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Letter to our students, parents and teachers

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Letter to our students, parents and teachers

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We hope that you and your loved ones are safe and managing all of the recent changes. It is important to remember that this crisis is temporary and will pass.

Pausing throughout the day to practice mindfulness in order to regain a sense of balance, control and wellbeing is so important during these times. In addition, not seeing our extended families, friends and interacting with our communities while we are practice social distancing can feel lonely. During times like these we have to be creative and stay connected!

How can you help your child practice mindfulness at home? Drawing from observation is a wonderful way to foster awareness, attention and acceptance. The meditative quality of observation promotes a sense of calm and wellbeing. All you need to provide is a pencil, paper and something to look at. Keeping these ideas in mind we would like to invite our teachers, parents and students to contribute to a community project called Views From Our Spaces.

In addition, Ms. Riley and I will be doing a special art collaboration based on this project idea. We are very excited to work together and will share our special plans with you soon!

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1. Take a deep breathe. What are you feeling in your body? Can you name the feelings inside your body?

2.Draw your window. A window is basically a frame and all you have to do is fill in that frame! Try to use the entire paper to create a frame that will hold your view. Don’t worry if you do not have a window to look out of but do your best to find a view in your home that you want to share.

3.Can you use your art materials to show us what you see outside your window? There is no wrong or right way to do this. Grab some of your favorite art materials and paper.

3. Breathe deeply as you capture the lines, forms, textures and colors in your drawing.  Observe what you see. What is the weather like outside? What do you hear? What do you notice about our great big city from your view that you never noticed before?

4.When you are finished, complete these sentences: When I look out into the world from my safe space

I see:
I feel:
I want to share:

By looking out your window, you can see the world from your eyes. We look forward to traveling around our city with you.

To participate in our virtual art show please take a high resolution picture of your artwork or have someone scan it.

Please send it to: PS 124 Senior Art Therapist, Maria Sossi at mariakondratiev@gmail.com with your name and classroom number in the subject line.

Please type up the write up in the email and do not write them on your artwork. You can choose to remain anonymous. We will add your picture to an online gallery of window scenes to be shared with our community.

Thank you for helping us bring more scenes to our community!

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When I look out my window, I see buildings, trees, a road, a pathway, the sun, the sky, a garden, and clouds. I feel optimistic and joyful. I want to share my happiness with other people.

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ear Ms. Maria,

When I look out my bedroom window, I feel happy. The weather is sunny. I see houses and trees. And I notice a squirrel in the tree and a bird in the sky. I want to share my happiness.

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I see a house, a tree, a door and sky. I feel soft because of the grass. I want to share the beautiful picture with my friends.

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Poem by Josephine Ng (Class of 2012) and art by Samantha Ng

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Poem by Josephine Ng (Class of 2012) and art by Samantha Ng

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"Steps From Home”

I sit on the steps under a clear blue sky.

The wind brushes my cheeks as l close my eyes. I hear the trees sway.

I hear the birds call.

I open my eyes to watch the petals fall.

They twirl and glitter, basking in the light

That will be us, when we win this fight.

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When I look out into the world from my safe space I see a house, bushes, a tree. I feel peaceful and quiet. I want to share my drawing with teachers and friends.

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I see my backyard.

I hear the sound of silence.

I want to share my view of plants growing

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When I look out into the world from my safe space I see a zoo. I feel calm when I draw. I want to share that nature is nice and animals have feelings too. I wanted to share this because I want to share that nature and animals are really pretty and important.

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I see a tree and a house. I feel happy. I want to share my picture.

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when I look out:

I see NYC behind my fire escape.

I feel grateful.

I want to share my health.

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When I look out into the world from my safe space I see houses and trees. I feel happy. I want to share my happiness.

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Ms. Kenny’s View from Roosevelt  Island- with a little help

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Ms. Kenny’s View from Roosevelt  Island- with a little help

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from her newphew, Colin.

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I take a deep breath. I look out of my bedroom window. I feel relaxed and happy. I see houses. I hear music playing from people's backyards.

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I see spring peeking in. I hear birds chirping. I want to share the beauty of nature.

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I look out of my bedroom window. I feel calm. The weather is clear, cold and windy. I notice the peace and stillness. I notice my neighbors door mat.

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I see the sun with a warm shine. I feel the warmness of the sun. I want to share that spring is here but sometimes it feels like winter.

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When I look out my window...

I see flowers:  tulips, irises,  mums

and azaleas, growing with dew dripping off their petals.  I hear crickets  chirping, sparrows humming and  worms crawling out of the  soil..... I take  a few deep breaths; the Spring air is so fresh!  I know I'm alive and thankful for my health!

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My kids and I were drawing from the same window but we all came out with different view of drawing. We all stuck at home but we feel calm from looking out the window and we also feel hope that we will go back to our normal life again.

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I see trees, sunlight, cars, grass, and people walking down the street.

I feel calm, safe and thankful because I’m glad that we are all safe at home.

I want to share my drawing to people around the world because my drawing might cheer them up.

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I see buildings, grass, cars, street, trees, and plants. I feel bored but also happy that I’m safe at home. I hope coronavirus will end soon so I can go to school, go to the park and see my friends. I want to share my drawing to everyone.

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When I look out into the world from my safe place:

I see blue sky and puffy clouds.

I feel calm and peaceful.

I want to share peace with everyone.

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I see a river with boats, lots of trees and buildings. I feel proud

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I see a street lamp, a car, a FIOS van, a flower bed and fences.

I feel calm.

I want to share that there are a lot of things outside my window.

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From our living room window I see an an alley (which is the driveway for the houses across the street). I like to watch the squirrels and birds from our porch.

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Outside to my right I see my part of my building. Further out I can make out some other buildings, smaller than my own. Looking lower, I see many trees. This is a drawing of what I see when I look out my window.

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I see many buildings, two water towers, three a whings, and a graffiti. I feel calm when I look outside. I want to share that the view from my window is beautiful.

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I see a whole world from my window. I see a tree, many buildings with windows, the sun, happy walking persons and cars.

I feel happy and peaceful.

I want to share my picture to every one.

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When I look out into the world from my safe space, I see trees, buildings and the Brooklyn bridge. I feel happiness because the world outside looks beautiful. I want to share my happiness and my drawing with all of you.

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I like where i live because when it rains while its sunny i get a clear view of a beautiful rainbow

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I see a lot of things like buildings, highways, trees and a river and sometimes boats passing by.

I feel calm when I see the wind blowing the trees.

I want to share that my favorite thing is the trees swaying in the wind.

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As I look outside my Tita’s window, I see buildings, clouds, bridges, and people.

I feel happy, like I’m flying.

I want to share my world.

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When I look out into the world from my house, I see a lots of houses, trees, birds and flowers. I fell the peace and quiet outside of my house. I want to share this picture with my friends, the teachers and family members, because I miss and love them.

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When  I look out the window, I see buildings, trees, sky , cloud, water, and a bridge. I feel calm and relaxed. I want to share my picture because I also want others to feel the same way as me.

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When I look out the window, I see a lot of buildings and cars on the bridge. It makes me feel creative and happy.

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When I see outside the window, I see flowers, trees, dog  and blocks in the park.  I also see the school.

I miss my friends  and teachers.

I feel save at home because of the coronavirus.

I want to share with everyone.

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When I look outside the window I see a big green tree next to a tall brick building and the clear blue sky. i feel happy and joyful. I want to share my drawing with you.