-mindful body and did a drawing to demonstrate our understanding of the term.
Breath: Belly Breath, Take Five Finger Tracing, Woodchopper Breath
Poses: Pretzel, Easy Pose, Airplane, Cobra, Boat
Games: Pass the clap, Mindful Clapping, Simon Says, Back to Back, Up,Down, Stop & Walk
This month we began the Second Step program. We have been focusing on Unit 1 which revolves around the skills for learning. We discussed how focusing attention and listening helps you be a better learner and shows respect. We also discussed the term self-talk which means talking to yourself in a quiet voice in your head. Self-talk to can help you focus, stay on task, and handle distractions in the classroom. We read the book We're All Wonders and talked about kindness and why it is important to be kind. We made a t-shirt design using words such as choose kind, be kind, we're all wonders and used our imagination.
Breath: Belly Breath, Take Five Finger Tracing, Woodchopper Breath
Poses: Pretzel, Easy Pose, Airplane, Cobra, Boat
Games: Pass the clap, Mindful Clapping, Simon Says, Back to Back, Up, Down, Stop & Walk
This month we finished Unit 1 of the Second Step program. Skills for learning in this unit included, being respectful, focusing attention and listening, self-talk and being assertive. We started Unit 2 for Second Step which focuses on empathy. Empathy is feeling or understanding what someone else is feeling. We have been focusing on the definition and learning about feelings. This month we worked on a gratitude paper, mindful listening, and mindful breathing paper for our books. Lastly, we had our first class on the yoga mats. We moved to music, played games, and rested with our breathing buddies.
Breath: 4-7-8 Breathing, Count to 5, and Conductor Breath
Poses: Chair, Elephant, Eagle
Games: Mindful Clapping, Doodle Dance, Foreman Says, Mirroring and The Wave
This month we finished Unit 1 of the Second Step program. Skills for learning in this unit included being respectful learners, using self-talk, and being assertive. We started Unit 2 for Second Step which focuses on empathy. We have been focusing on identifying feelings and thinking about other's perspective to help us have empathy for them. We worked in our journals writing about mindfulness and what it means and how it makes us feel. We are also started to make kindness cards this month to be placed around Barton Elementary. Lastly, we had our first class on the yoga mats. We moved to music, watched a video, played games, and rested with our breathing buddies.
Breath: 4-7-8 Breathing, Count to 5, and Conductor Breath
Poses: Chair, Elephant, Eagle
Games: Doodle Dance, Foreman Says, Mirroring, Mindful Museum, and Secret Handshake
This month we continued with the Second Step program and the theme of empathy. We talked about how we look and feel when we are both confident verses not confident. We discussed how body language and facial expression play a great role in determining how someone might be feeling. We then took this topic a little further and talked about the skills we are confident in and shared with each other. We ended this class by making breathing sticks, which is a great tool for students to use to practice breathing. This month we also focused on the words thankful and grateful. We talked about the word thankful and what is means. We played a gratitude game with straws naming all the people, places, and things we are thankful for. We also listened to The Kindness Bell story and did a mindful activity with bells. Lastly, we worked on our gratitude paper for our journal.
Breath: Snake, Ocean Breath
Poses: Jack in the Box, Tree, Eagle
Games: Pass the clap, Mindful Museumm, Yogi Benders, Mindful Leader/Detective, Kindness Bells
This month we continued with the Second Step program and the theme of empathy. We discussed how people can have different perspectives and feelings about the same situation and how feelings can change. This month we also did a lesson on mindfulness and what the word means to students. We discussed our anchor breath (where we feel our breath the most) and if it is our nose, belly or chest when we breathe. Lastly, we did a lesson on gratitude and discussing what it means to be thankful and grateful. We watched some videos on being thankful and then created our own thankful list in our journals.
Breath: Snake, Ocean
Poses: Jack in the Box, Tree, Eagle
Games: Pass the clap, Mindful Museum, Yogi Benders, Mindful Leader/Detective
This month we focused on yoga on the mat. We noticed our breath and heartbeat throughout our class and how the poses made our body feel. We used a yoga pattern to warm up our body in the beginning of class and moved to a Sun Salutation. We practiced several standing poses including Star, Warrior 2, Side Angle, Tree, Warrior 1, Airplane, Dancer, and Chair. Once we arrived on the floor we tried out dolphin pose and then moved to Butterfly, Boat, Crab, Sunflower and Bicycle on our back. We did Take 5 Finger tracing during our class and a "Yoga for Learning" video to go over the foundation poses to help with learning and focusing.
