This is our third week teaching Meditative Story Telling to School Children.
I have to share a secrets with you…even though the children range from 5 years (in the lower elementary classes) to 15 years old, they (the children) are doing so well!! They seem to love the stories, and naturally follow the meditation.
As it stands today, I only had a chance to visit about half of the intended classes and only once.
Here is a short article I recently wrote for the school:
“Meditation and Social Science for Children”
The word Meditation has been used in connection with many old and new relaxation techniques and traditions.
Let us look at the nature of meditation.
For both adults and children, Meditation is the most natural process initiated by our body to reach a state of relaxation and rejuvenation.
The most overlooked meditation, of course is sleep. This is the most natural way where your body volunteers you to a relaxed state of rest and rejuvenation. (there are times when sleep is necessary, but difficult and I promise to speak of it in another article)
Meditation like state is automatic during all creative moments, writing poetry, playing a musical instrument, artistic expression during dance even sporting events. That would explain why it is very difficult to be creative when tiered.
Natural states of Meditation will also occur during moments of extreme danger, when your focus is necessary, for survival. Even during positive emotion of love and joy, we will have this incredible surge of energy and meditative state.
During these natural meditative moments we often find that time just seems to pass without our noticing it.
“Meditative Story Telling” for children is an integrative approach to learning where stories are presented to teach important social lessons and Meditation is used as a tool help naturally relax the body and the mind, inevitably improving social interaction and academic progress.
As mentioned above: “The word Meditation has been used in connection with many old and new relaxation techniques and traditions.”
During the Social Science classes, Meditation is a “Quiet Time”. With their eyes closed, the children are encouraged to simply self observe relax, notice their breathing, their thoughts, and simply listen to the natural guidance of their body.
As the children relax they often notice their body naturally guiding them through very unique intuitive stretching exercises, postures and movements (often even naturally guided to the floor).
This natural form of Meditation has been designed promote relaxation and rejuvenation, but has proven to do much more…
Teaching the children the skills of this self regulation meditation at an early age has proven to help them to be more confident, achieve better social skills, to better retain new information, become more creative, show more positive initiative and much more.
We are hoping that soon this meditation tool will be available to all students, in both private and public school systems.
This is my second week at the school. The children are absolutely amazing the principal and teachers, are helping so much, to make this “a journey to remember”…thank you all!!
Here is an introduction of what we will be teaching through the 40 weeks of school. (new chapter will be reviled every week!)
This is Zak’s Story on his adventures, discovering his personal treasure, based on his Captain’s Log he named “ Forty Weeks at Sea”
Please note: This is a fictional story and any resemblance to real people or events are not intentional and purely coincidental.
Preface
I dream a treasure and a map
To sail to far lands harbors
Through deep blue waters, our boat is fast…
My Captain’s cap and boots to last
Dark Nights
High Winds
and Burning Sun
My mind stays strong on target!
***
They’re no Pirates, but a Team
A Group of Lovely People
Here To Help Me With My Dream
To Light My Path A Little
***
Far from home
Through stormy nights
We reach a friendly harbor
The smell of food
And sweet delights
I wish I had a shower
***
They’re no Pirates, but a Team
A Group of Lovely People
Here To Help Me With My Dream
To Light My Path A Little
***
It must be here
The map is right!
Bring your shovels
Bring your might!
We’ll have our treasure, by tonight!
***
They’re no Pirates, but a Team
A Group of Lovely People
Here To Help Me With My Dream
To Light My Path A Little
***
An Ancient scroll?
Another Map?!
Help!! Bring the candles!
This may be it…
My treasure after all!!
But wait, it can not be
By following this map
It leads me home!!
***
They’re no Pirates, but a Team
A Group of Lovely People
Here To Help Me With My Dream
To Light My Path A Little
***
Dark Nights
High Winds
and Burning Sun
My heart beats fast
We’re home at last!
