One of the things student's have told me they miss the most with distance learning is the opportunity to socialize with friends. Based on this, I decided that I would take on creating virtual versions of the social extracurricular learning activities that usually take place at school and in the library. One of the things I did was start a Virtual Book Club that meets once a week during lunch. As part of facilitating that club, I've been collecting different book/reading/story themed games, activities and ice breakers and putting them in this Google Slides presentation so I have them handy. Check it out!
*Notes and source citations are in the speaker note section of the slides!
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Snowball Fight!!! (Library Style) I picked out some of the library's best winter themed books, printed out the book reviews from goodreads, and crumpled them up into snowballs! After explaining the rules (below), I had students battle it out in three rounds, unfolding and reading the book review inside at the end of each round. If students liked a 'snowball book review', they recorded the name of book on a winter themed bookmark and then had an opportunity to check out the books after our last game. (I'm sharing because it worked great!) I also like that you can adjust the time the activity takes by changing the number of rounds. (If students get the same snowball twice I have them swap with their neighbor.)
**Rules are the key to success if you decide to try this! Go over them BEFORE handing out the snowballs. My game rules are: 1) Aim from the neck down, 2) Stand up and tuck in your chair when I say "Stand" 3) Don't start until I say "Go" 4) Freeze when I say "Freeze" 5) Find a snowball and sit down when I say "Find it"! Depending on the class, I also add in a 'no running' rule. After each round they crumple the reviews back into snowballs. After the last round students crumple back up their snowball and I put a box in the middle of the room and they try to toss their snowball in from their seat. We pick up the 'misses' and then I have all the snowballs ready for the next class! **I originally created these bookmarks in November of 2019 and shared them to the School Librarian's Workshop facebook page. After an overwhelmingly warm and positive response, I decided to create a shared google folder with all the finished bookmarks and directions with a template for making more! Feel free to print what you need. If you create a series we don't have yet, you can share it with me and I will add it to the folder for everyone to use!
Instructables.comI was introduced to Instuctibles.com when I started exploring the makerspace movement in libraries. The website contains directions to a wide variety of projects with step by step directions. Most of the content is made by community members who want to share something cool that they've made. In addition there are regular themed competitions with prizes for the best Instructable. When I first found this site I used it for ideas and also directed students there when they were looking for inspiration for projects to work on during lunch in our library makerspace. Later I started creating my own posts when ideas turned out particularly well and eventually this led to some of my students asking to create their own instructables! I've really enjoyed participating in this online information sharing community!
I run a Mindful Morning program every Friday from 8-8:30am. The goal is to teach students some techniques for managing stress while also building community. Here are some of the activities that I have collected over the last three years running the program:
Glitter Bottle Mediation Bottles can be pre-made or made as a makerspace activity depending on the amount of time you have. Visit https://www.mindful.org/how-to-create-a-glitter-jar-for-kids/ for more information about this idea! My recipe - empty water bottle, ½ cup karyo, ½ cup soap, 2 glitter packets, water to top. Add more karyo or soap if you want it to take longer for the glitter to settle. (You can use glitter glue, but it either needs to sit overnight to dissolve, or be dissolved in hot water...hot water will melt plastic water bottles so it has to be done separately, cooled and then poured in.) Sand Tray Meditation I use playground sand with some larger rocks, shells and marbles mixed in as well as plastic forks and popsicle sticks. I play light background music while the students use the trays. I based my handout on the meditation advice at https://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/6-tips-for-people-who-don%E2%80%99t-have-time-to-meditate/ and here's the handout I put on the tables so students would know what to do when they arrive: Handout: Sand Tray Meditation VARIATION - “Creating” Emotions. Write words on some of the rocks or shells using paint pens. For example: Happy, Sad, Anxious, Angry, Joyful. When kids find one of the words they can make sand designs that match the feeling/word. I have had kids bury ‘forgiveness’ deep inside a pile of sand and ‘anger’ almost always results in harsh movements and zig zags. ‘Perseverance’ ended up at the top of a mountain of sand surrounded by clear glass marbles. We always end with all the objects removed and the sand once again smooth in the trays (clear minds). Having them ‘clear their trays’ is also a clean up trick since the removed objects are returned to the tub and sand is dumped back in the sand bucket on the way out the door. Mindfulness - There's an App for That I use the Headspace App. We do the first video and 3 minute meditation as a whole group while I project it on the Apple TV. Students are then able to either continue with Headspace or one of the other free mindfulness apps available in self service. **Note - Students need parent permission to have a Headspace account per their updated privacy policy.