“Mindfulness is paying attention here and now with kindness and curiosity” Association for Mindfulness in Education
"Mindfulness is the practice of being aware of your body, mind, and feelings in the present moment, thought to create a feeling of calm" Cambridge Dictionary
Just Breathe by Julie Bayer Salzman & Josh Salzman
We made “Just Breathe” with our son, his
classmates and their family members one Saturday afternoon. The film is
entirely unscripted – what the kids say is based purely on their own
neuro-scientific understanding of difficult emotions, and how they cope
through breathing and meditation. They, in turn, are teaching us all ...
"Make your body comfortable, and when you’re ready, close your eyes Let’s start by taking a few deep breaths. Feel the air filling your tummy as you take a deep breath in through your nose,
And make a big “aaaah” sound as you let the air out your mouth,
And each time you breathe out, feel your whole body becoming loose and floppy....
Take a few more big breaths like this
Now, you can start breathing normally again,
In and out through your nose
When you breathe in, think about the word “In”,
And when you breathe out, think about the word “Out”,
Can you hear these words inside your head just by thinking about them,
without making any sound with your mouth,
not even moving your tongue or your lips,
Let’s do this a bit longer,
Thinking about the word “In” when you breathe in,
And thinking about the word “Out” when you breathe out,
Feel how your stomach gets full like a balloon when you breathe in,
And gets smaller again when you let the air out
Now imagine that you are lying out on the grass in a beautiful park
The sun is shining and your eyes are closed
Just relaxing in the sunshine
As you lie there, a very friendly butterfly comes to say hello to you
Can you imagine this butterfly? It can be any colour you choose
The butterfly is fluttering its wings just above your toes....
If you really pay attention, can you feel the soft breeze from the butterfly's wings on your toes?
Now the butterfly is floating along your legs to your knees....
Can you feel a little tingling feeling from its wings on your legs?
If you can’t feel anything, just imagine what it would feel like if you could,
Now the butterfly is fluttering its wings as it moves up to your belly button....
Can you feel it tickling your belly as it flies around?
Try to imagine what the butterfly’s wings look like?
Maybe you can see them, and feel them fluttering at the same time in your imagination?
Now the butterfly is floating up and down your arms,
From your shoulder to your hands and back
Feel it with your imagination as it flies up and down each arm,
And now, just before flying off, the butterfly is coming to wish you a beautiful day,
As it flutters its wings just above your forehead!
See it floating there in your mind,
Feel the fluttering of its wings
If you listen very closely, you might be able to hear them flutter,
And now, off it flies..
Leaving you feeling very warm and cozy,
Just lying in the sunshine...
Now, let’s just sit quietly and breathe for just a bit longer until you hear the bell."
Springtime is garden time,
Garden time, garden time,
Get your spades and come outdoors,
Springtime is here!
Springtime is planting time,
Planting time, planting time,
Get your seeds and come outdoors,
Springtime is here!
Springtime is jumping time,
Jumping time, jumping time,
Get your ropes and come outdoors,
Springtime is here!
Springtime is singing time,
Singing time, singing time,
Children sing a happy song,
Springtime is here!
What the Robin Told
The wind
told the grasses,
And the grasses
told the trees.
The trees
told the bushes,
And the bushes
told the bees.
The bees
told the robin,
And the robin
sang out clear:
Wake up!
Wake up!
Spring is here!
Spring
Spring makes the world a happy place
You see a smile on every face.
Flowers come out and birds arrive,
Oh, isn't it grand to be alive?
Springtime
A small green frog
On a big brown log;
A black and yellow bee
In a little green tree;
A red and yellow snake
By a blue-green lake,
All sat and listened
To red bird sing,
"Wake up, everybody,
It's spring! It's spring!"
La Crida marks the official opening of the Fallas Festival. Crowds of onlookers and all the Fallas Committees gather beneath the
Serranos Towers, one of historical Valencia’s best-known monuments,
usually on the last Sunday in February.
After a spectacular inaugural display of light, sound, music and
fireworks, the “Fallera Mayor” of Valencia (elected festival queen),
surrounded by her Court of Honour and the city authorities, invites
everyone to enjoy the imminent fiesta, proclaiming its excellence and
virtues.
The ” ninots ” are the individual figures that make up the
scenes in the Fallas monuments. At the beginning of February, each
Committee donates its best ” ninot ” (just one) to a collective
exhibition that is open to the public up until the day of the “plantà”
(15th March), when each figure is collected by its Committee and taken
back to the Fallas monument it belongs to on a noisy and colourful
parade with whistles and brass bands.
