Leading & Learning in Leadership
Cherokee Students Leading & Learning Resources
As we continue to embark on this new, uncharted journey, we just want you to know - we are in this together. Your Cherokee family will continue to support and love your children and we will continue to share "tools of the trade" to help you navigate this new normal.
We honor the fact that every family is unique and has its own set of needs, structures and expectations. As we work to provide academic resources, we also want to support social and emotional learning as well.
Dr. Sue Varma says that during a time of high stress, it's important to focus on the "4 Ms of Mental Health" - mindfulness, movement, mastery and meaningful engagement. Dr. Covey says "the greater the change, the more difficult the challenges, the more relevant the habits become."
Using the 4Ms and 7 Habits together as a guide, we hope to help support your family in leading and learning:
- A Moment with Mair is focused on adult learning and developing a better understanding of the 4Ms and 7 Habits.
- Learning with Lewis is meant to be shared with students. These are short videos of activities that children can try at home.
- Getting in the Groove with Gilbert is a collection of additional resources to further support your family's needs.
We hope you find these resources helpful!
Take care of each other,
~ Mrs. Mair & Mr. Lewis
4 Ms of Mental Health & the 7 Habits
Mindfulness - "Work on Self"
Mindfulness & the 7 Habits
Plus & Delta Chart
Circle of Control
Mindfulness Bubble Map
Setting Your Personal/Family's Mindfulness Goal
Mindfulness & Setting Intent with Students
Find a Quiet Space and Go There
1. Watch the video below.
2. Now draw a picture of where you envision your quiet space. (Try doing this with you child to increase participation)
3. Watch the video again but now think about your quiet place.
4. Now it is time to go there.
-Close your eyes
-Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out.
-Look to your right. What do you see?
-Breathe in, breathe out
-Look to your left. What do you see?
-Breathe in, breathe out
-If your mind starts to wander, bring it back to your quiet place.
-Breathe in, Breathe out
-Observe all the details of your quiet place while continuing to breathe.
-Breathe in and out for another 10 seconds.
-When returning from you quiet place, take a deep breath in and open your eyes.
-Now breathe out.
5. Reflect on how you feel after.
Keep your pictures! When you notice you need help focusing or calming down, use you picture, take some deep breaths and GO THERE!
The Mindful Jar
This activity can teach children how strong emotions can take hold, and how to find peace when these strong emotions feel overwhelming.
- First, get a clear jar (like a Mason jar) and fill it almost all the way with water. Next, add a big spoonful of glitter glue or glue and dry glitter to the jar. Put the lid back on the jar and shake it to make the glitter swirl.
- Finally, use the following script or take inspiration from it to form your own mini-lesson:
“Imagine that the glitter is like your thoughts when you’re stressed, mad or upset. See how they whirl around and make it really hard to see clearly? That’s why it’s so easy to make silly decisions when you’re upset – because you’re not thinking clearly. Don’t worry this is normal and it happens in all of us (yep, grownups too).
Now put the jar down in front of them.
Now watch what happens when you’re still for a couple of moments. Keep watching. See how the glitter starts to settle and the water clears? Your mind works the same way. When you’re calm for a little while, your thoughts start to settle and you start to see things much clearer. Deep breaths during this calming process can help us settle when we feel a lot of emotions” (Karen Young, 2017).
This exercise not only helps children learn about how their emotions can cloud their thoughts, but it also facilitates the practice of mindfulness while focusing on the swirling glitter in the jar.
Try having the kids focus on one emotion at a time, such as anger, and discuss how the shaken verse settling glitter is like that emotion.