13: Let Your Light Shine
"Let your light shine and share it with the world, igniting light in others."
Sharing is caring. This is one of the basic pearls of wisdom that we learn early in life. As children, we were taught to share our toys or food with others. As we got older, we learned that the more important things to share are intangible ones, such as our time, our presence, and our good deeds. Regardless of what we choose to give to others, we never become less for it. In fact, we grow in multitude ways because of it.
Every November 11, we celebrate the life of St. Martin de Tours, a saint who has inspired many people throughout the world through his kindness and generosity. When he was still a soldier, St. Martin met a poor man on the street. Since he had nothing with him, he removed his cloak, cut it in half, and shared it with the man whom he met. This kind deed has lived on, and he is remembered up to now for his goodness. In DSKI, we remember him, too, by keeping his memory alive through stories and songs, and lighting lanterns on his special day.
To commemorate St. Martin this week, the Kinder 2 children and their teachers had numerous opportunities to plant little seeds of kindness through different ways of sharing.
Sharing Our Experiences
Last week, the children revisited the food choices they made in our first trip to Toho, and had the chance to make better ones. They went shopping for healthy food items, such as fruits and vegetables, which they brought home to prepare and enjoy with their families.
This week, the Kindergarteners shared their food preparation experiences through a show-and-tell session. They all had pictures of the food or drink they made over the weekend, and talked about how they prepared it. It was fascinating to see their kitchen skills especially in cutting ingredients with a knife!
What truly stood out in their sharing is how much their choices have changed over time. They were proud of the food they prepared, and have shared their excitement in making more healthy food choices in the future.
It was refreshing to see the children become teachers, even if it’s just for a few minutes. I can speak for myself and proudly say that I learned from each one of them, and I’m excited to recreate some of the food they made. It just goes to show that when you share what you know and what you do, you impact the growth of those who are open to learning from you.
(Note: The children even rewrote one of the songs they hear in class into a healthier version)
Original Version
If all the raindrops were lemon drops and gum drops
Oh what a rain that will be
Standing outside with my mouth opened wide
Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah
If all the raindrops were lemon drops and gum drops
Oh what a rain that would be!
If all the snowflakes were candy bars and milkshakes
Oh what a snow that would be
Standing outside with my mouth opened wide
Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah
If all the snowflakes were candy bars and milkshakes
Oh what a snow that will be
If all the sun beams were bubble gum and ice cream
Oh what a sun that will be ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah
Standing outside with my mouth opened wide
If all the sun beams were bubble gum and ice cream
Oh what a sun that will be
Kinder 2 Version
If all the raindrops were carrots and apples
Oh what a rain that will be
Standing outside with my mouth opened wide
Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah
If all the raindrops were carrots and apples
Oh what a rain that would be!
If all the snowflakes were wieners and mushrooms
Oh what a snow that would be
Standing outside with my mouth opened wide
Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah
If all the snowflakes were wieners and mushrooms
Oh what a snow that will be
If all the sun beams were salad and peaches
Oh what a sun that will be ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah
Standing outside with my mouth opened wide
If all the sun beams were salad and peaches
Oh what a sun that will be
Sharing Our Best Practices
The concept of well-being is multifaceted. For this unit, we focused mainly on the effects of our food choices on our health, but there are other aspects that affect our well-being apart from the food we eat.
This week, we deepened our inquiry on the concept of well being by looking at its different facets, including physical and mental well-being. We invited Ms. Miho, a certified yoga teacher, to share her wellness practices. She conducted a yoga class for the children which allowed them to stretch their bones and strengthen their muscles. The children were able to try fun yoga poses such as the tree and downward dog poses. The children encouraged me to try, too, and when I did, they said, “Ms. Paaaam! You can’t reach your toes?!” They truly are the best cheerleaders. 😆
I also shared my well-being practices with the children by teaching them mindfulness meditation. I learned, as I got older, that allowing yourself a time to pause and be silent even for just a few minutes clears your mind and improves your disposition. I turned off the lights to set the mood, and taught the children simple breathing exercises (smell the soup, blow the soup) When we were finished with the exercise, I asked the children what they feel and the answer was a resounding, “Sleepy!” How I wish I did it just before quiet time! 😆
Sharing Our Feelings
Emotions play a big part in a person’s well-being. Acknowledging and understanding how you feel is the first step to a healthier outlook in life and a more confident self. Young children need open conversations about their feelings to help them understand and label certain emotions that they experience. This week, we revisited our emotions and read the book called, “Today I Feel Silly and Other Moods That Make My Day” by Jamie Lee Curtis. As I was reading the story, I kept on asking the children if it’s okay to feel a certain way, such as angry, mad, frustrated, or sad. Almost all the time, they said it isn’t. I shared with them that it’s okay to feel those emotions too, even if they’re negative ones, because that’s what makes us human.