Breath: Hot Chocolate
Poses: Foundation (Mountain, Tree, Warrior 2, Warrior 3, and Eagle), introduced Dolphin
Games: Pass the clap, Pass the chime, Mindful Leader/Detective
This month we focused on yoga on the mat. We noticed our breath and heartbeat throughout our class and how the poses made our body feel. We used a yoga pattern to warm up our body in the beginning of class and moved to a Sun Salutation. We practiced several standing poses including Star, Warrior 2, Side Angle, Tree, Warrior 1, Airplane, Dancer, and Chair. Once we arrived on the floor we tried out dolphin pose and then moved to Butterfly, Boat, Crab, Sunflower and Bicycle on our back. We did Take 5 Finger tracing during our class and a "Yoga for Learning" video to go over the foundation poses to help with learning and focusing.
Breath: Hot Chocolate
Poses: Foundation (Mountain, Tree, Warrior 2, Warrior 3, and Eagle), introduced Dolphin
Games: Pass the clap, Pass the chime, Mindful Leader/Detective
This month we continued working on the Second Step lessons and the theme of empathy. We discussed having empathy especially when you notice others have a different preference from yours. It is important to respect others' preferences which helps you get along better with them. In a second lesson, we discussed when we have empathy for someone, we can show care or concern by saying something kind or doing something to help. By showing care and concern, we are showing compassion towards others. In a third lesson we talked about doing something by accident and to think about how the other person feels and the idea of apologizing or offering to help. Lastly, we wrapped up our lessons on empathy and moved into Unit 3 Emotion Management. We discussed what it is like to have strong feelings and how it is important to focus attention on your body to give you clues on how you feeling. We began talking about the different parts of the brain (pre-frontal cortex, amygdala, and hippocampus) and how the parts of the brain relate to decision making.
Breath: Flying Bird Breath, 4 square breathing
Poses: Mini Flow ( Crescent Moon, Forward Bend, Half Standing Forward Bend, W1, Airplane) and (Star, Triangle, Tree)
Games: Pass the clap, Mums the word, Human Bar Graph, Frozen Feelings Factory, Mindful Leader/Detective, Introduced Mindful Museum
This month we continued working on Second Step lessons and the theme of empathy. We discussed how it is possible for a person to have conflicting feelings about a situation. Empathy helps you notice when others' feelings are the same or different from yours and that it is okay to have different feelings. A second lesson focused on accepting and appreciating others' differences is being respectful. There are many different types of people in the world and this lesson helped students understand how empathy helps you understand and accept when others are the same as or different from you. Lastly, we did one lesson on compassion. We talked about how focusing attention on and listening to others can help you have empathy and show compassion. When we say kind words or do helpful things for others we show we are being compassionate.
Breath: Flying Bird Breath, 4 square breathing
Poses: Mini Flow ( Crescent Moon, Forward Bend, Half Standing Forward Bend, W1, Airplane) and (Star, Triangle, Tree)
Games: Pass the clap with pattern, Mindful Leader/Detective, Introduced Puppy Mind Game
This month we continued with Second Step lessons in Unit 3 and learning about emotion management. We discussed managing embarrassment and how to calm down when you have strong feelings. We also did a mindfulness lesson on emotions and worked on a journal page. Lastly, we did a lesson on handling mistakes and how everyone makes mistakes and the importance of calming down when strong feelings arise. It is helpful to use belly breathing to calm down your body.
Breath: Figure 8 Breath, Triangle Breath
Poses: Mountain, Tree with arms behind back
Games: Pass the clap, Mindful Clapping, Mindful Leader/Detective, Mindful Museum, Walk/Stop/Up/Down
This month we finished the last lesson in Second Step for Unit 2. We discussed the skills needed to make friends. We talked about how it is important to focus your attention and listen to others to make conversation. When we are able to make conversation, it helps us to make friends and get along better with others. We also discussed how we can initiate, continue, and end a conversation in a friendly way. This month we also began Unit 3 and learning about emotion management. We talked about how we can have strong feelings and it makes it hard for us to think clearly. It is important to focus attention on your body and look for clues on how you are feeling. We began talking about the different parts of the brain (pre-frontal cortex, amygdala, and hippocampus) and how the parts of the brain relate to each other and impact decision making.
Breath: Figure 8 Breath, Triangle Breath
Poses: Mountain, Tree with arms behind back
Games: Pass the clap, Mindful Leader/Detective, Mindful Museum, Walk/Stop/Up/Down