The Eco-Goddess

    Last week, I was watching Anthony Robbins video, a certified life coach. He was helping a woman in the audience who is going through a tough relationship with her husband. He made her connect with her inner self through her heart to feel the love again. So he told her to put her hand on her heart and feel her heart beat. This is called heart meditation. I really liked the idea and thought of trying it out with my students, but of course in a simplified way.

When I tried it the next day, I told my students to put their right hand on their heart and feel their heart beat. I told them to feel it. I also mentioned that when your brain and your heart connect it is an amazing feeling. You’ll forget everything around you. I told them to remember all the people who love them and made them think about who they love. Could be family members, neighbors, classmates, or  maybe their puppy. I could see a smile on their face once they do that.

I just want to remind you that kids stress out too. Maybe the issues that they are stressing out about is not as major as we think it is, but to them it is. TRUST ME! I’ve been dealing with kids for almost 10 years and I know!

   Starting the day with heart meditation for 5 minutes is a great way to start the day!

In the picture above are my students practicing heart meditation.

For adults here are the steps for heart meditation:

This heart chakra meditation is a simple technique to release sadness and fear and to bring compassion and love into your life.

Sit in a comfortable position, either cross-legged on the floor or in a chair. Sit up tall with the spine straight, the shoulders relaxed and the chest open. Inhale the palms together and lightly press the knuckles of the thumbs into the sternum at the level of your heart (you should feel a little notch where the knuckles magically fit). Breathe slowly, smoothly and deeply into the belly and into the chest. Soften your gaze or lightly close the eyes. Let go of any thoughts or distractions and let the mind focus on feeling the breath move in and out of your body. Once the mind feels quiet and still, bring your focus to the light pressure of the thumbs pressing against your chest and feeling the beating of the heart. Keep this focus for one to five minutes.

Next, gently release the hands and rub the palms together, making them very warm and energized. Place the right palm in the center of your chest and the left hand on top of the right. Close the eyes and feel the center of your chest warm and radiant, full of energy. See this energy as an emerald green light, radiating out from the center of your heart into the rest of your body. Feel this energy flowing out into the arms and hands, and flowing back into the heart. Stay with this visualization for one to five minutes.

After you feel completely soaked with heart chakra energy, gently release the palms and turn them outwards with the elbows bent, the shoulders relaxed and the chest open. Feel or visualize the green light love energy flowing out of your palms and into the world. You can direct it towards specific loved ones in your life or to all sentient beings.

To end your meditation, inhale the arms up towards the sky, connecting with the heavens, then exhale and lower the palms lightly to the floor, connecting with the earth. Take a moment or two before moving on with the rest of your day.

 http://www.yogabasics.com/meditation/heartMeditation.html

       As I was monitoring my students doing their math test I couldn’t help but wonder how each student was holding the pencil in a different way. I am not sure if that tells anything about your personality. I used to have a student who holds her pen in an odd way, some tried to make her write different, but she still holds it her way. I say do what is comfortable. She has beautiful handwriting.

However, there is something I would like to share. If your son and daughter started holding the pen in a very odd way and her/his handwriting is very bad, then try to fix it with practice. If that doesn’t help then give up. Don’t force anyone on how to hold a pen correctly.

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As you can see in the photos above every person has their own way of holding a pen and some are left-handed too, but what I’m really concerned about is not the way you hold your pen or pencil, it is the handwriting.  There are many students whom I have taught who had really bad handwriting. So neat handwriting is what we should focus on. My next post will discuss how to have neat handwriting. Stay tuned  

Students learn by doing. A good teacher would already know that. If you want your student to learn fast and grasp the material better you need demonstrate. It is very hard to model cubes because the students at the back row would barely see. So I decided to get the overhead projector and place the cubes on it.  So let’s say I put 4 tens and 2 ones how many more tens and ones do you need to place to get a 100? That’s what the student is demonstrating in the photo. 42 and 58 is 100.

Up Close and Personal.

Children learn and truly understand math and mathematical concepts best when engaged in hands-on activities and games. By manipulating everyday objects, playing games and finding out ways to solve everyday problems, children gain a true understanding of math and mathematical concepts. Only with this understanding does the meaning of abstract numbers become apparent.

We’re back to school after a long Christmas Vacation and I wanted to make sure that my students are still choosing to stay healthy. The first lunchbox I chose was Ralph’s lunchbox. I liked the variety of food. Way to Go Ralph!

The second lunchbox goes to Carina and Leona, the twin sisters! I liked the choice of Kiwi and dark chocolate. They definitely know the real taste of chocolate, way to go girls

Dear Readers,

     First of all I want to wish you all a Happy new year. I hope 2012 will be a year full of positivity,  happiness, success, and good health to all of you. I am writing to you from Dubai at the moment. I am spending the Christmas holiday with my best friends. It’s been great! I guess we all need the time to relax and pamper ourselves so that when we are back to school or work we’ll be full of power. I still have a week off and I can’t wait to see my students again I miss them so much. I thought of posting the top 5 posts that have been visited the most  on my blog. Click on the link to read the post enjoy! and Happy new year again!

1- Mom’s Words on my Sandwich

2- Does a Bamboo plant really give positive energy?