(Side note: In the story, the main character was feeling sad, so her mom bought her two ice cream cones to make her feel better. One of the children said, “Uh-oh! Unhealthy choice!” 😆)
After reading the book, the children reflected on their emotions for that day. It was amazing to hear their thoughts as two of them came to school in the morning a bit sad, but were already happy when we had the storytelling session. They realized that our emotions change and that we can go through many ones in a day!
Sharing Our Voices
As a tool to help the children cope with some of the negative emotions that they may feel sometimes, I shared with them a song to remind them that everything will be alright — even if we worry or feel sad at times.
Sharing Our Creations
More often than not, children connect the concept of sharing with material things. One of the common words that young children say is “mine” as they are still in a stage of learning to navigate their boundaries and discover their individuality.
For anyone, it’s always easier to share possessions that they don’t have strong connections with. The difficult ones to part with are those that hold meaning and importance.
To deepen the children’s experience of sharing, I let them create bracelets without giving further instructions except for one: make a bracelet that you really like. What they didn’t know is that they weren’t making it for themselves, they were making it for a friend.
When the children were done creating their accessories, we sat together as a class and I explained to them that what they made is actually a friendship bracelet. One that they will not keep, but rather give to someone else. Some of them were surprised and a bit hesitant, as they really wanted to bring home the bracelet that they thought they made for themselves.
Each child had a chance to pick a name from the class, to whom they shared their creation. It was beautiful to witness the transformation from reluctance to openness in giving. In the end, they were all happy to receive a gift from a friend and at the same time, grateful that they were able to make someone else happy.
Sharing Our Time
The concept of well-being was challenging to unlock with 4-5 year-olds. I simplified it by telling the children that well-being focuses on the different ways that we take care of ourselves. It is something that makes us feel good and happy. One of the words that the children connected with this concept is play and how playing makes them happy.
This week, I gave them the chance to further nurture this aspect of their well-being. I also challenged them to share their extra play time with someone whom they don’t usually hang out with. In past activities, I was the one who chose their buddies for them but this time around, they knew exactly who they should spend more time with in class.
In the past few months that I have been with Kinder 2, I’ve noticed how much each child has grown into individuals who can extend themselves to others. There was no hesitation from them in playing with a new friend. I knew right then that I was trying to teach them something that they already know and practice: to share their time with others.
Sharing Our Kind Words
The most integral foundation of well-being is our choice to be kind to ourselves. Some people forget to do this at times, but it’s good to be reminded every once in a while that there are good things that others see in us that we might not realize about ourselves. This week, the children made little flowers bloom by sharing kind words with each other. In past activities, I was the one who read out positive messages for the children from their friends, but this time around, they heard the positive affirmations from their peers. Everybody had something good to share about their classmates. The messages were simple but so heartfelt:
“He plays nicely with me.”
“She is a good friend.”
“He shares his toys.”
“She is caring.”
“He is lovely.” (Yes, they really used this word 😁)
If every person would receive one kind word every day, can you imagine how much better our world would be?
——
St. Martin’s life is truly an inspiration, and he will always be remembered and celebrated for his good deeds. If there’s one thing that I hope the children can learn from his life, it is that opportunities to sow seeds of kindness are given to us every day. It doesn't wait for a special occasion. It is our choice if we will take these opportunities and allow ourselves to be the glimmer of light in someone’s life through our kind deeds.
Let's dance to the weekend, everyone!
P.S. Speaking of seeds, we actually planted real seeds this week to see if they will grow into food. Let’s hope their little sprouts will see the light of day soon!
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