Each visitor to this exhibition has the chance to vote for the
“ninot” that he or she likes best: whether because of its originality or
its design. When the time comes to close the exhibition, the votes are
added up and the “ninot” with the largest number of votes is saved from
the flames: this “ninot indultat” will have the honour of being the only
“ninot” in all of Valencia that will not burn on the night of the 19th.
The same process is repeated with the children’s Fallas, whose “ninots” can also be visited at the same exhibition.
One little, two little, three little Indians. Four little, five little, six little Indians. Seven little, eight little, nine little Indians. Ten little Indian boys.
Ten little, nine little, eight little Indians. Seven little, six little, five little Indians. Four little, three little, two little Indians. One little Indian boy.
On 8th February 2016 we welcome in a new Chinese New Year, the Year of the Monkey!
"This Monkey year, I give you five monkeys:
the ingenuity of the macaque,
the health and happiness of the monkey,
the leisure and wealth of monkey-kind,
the lightheartedness of apes and monkeys,
and intelligence and wit surpassing the Monkey King." A traditional greeting for the Year of the Monkey
The monkey is one of the twelve animals of the Chinese Zodiac.
Chinese New Year is the most important of the Chinese holidays, and is a
time of feasting with the family, celebration, fireworks and
gift-giving. It is a 15-day holiday, beginning on the first day of a new
moon and ending with the full moon on the day of the Lantern Festival.
Nine Asian countries celebrate the Lunary New Year with public holidays
and variations on the activities you will find described below. About
1/5 of the world's population will be enjoying the festivies, and New
Year's Eve is the world's biggest annual migration, with over 200
million people making every effort to get home for a big celebratory
dinner with their extended families.
Port Side Pirates! When I was young I had some fun The day I went to sea I jumped on board a pirate ship And the captain said to me. Oh we go this way, that way, portside, starboard over the deep blue sea this way, that way, port side, starboard over the deep blue sea I sailed with you to Timbuktu The day I went to sea I jumped on board a pirate ship And the captain said to me Oh we go this way, that way, portside, starboard over the deep blue sea this way, that way, port side, starboard over the deep blue sea The west wind's force blew us off course The day I went to sea I jumped on board a pirate ship And the captain said to me Oh we go this way, that way, portside, starboard over the deep blue sea this way, that way, port side, starboard over the deep blue sea We hit a storm, our sails were torn The day I went to sea I jumped on board a pirate ship And the captain said to me Oh we go this way, that way, portside, starboard over the deep blue sea this way, that way, port side, starboard over the deep blue sea The first mate roared, "man overboard" The day I went to sea I jumped on board a piratre ship And the captain said to me Oh we go this way, that way, portside, starboard over the deep blue sea this way, that way, port side, starboard over the deep blue sea
The storm blew out, we looked about, The day I went to sea I jumped on board a pirate ship And the captain said to me Oh we go this way, that way, portside, starboard over the deep blue sea this way, that way, port side, starboard over the deep blue sea From the front deck we saw a wreck The day I went to sea I jumped on board a pirate ship And the captain said to me Oh we go this way, that way, portside, starboard over the deep blue sea this way, that way, port side, starboard over the deep blue sea We had no fear we sailed up near The day I went to sea I jumped on board a pirate ship And the captain said to me Oh we go this way, that way, portside, starboard over the deep blue sea this way, that way, port side, starboard over the deep blue sea We found a hoard of gold on board The day I went to sea I jumped on board a pirate ship And the captain said to me Oh we go this way, that way, portside, starboard over the deep blue sea this way, that way, port side, starboard over the deep blue sea We weighed and measured all our treasure The day I went to sea I jumped on board a pirate ship And the captain said to me Oh we go this way, that way, portside, starboard over the deep blue sea this way, that way, port side, starboard over the deep blue sea We sang this song the whold day long The day I went to sea Oh the pirate's life is full of fun The pirate's life for me! Oh we go this way, that way, portside, starboard The pirate's life for me! this way, that way, port side, starboard The pirate's life for me!
February 2nd marks the half-way point between winter and spring. It is also the day that Groundhog Day is celebrated across North America with the most important celebrations taking place in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.
According to legend, it is believed that groundhogs wake from hibernation on February 2nd.
If the groundhog comes out of its burrow and sees its shadow, there
will be six more weeks of winter. If it comes out and does not see its
shadow, this indicates that spring is just around the corner.
