Category: Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction

Artist at Play in Maine

~ wordancerblog ~ 10 Comments

Art is a little less familiar to me. When I take a photo, I compose in the moment and then it is finished almost instantaneously. I want to see if I can play with photographic images much the way I play with words when I compose poetry. I want to make sure I keep that playful, childlike mindset. I hope this artful adventure will teach me something new about the creative process. As I age, I want the world to stay fresh. I want to keep my curiosity.and youthful perspective.

Support Stuffies: Managing Test Anxiety

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There was a lot of anxiety in the room even though we had tried to make the students as familiar with the test as we could possibly do.  We also did not place a lot of importance on the test, but the children sense it is important, it does reflect on how smart they are, and it does matter.

Spring Break Artifacts

~ wordancerblog ~ 7 Comments

It is my last couple of days on spring break.  I’ve slept late, ate good food, written poems about food, and took long walks capturing the beauty I saw with my camera.  I am trying to do things that nourish me, that uplift me, that help to better understand my purpose. The sunshine and warm weather has definitely lifted my spirits, and I hope I have absorbed enough of its healing energy to bring back north to our muddy March season.

Mindfulness in Teaching: Be Where Your Feet Are

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The author, Suzanne Dailey, noted that she and her girlfriends play a game called “Where are your fee?” in which they send each other photos of their feet to check in with each other about what they are doing and how they are feeling. This game helps each person consider where they are in the present moment.  It helps them reflect and shift their attention. It’s a gentle reminder to “Be where your feet are.”

Sew Easy: A Heartfelt Journey

~ wordancerblog ~ 2 Comments

Many things that my mother loved, I love - teaching, making art, reading, eating cheese and crackers, putting on bright lipstick, and sewing.  My mother was an amazing seamstress and dress designer well before she had kids and became a teacher.  She would hold a piece of fabric in her hand, fold it, cut it without a pattern, and make something wonderful to wear.  She had a gift, and it was magical.

February Snow

~ wordancerblog ~ 3 Comments

On a recent trek to the park, I watched families sled down a small but slick slope.  It was fun to see parents cheering on their children.  One little girl with bright pink cheeks had a death grip on the edges of her snow disc as she screamed all the way down the hill.  She ran back up shouting, “That was TERRIFYING!  Let’s do it again!” 

One Little Word – Zest, 2025

~ wordancerblog ~ 5 Comments

I keep thinking about the perfect word as my touchstone for 2025.  In the past, I’ve chosen: remember, purpose, and settle.  Those are important words and they kept me set on a definite path the last three years.  This year, I searched for a word that would reflect who I am now at the beginning of 2025, at the precipice of my 69th year.