This week I worked with students in the Mosaic program with Kim Leddy and Steve Shapiro. We wanted to provide students with an introduction to mindfulness and mindful creativity while also introducing the themes of transformation, identity and change.
Before I came into the classroom, Kim and Steve had used a variation on this mindfulness lesson (originally for teachers and staff) to introduce neuroplasticity and mindfulness to students. In the lesson, they also had students write metaphors for their brains. Student responses ranged from “a runaway train” to “Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory.”
These activities prepared students by providing opportunities to think about what their brain is like now, and what they might want it to be like in the future- with the understanding that they can make changes with focused attention. It was a great lead in to some creative, messy work.
Click on this link to read the rest of the article and to see many samples of students’ work.
-Brandi Lust
Deconstruction and thoughtful reconstruction, bits of beautiful