Lucy Luge Needs MindUp

For those of you that are new to CGS this year, the aim of the MindUp program is to teach children how their minds work, how to become mindful in everyday situations at home or at school, and how they can choose learning strategies and conditions that are best suited to them. (If you have a few minutes I would highly recommend following the link to learn more about this excellent program.) Early Start- SK students receive MindUp instruction once per week and Grades 1-4 have MindUp strategies incorporated into their health classes each week. In my SK Mind Up class this week, the students explored the topic of stress and strategies to deal with it. We talked about some situations where stress may arise and how we might deal with it. We also talked about some professions that require a calm mind in order to succeed (like wildlife photographers and firefighters). To calm and focus our minds, we practised a mindful listening technique using our Tibetan bells. (The children are very familiar with the bells as we hear them every Monday morning to mark our Mindful Minute during announcements.) Once we felt calm and present in our bodies and minds, we read a story about a girl named Lucy who was trying the sport of luge for the first time. (The students loved learning about this relatively unknown winter sport. ) After the story, we talked about how Lucy felt before the run and what she could do to reduce her nervousness before the start of the race. As an exercise, the entire class went through Lucy’s luge run in their mind, from beginning to end. It was a fun and informative class for the SK’s and everyone left feeling more confident to deal with stressful situations.

Steve Walter
Physical Education, MindUp & Health and Wellness Teacher
Children’s Garden School