3- Miss Farah on MTV Lebanon discussing New techniques to avoid stress!

4- Laughter Yoga: A funny prescription

5- How to Host a Chocolate Party

Snow or no snow, your family can whip up a band of these merry marshmallow snowmen to satisfy all their winter wonderland fantasies.

Ingredients

• Cooled cupcake (baked from your favorite recipe)
• White icing
• Large marshmallows
• Waxed paper
• Pretzel sticks

• Decorators’ gel
• Orange slice candy
• Junior Mints
• Thin Mints
• Fruit leather

Instructions

1. Frost a cooled cupcake (baked from your favorite recipe) with white icing.

2. Flatten a large marshmallow on waxed paper with the palm of your hand. Cut a second marshmallow in half horizontally, then stack the halves on the first marshmallow to form a torso and head.

3. Push a thin pretzel stick down through the snowman (this will help him stand up), then set him on the cupcake.

4. Use decorators’ gel to create a mouth, eyes, and buttons, then add pretzel stick arms and a wedge cut from an orange slice candy for a nose.

5. Accessorize with a candy hat (a Junior Mint secured to a Thin Mint with icing) and a fruit leather scarf.

6. Watch video of how to make the recipe below to make things easier for you. Merry Christmas

http://familyfun.go.com/how-to-videos/familyfun-frosty-the-cupcake-762325-v/

Lenora! I chose Lenora’s lunchbox because she told me that her mom made her home made cake. This shows that she is aware that she is not eating just ANY kind of cake.I liked the Bake Stix and the granola bar as well. Great choice Lenora!

My second choice was Priscilla’s Lunchbox. It had a variety of food. Banana, brown bread toast, mini biscuits by McVitiies, and juice, Way to go Priscilla!

     I asked my students to write a letter to Santa. After they wrote the letter I posted them on the bulletin board near our classroom. I didn’t get the chance to read them until today. All of the letters were so cute. It’s funny how the kids are now requesting an I-pad 3 from Santa. I guess Santa has to be very up to date now with all the new technology! I will show you some of the letters.

Here Leona is asking about Mrs. Clause!! Isn’t that adorable ??

Dear readers,

    My post today to you is quite different. I am the type of person who admires and encourages people who are full of inspiration. I happened to find out that my student’s mother, Mrs. Joyce Drobot,  makes hand-crafted jewelry and handbags and thought I would share it with you.

Mrs. Drobot says,

    DDunya is a celebration of color and texture that is uniquely presented to you, from me, in fine hand-crafted jewelry and handbags. The collection is irresistibly inspired by cultures and colors from all over the world. From casual wear to sophisticated evening wear, DDunya offers something very unique and reflects today’s quintessential need for glamour.

The day and evening collection of handbags feature opulent leather with delicate, unexpected finishes. Small clutches are dressed up in luxurious and shiny materials. “The must have bags”.

The jewelry collection is made of semi-precious stones, pearls, crystals and also include fine materials such as sterling silver, gold, leather, and silk chosen from destinations around the world specifically chosen by me.

I hope you enjoy this one of a kind collection of inspiration and passion.

Joyce Drobot

Please feel free to visit the website and check out more evening and casual accessories and handbags by clicking on this link: www.ddunya.com

Mrs. Drobot is inviting you all to her house for the opening of her new collection on Saturday, December 10th starting 11 am in Mansourieh, Lebanon.
Contact number: 71-608957

  I can’t be the only teacher that finds parent-teacher conference time stressful, right? Last Friday, we had our first parent-teacher conference. It was a successful one. I wanted to create the right mood for the parents. I wanted them to feel relaxed and not be too stressed out. Many parents come in with a negative mood expecting the worst. So that’s where my role as a teacher comes to help ease the stress for the parents and myself.

  1- Punctuality: The first thing you got to do as a teacher is arrive early and get ready mentally and physically.

  2- Cleanliness and Set up: Get prepared and make sure your classroom is clean. I set up the table where we will both sit in a way where we are all relaxed and facing each other.

3- Bamboo Plant: Since the bamboo plant is very important in our classroom I put it on the table for positive energy.

4- Scent: A scented candle of course! This year I got a vanilla one. It was very refreshing. open the windows for some fresh air

5- Music: Silence of peace music that I use all the time in the background. It helps set the tone and gives a nice impression to incoming family members. It also helps me from talking too quickly, as I usually feel rushed during conferences.  

6- Take notes: With so many conferences, it is hard to remember what has been discussed for each meeting. I also make sure to ask parents if their is anything I can do to help their child be more successful.  Whatever is mentioned, I write it down and try to create a method to support them further.

7- The Balance of Feedback/Talk: If I spend my time complimenting each child on their strengths without addressing an area to improve, we are losing an opportunity to grow.  Mentally, I try to use the two stars, one wish method (two compliments, one area of concern) for my parent conferences. I sometimes write this down before the conference to really take care in my observations of each child and their perceived needs. I also try to balance out the amount of talking going on.  Am I doing most of the talking? If so, I try to stop and listen to what parents have to say about their child. It is just as important for me to hear what parents are observing as it is for me to share what I am observing with parents.

8- Candy: After the meeting is finished it is nice to have some candy on the table. I always choose Cadbury Candy ( caramel flavor) something everyone likes.