After School Unwind Session: "Move like a jellyfish"

Sometimes we need to just stop overthinking, planning, and worrying. Just go with the flow. In yesterday's blog post, I made a list of daily tasks to help my mind and body "reset." I thought it was a pretty solid list. I was able to check off a couple more things today than yesterday, which is a good start. However, my biggest success arrived last night when I was trying out a different meditation video. 

This meditation/hypnosis video was much better than the one I had on the night before. A man with a calming voice talks you through the meditation and hypnosis to help with jaw tension, clenching, and grinding. As I was relaxing and focusing on his words, there was a moment when I couldn't believe my ears. 

"...your self hypnosis will help you to safely relearn, retrain, and powerfully reset your body and your mind's habits with a much deeper sense of relief..."

RESET

It still amazes me how the universe knows exactly what we need.  By me blogging about how I wanted to "reset" my mind and body each day, I ended up putting it out into the universe. Then during the video I hear him saying that listening to this will help me "reset." I actually laughed out-loud. The universe brought it to me. All of that planning I did by creating that list...for nothing?!

No, not for nothing.

One video on YouTube is not the end all, be all. I still have to pay attention to what I'm doing during the day and break the bad habits and routines that I got myself wrapped up in. Don't get me wrong, the video was VERY helpful! I fell sound asleep before it even ended. The only negative thing I have to say about the video is that when it ended, a YouTube add came on immediately afterwards, which startled me out of my sleep since I had the volume up quite a bit to hear the calming background sounds during the meditation. So, that advertisement messed things up a bit, since I was using it to relax and get a good night's sleep! However, I did fall back to sleep shortly after and slept the whole night! It didn't "cure" my jaw pain. I still must have been clenching and grinding my teeth at some point during the night. But there definitely was a different in the quality of sleep that I got and the pain level in my jaw in the morning. 

Go With The Flow

So maybe I just need to go with the flow. I need to stop overthinking, over-planning, and worrying about things. Maybe I just need to give things some thought, then go with the flow to see what happens. It's always good to have a plan for anything in life. But, it's ok if we deviate from that plan a little. 

Tonight I'm listening to Jack Johnson. It's perfectly fitting because even though I have never met the guy, he seems like the most chill and laidback person ever. Listening to his music always puts me in a very calm, serene, and light mood. So, I'll follow his advise this evening and throughout the weekend:

"Move like a jellyfish,

Rhythm is nothing

You go with the flow

You don't stop"
Jack Johnson - "Bubble Toes"

Album: Brushfire Fairytales

Hmm...now that I think about it, reflecting on the day while listening to my music, I realize that I must have subconsciously known this morning what I was going to listen to tonight. I read to my class "Octopus's Garden" by Ringo Star and Illustrated by Ben Cort. Definitely a water theme going on today. I added this book to my Music Themed Children's Books list. 

So tonight, I'll be a jellyfish, just going with the flow, "in an Octopus's Garden in the shade." I'll try to just live life, enjoy every moment, and see where the current takes me, without over-thinking.

“All You Need Is Love”

Remember last week’s project I did with the kids that involved tracing their hands to put in rulers so we can give distance hugs and high fives? Well, I was super excited to do that project with today’s group of students (I only did it with my Thursday/Friday group). They were just as excited about finally being able to give hugs!

Not only did I play the song “Everyday” by the Dave Matthews Band, but I also played the infamous Beatles song. 

Today’s Track: “All You Need Is Love” by The Beatles

I also held up the boom “All You Need is Love” that I read to them in September and they immediately made the connection. They really enjoyed the song and the meaning behind it. 

As much as I love playing music in the classroom, I have to be careful and make sure I don’t play anything with lyrics while they are working. Listening to lyrics being sung could end up backfiring and cause them to focus more on the song and not their work, ESPECIALLY while writing. Let’s be real...I would end up singing along instead of writing my story that I’m supposed to be working on! But there is a very easy remedy to get the best of both worlds with work completion AND listening to and enjoying music. 

Classical music. 

I took 10 years of dance...primarily ballet. So I love listening to classical music still to this day. But you’re probably thinking “yea, ok. But what 6 year old child wants to listen to classical music?” Well, you would be surprised. 

Please, if you take away one thing from today’s blog, I hope it’s this: listen to The Vitamin String Quartet. Like the sound piano more? Check out The Piano Guys. But for now, let me focus on The Vitamin String Quartet. Think of your favorite singer/band. Got it? Ok...well guess what? The Vitamin String Quartet probably has an album made of their music or at least a song. They range from Aerosmith to Zeppelin. Not just classic rock either! Metallica, The Cure, Eminem, Gorillaz, and yes, even Kanye West. 

Why do I love playing this while the children are reading and writing? I get to jam out to some of my favorite artists and songs, not be afraid whether or not the lyrics are kid appropriate since there are no lyrics at all, and the kids LOVE it! They will always chime in and say “hey, wait! I know this song!” And I’ll say “yes, that’s an Imagine Dragons song!” So today, we got to listen to more Beatles songs while we read and completed our writing assignment thanks to The Vitamin String Quartet!

We want these kids to feel excited about school. I don’t want them to ever feel bored in my class. I have to play to their interests as well as my own to make the classroom environment comfortable, fun, and exciting. Music brings that all together. 

🎵 “There’s nowhere you can be that isn’t where you’re meant to be, it easy...all you need is love...”🎵 -The Beatles