Mindful Mondays

 

At a recent PLC meeting, my teacher friends were sharing their professional goals.  Many of them were focusing on mindfulnesses with their classes and having great success.  I was left thinking "When?  When can I add this to my day?"  I wanted to be consistent and not overwhelmed.  I decided to start every week as Mindful Monday during morning meeting.  It sets the stage for the week ahead.  The meeting consists of simple ways to be mindful and promote positive mental health.  We include a positive affirmation with for the week and a mindfulness activity or video. Then, we talk about the two things (the affirmation and the mindful strategy) throughout that week. Simple start for sure, but doable! The key to everything in teaching is consistency.  Start slow to go fast!

Below are the affirmation posters we use.  The whole set of 18 can be purchased on my TpT store for $1.50.  Click here for the set. 

Go Noodle has some quick free mindfulness videos to start.  Some I really like include: 

From Mindless to Mindful (introduction to mindfulness)

Sense your Senses

Whale Breaths

Bear Breaths

Bring it Down

Melting

Bubble Breathing

Rainbow Art Project

This is one of my favorite projects to do for our "Fun Friday" activity.  (It is called Pride Club at our school). It is low prep, low cost, and takes a decent amount of time and the kids stay focused.  The tearing of the paper helps build those fine motor skills for administrators who need "academic reasoning" for everything you do.  All I did was write their names with white crayon, cut out strips of the construction paper, and model how to cover the letters.  Tip: Have them tear a bunch of the color they are on, then put glue on a portion of the letter and glue the pieces down.  Some kids will want to tear one-glue one-tear one-glue one and they will never finish!  Glue sticks and not drip glue. Some of my favorites from this year:

Student Gifts

At my school, the kids come in for a 20 minute one-on-one "meet the teacher."  The sole purpose is to build relationships and reduce student fear/anxiety.  Since my class is the "Rainbow Room" at my school, before I let the kids have this candy, I ask if they think it will help their brains remember we are the rainbow room to help them always find the right classroom.  So far, only one kid thought it wouldn't help at all! 

The gift tags are a freebie on my TpT store.  Click here to download them.   

Rainbow Word Wall

My classroom is classic rainbows.  Not really IG worthy, but I really love my yellow and sky blue word wall.  I made these toppers after being inspired by a teammate's classroom that IS IG worthy.  Old dog trying to learn new tricks. 

Click here to buy the headers for only $1.50 at my TpT store.  Your purchase means so much.  I try to support smaller TpTers any chance I get, but also love the big dogs like Moffat Girls, Educlips, and A Cupcake for the Teacher.