** https://www.headspace.com Yoga *Sponsored by the PTA in the past. Requires a certified yoga instructor and district clearance. (You might be able to use free YouTube videos or exercise videos...just be sure you have approval. Your PE teacher is a great resource for ideas!) Mindful Play - Improv Students favorite games are I'm A Tree, The Ground Is... (lava, a trampoline etc. and kids act accordingly), Mirrors, Clap Snap Stomp, and Sound Circle. Recently we tried Family Portrait which was also a hit! Students arrive a few at a time as they get dropped off in the morning so I tend to start with pair improv games like Mirrors or easy to join ones like "The Ground Is". I do have to set some ground rules like 'school appropriate' as well as asking my 'frequent participants' to wait for at least 5 people to go before they rejoin a scene (take turns). There are a million other improv games out there including video directions. Google searches are my friend. :) Mindful Cafe Kids come in to read silently and drink hot cocoa (This was incredibly popular, however I had to emphasize that it wasn't just 'free' hot cocoa and they needed to stay and read or meditate quietly. Since food isn't normally allowed in the library, being able to have the cocoa was extra special. Ask your PTSA for funding or your principal may have school site funds available.) I have a carafe that boils 40 cups of water at a time, but you can also use crock pots borrowed from fellow staff or families. Note - I offered whip cream to kids who brought their own reusable cup to use which really cut down on the trash produced by the activity and matches our school’s commitment to environmental sustainability. VARIATION: Kindness Cafe: (Run by our school counselor) Hot chocolate, YouTube Video Clip to introduce Empathy, Discussion questions for table groups Balloon Stress Balls Directions at https://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Balloon-Stress-Ball You can follow making stress balls with a breathing exercise (squeeze and breathe in for a count of 5, relax and breathe out for a count of 5) or with a game like Name Ball Toss to build community or even a Color Scanning technique which involves having students use just their eyes to scan the room for a specific color (in this case the color of their stress ball). Mindful Coloring Cut the pages out of a coloring book. Students pick a page to color when they enter. Quiet background music plays while they color. VARIATION: Community Coloring Use a projector and a large piece of news print or butcher paper taped to a wall. Project a free image (creative commons) onto the paper and trace the lines. Put the large coloring page you created onto a table. Students work together to color in the poster. (I make giant welcome posters for guest speakers and author visits and we color these during community coloring time. The kids love them and every author has taken a picture of the poster(s) and said how much they love them.) Kindness Rocks/Petaluma Rocks Students paint a rock either with images or an inspirational quote and then leave it somewhere in the community for other people to find. This idea started with the Kindness Rocks Project https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TK8iHsDXGvQ. The beginning of the video is about the founders personal journey. After 1:20 it talks about how the project was founded. (If I decided to show this to students I would start at 1:20). There is also a local group, Petaluma Rocks, which meets and makes rocks to place in our community. Other Possibilities Finger painting Body Scans Take 5 Breathing Gratitude Jars/ Thank you notes (These are things I've learned about and/or tried with kids in contexts outside of Mindful Fridays that I've liked.) Again, I use a combination of things I find online along with things I learned from PD as well as a lot that I learned from being a camp counselor and teacher in general. Any activity that encourages quiet thought, self reflection or community building is a possible Mindful Morning activity. Funding/Supply Notes
One last note: If you have a school counselor or school nurse, ask them if they want to get involved. My school counselor ran the Kindness Cafes for me and also arranged for a MFT to come speak to kids about bullying. You will need: - Series Boxes (Keep them from your own book orders or your local bookstore might have some!) - A Heavy Duty Paper Trimmer (If you don't have one, check the teacher work room.) Directions:
1) Dismantle the series box by pulling it apart or cutting along an undecorated or short side. 2) Use the paper cutter to remove the decorated front and back of the box and any sides that you would like to use. 3) Place one side of the box (right side up, facing you) up against the top of the paper cutter and flush with the blade. 3) Use the ruler on the paper cutter to decide how many bookmarks you'd like to make. You can take the width and divide it by 3 or 4 and see what values you come up with. I like mine to be at least 1.5 inches and I was able to get 3-4 bookmarks from the front of the boxes and 2 from the sides. **You can also just 'guess' since all the bookmarks don't have to be exactly the same width! 4) Lift the blade handle and move the box piece you're working with over 1.5 inches (or the width you decided on). Pull down to cut. 5) Repeat the steps until all your bookmarks are cut out. Recycle any scraps. 6) Place the bookmarks in a container at the circulation desk for students. This was a quick and easy project, and the bookmarks were claimed within days by students! |
AuthorTerra Hazen is a middle school Library and Media Specialist in Petaluma, California. She loves trying new things and sharing ideas with colleagues! ArchivesCategories |