***
They’re no Pirates, but a Team
A Group of Lovely People
Here To Help Me With My Dream
To Light My Path A Little
***
Captain’s log…
I still can’t believe I am the captain of this ship?
But all evident shows it is true,
I woke up this morning and a Captains Cap lying right next to me,
on the side table on my left
I quickly found the bathroom mirror,
It was me alright, me and my usually uncombed hair staring right back at me,
truthfully, I am looking a bit older than I remember myself to be,
but I think I even like it that way
As I stepped out of my cabin, everyone referred to me as Captain Zak
(Captain Zak Sir :))
Well, here we are…
I do not know were to begin…and I’m not used to keeping a log on my life
This just somehow feels right…
and before I knew it there was this big book in front of me…
with big letters: Captain’s Log on the cover…
This is a heavy book indeed,
As I opened it up, expecting to read The The Captain’s Log – the book was EMPTY!
A book of this size, Brown leather cover, the yellow pages..looking almost antique…
and what do you know, an ink pen right next to it…How would you feel?
I was not given much choice…
If the man is right…
Anyway, here we are my first log
Captain Zak’s log Day One
I feel as if I have been on this ship forever…
There are some things which we acquire on our journey,
these things take “Time”, through hard work and effort.
But others, you just discover “Suddenly” in an instance…I will try to write more about that later!
Each Day that passes is teaching us something,
and than the next day and the next…once the day is over
we seem to have Gained some new “intelligence”,
I thing they still call it “lessons”…
You can get these lessons in school or as “life lessons”.
(hopefully both, I am so happy I was not thrown in to
this journey without proper schooling)
As the man wrote: “If Days Could Speak”…
and sometimes I think they do…
Teaching Kids To Relax, Swine Flue Prevention in Schools and Meditation – connecting the dots…
I know, I know, there are more then one question that needs to be answered here.
But I would like to begin with a few timely ideas that could help children and parents cope better with back to school stress and anxiety and may even be helpful in diminishing the risks of exposure and outbreak of Swine Flue (H1 N1 flue) in your child’s school.
First I would like to quote the resent New York Times Article (The Claim: Stress Can Make Allergies Worse)
“In recent years, studies have shown that psychological stress and anxiety — even at slight or moderate levels — can worsen allergy symptoms. Scientists suspect that it has something to do with the way stress affects the immune system, causing elevated levels of compounds that heighten the allergic response and remain unaffected by standard treatments for hay fever, like antihistamines.”
In this article the NYT is referring to a resent study: “One of the most recent and striking studies was published this year by scientists at Ohio State University.”
This study, published under Psychoneuroendocrinology, June 2009, whith the long heading of: “How stress and anxiety can alter immediate and late phase skin test responses in allergic rhinitis.” clearly states that stress anxiety significantly diminishes our immunity.
than I read today’s article “Soothe Back-to-School Anxiety, Teach Kids to Relax”
Where Experts at Duke University, recommend Meditation, to help children transition into the new school year and deal with many academic and social pressures.
Well I will let you connect the dots!
Finally meditation is beginning to receive scientific backing and media attention which one day may lead to an official course in every private and public school.
Meanwhile, thanks to the principle, the teachers, the parents and most of all the great cooperation and the feedback we have received from the kids, We are preparing our second year teaching “Meditative Story Telling” an integration of Intuitive Meditation and Story Telling in Blaisdale Montessori School in Canada.
Following an extremely successful almost six month trial with a group of 23 children, ranging between nine and ten year old during 2008-2009 school year, we will continue teaching Meditation in Blaisdale Montessori in 2009-2110!
We have now designed a program which will be extended to 14 different classes, on over eight Montessori campuses, beginning September 2009.
Our Goal is to make “Meditative Story Telling “Meditation, Relaxation, Inner Growth and mindful program for children available to other children in other schools, educational centers and at homes, where children and their parents could benefit from all around the world.
Erik Valdman
