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The of the I Am Peace: A Book of Mindfulness by Susan Verde, Peter H. Reynolds | at Barnes & Noble. FREE Shipping on $25 or more!

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First day of school

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1-2-3 Come Do An Icebreaker Craft With Me

Is an easy and interesting way to get to know your students. Use it as a fun i cebreaker for the first day or first week of school.

You can do these in class, if you're looking for a filler, or if you're pressed for time, send them home to be done as a home-school connection.

Older students can draw their own self-portrait (head) outline, or use one of mine. I've included two boy options, as well as two for girls to choose from.

I find young children do much better if they have some sort of pattern, as they tend to draw rather small circles that items would not be able to fit into.

If you'd like to have a ready-to share activity for the first day of school, include the directions and a template in your "Welcome to school" summer letter or tuck it in your Open House packet, if you have one before the start of school.

By doing this, you'll also have an instant bulletin board ready to go up, after students share their creations. Be sure and make one for yourself to use to explain things and then post as an example. This is my sample that took about 15-minutes, using clip art + adding a photo of my husband and poodle pup Chloe.

I think you'll enjoy doing it as will your students. No matter what the age group, I've always found that everyone seems to like sharing a little bit about themselves. This is a creative and entertaining way to do that.

You could follow this up with some technology time, and have students type in words to their thoughts and make a word-art picture on the computer using the free tagxedo program as well! I did a sample for me and one for my husband, so you could see a male sample. I filled in the caricature templates (see pix) so they don't look as much like a silhouette as I would have liked.

If you want to use my boy and girl "head templates" click on the link. You'll need to change them to jpegs to use them in Tagxedo, otherwise find a sideview of some other clip art to import.

Click on the link to view/download the What's On Your Mind activity packet.

Thanks for visiting today. Feel free to PIN away. My "Pin it" button is at the top on the menu bar.

"Nothing is so strong as gentleness, and nothing so great as real strength." -St. Francis De Sales

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ideas for the first day or first week of school

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lessons for the first day or first week of school

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activities for the first day or first week of school

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craft activity for the first day first week of school

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getting to know kids activitiy for the first day first week of school

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icebreakers for the first day first week of school

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More Back To School Ideas: What's On Your Mind? First Day Activity

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1-2-3 Come Do An Icebreaker Craft With Me Is an easy and interesting way to get to know your students. Use it as a fun i cebreaker for the first day or first week of school. You can do these in class, if you're looking for a filler, or if you're pressed for time, send them home to be done as a home-school connection.

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How to Explain Mindful Colouring to Kids - Moments A Day

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Learn how to practice mindful colouring from two experts who use colouring in their work.

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How to Explain Mindful Colouring to Kids

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Free!!!

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Practice your daily meditation and mindfulness exercises from any device.

Smiling Mind is a unique tool developed by psychologists and educators to help bring balance to your life.

We suggest 10 minutes a day.

What are you waiting for?

DOWNLOAD THE APP NOW AND SEE FOR YOURSELF!

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We suggest 10 minutes a day

What are you waiting for?

DOWNLOAD THE APP NOW AND SEE FOR YOURSELF!

TRY SAYING:

"Hey Google, talk to Smiling Mind"

"Hey Google, do a sleep meditation with Smiling Mind"

"Hey Google, use Smiling Mind to do a relax meditation"

"Hey Google, help me focus with Smiling Mind"

Indigenous Languages Program

We worked with NPY Women's Council to develop a mindfulness program aimed at providing accessible and engaging mental health tools for Aboriginal people of the NPY region. These meditations have been scripted and recorded by senior Anangu women in Pitjantjatjara and Ngaanyatjarra. Thanks to nib foundation for funding this work.

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Smiling Mind is a unique tool developed by psychologists and educators to help bring balance to your life. We suggest 10 minutes a day. What are you waiting for?

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GREAT IDEA!

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Dr Daniel Siegel presenting a Hand Model of the Brain

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Calm down bottles and calm down jars are great for teaching children self-regulation. And they are just amazing to look it. Calm down bottles are for all ages, babies to adults!

How to Make a Galaxy Calm Down Bottle

This is one of the easiest calm down bottles to make ever! No special techniques are necessary, and if you have never made one before, this might be the perfect one to practice on.

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3 Ingredient Galaxy Calm Down Bottle - Mom Moments

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Calm down bottles and calm down jars are great for teaching children self-regulation. And they are just amazing to look it. Calm down bottles are for all ages, babies to adults! How to Make a Galaxy Calm Down Bottle This is one of the easiest calm down bottles to make ever!

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definitely something to try with my class

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audios to help develop mindfulness

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Sitting Still Like a Frog Activity Book Audio

Read by Della Omafray

The audio downloads that accompany Sitting Still Like a Frog Activity Book include yoga exercises, a game that teaches your child how to just listen, and a meditation on the bird of happiness.

To play the audio exercises in your web browser, click the links below. You can also go to SoundCloud directly and download all the tracks to your device or computer.

This exercise strengthens your heart and helps create balance in your body.

Moving like a butterfly strengthens your back and makes your hips supple.

This exercise opens your heart and strengthens your belly muscles.
Track 4: The Little Bowls
Patting your body with your hands will make you feel refreshed.
Track 5: Sound Landscape
Now you are going to hear all kinds of sounds. Can you try to listen to them as though you were hearing them for the first time, without "judging" them and without necessarily trying to recognize them?
Track 6: The Bird of Happiness
To end the book, you can listen to this final meditation, and then draw what you saw while flying with the bird of happiness.

These audio files accompany the book Sitting Still Like a Frog Activity Book, copyright © 2019 by Shambhala Publications, Inc., translated from Calme et attentif comme une grenouille, Ton guide de sérénité. © Éditions des Arènes, Paris, 2017; © Audio script: Eline Snel.

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Read by Della Omafray The audio downloads that accompany Sitting Still Like a Frog Activity Book include yoga exercises, a game that teaches your child how to just listen, and a meditation on the bird of happiness. To play the audio exercises in your web browser, click the links below.

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A Handful of Quiet: Happiness in Four Pebbles

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A Handful of Quiet: Happiness in Four Pebbles

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Happiness in Four Pebbles

A Handful of Quiet presents one of the best known and most innovative meditation practices developed by Thich Nhat Hanh as part of the Plum Village community's practice with children. Pebble meditation is a playful and fun activity that parents and educators can do with their children to introduce them to meditation. It is designed to involve children in a hands-on and creative way that touches on their interconnection with nature. Practicing pebble meditation can help relieve stress, increase concentration, nourish gratitude, and can help children deal with difficult emotions.

A Handful of Quiet is a concrete activity that parents and educators can introduce to children in school settings, in their local communities or at home, in a way that is meaningful and inviting. Any adult wishing to plant seeds of peace, relaxation, and awareness in children will find this unique meditation guide helpful. Children can also enjoy doing pebble meditation on their own.

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A Handful of Quiet presents one of the best known and most innovative meditation practices developed by Thich Nhat Hanh as part of the Plum Village community's practice with children. Pebble meditation is a playful and fun activity that parents and educators can do with their children to introduce them to meditation.