Last Thursday, 5th grade had a special mindfulness day in yoga. The weather outside was perfect for two of my favorite activities. First, we made homemade stress balls out of flour and balloons. These are a favorite among students and get requested on repeat each year. Using a funnel, we are able to get the flour into the balloons. We made a small mess, but the softness of flour and the fun we had was worth it.

After students made their stress balls, we tried sharpening our focus on stacking rocks. Several years ago I took a trip to Alaska. I met a local man there whose specialty was stacking random rocks to see if he could practice balance and focus. He was well known for this trade and I decided to scale it down for my students. I have purchased landscaping rocks and we take rocks of all shapes and sizes and try to balance them on top of one another. Students will try to beat the record (12 is this year’s record so far) and I’m amazed at the focus they give this project.

Enjoy fall break.