The students of this classroom Community School 111Q have taken a great leap towards togetherness in recent weeks as they have explored the idea of mindfulness. Students have learned that their words have the power to affect others. This week, students identified and shared words that “help” (or make them feel good), and words that “hurt” (or make them feel bad). To expand understanding of those ideas, students took turns creating standing statues expressing a word or emotion. Here, one of the students demonstrates what “courage” looks like. When asked where that word lives in his body, his response was that it comes from his chest, that he feels it in his heart.
We are so excited to see this group of energetic and expressive 1st graders cultivating a grounded mindfulness and respect for their fellow classmates. Their focus has grown deeper and attention has become sharper in just a few weeks, and by developing this awareness even more, the students are preparing themselves to work together to bring their new shared poetic words to life through movement-based storytelling and dramatic tableaux.
CWP programming at CS 111 was made possible in part by The New York Community Trust and our collaboration with Zone 126.
