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#inspiringconfidentlearners
#youngachieversacademy
#21stcenturylearning
#socialemotionallearning
#emotionalawareness
#emotionalintelligent
#afterschoolprogram
​#learningforkeeps

My relationship with food has been very fascinating. My mom once told me that, when I was less than 2years old, I managed to climb up onto a table and finish half a dozen of bananas, seeming no less than a monkey.

 As I grew up, most healthy foods became repulsive; eating used to be an arduous task. This phase involved people constantly commenting on how thin I was and how I should eat more and put on more flesh, muscle and fat. This eventually started causing insecurities within me about my body until college, when I shifted my focus from what I was not, to embracing myself completely; surprisingly my body changed after that. It was the first time I felt a sense of liberation in surrendering to what is. 

My college days saw me develop a huge fetish for street food exploration. This was also backed by shows on TLC and Fox traveller that glorified food. Then, when I started working, I could afford the luxury of eating out at fancy restaurants and experiencing different cuisines and flavours (not that they were all very authentic). 

Today, I settle for terribly simple food; something that feels soulful if not plentiful.
It's funny how my relationship with food is constantly evolving; of course in coherence with my ever-morphing beliefs.

In retrospect, I learnt a few things about myself. I'd like to call them my superpowers - 

- I experience food (and pretty much everything I deeply connect with) with all my senses; I immerse myself in it and connect very deeply with it. I've had people wonder 'how could someone be so passionate about food?' 

- It wasn't just the experience that I would crave, but also sharing that with others. I had the superpower to describe food, with every morsel of detail, that would leave someone's mouth watering to experience it themselves. 

- My brain loves getting fired up with new experience; flavors and textures that tickle my taste buds. 

Now, I'm still in the process of looking at myself, identifying more such superpowers and figuring out how I can leverage them purposefully across all sections of my life.

​Contributed by Disha HK, Learning Facilitator at Sparkling Mindz Global School.

#sparklingmindzglobalschool
#foodasanexperience
#joyfullearning
#facilitatordiaries

#noviruscanstopus
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#annualdaycelebrations
#ohtheplacesyoullgo
#drseussinspired
#reggioemiliainspiredlearning
#playbasedlearning
#funplacesforchildren

​Happy women's Day to all the amazing, beautiful women who have touched my life in innumerable ways. 

I rise  (Inspired by Maya Angelou's - Still I rise)

Like the tides in the ocean 
That have seen many lives
I rise

Like the gentle breeze
That touches everyone
I rise

Like the specks of dust
Trampled beneath
I rise

Like the vapour in the water
When brought to a boil
I rise

Like the fury of the fire
Stoked by a gust of wind
I rise

Like the clouds that gather 
All their might 
I fall

But, fierce and mighty
Like the sun
I rise again and again and again.

And, like a ray of hope
Amidst despair and gloom
I will always rise.

- Sreeja Iyer
​
#sparklingmindzglobalschool
#inspiringconfidentlearners
#youngacgieversacademy
#sundaymusings
#everychildcan
#poetry
​

We at Sparkling Mindz handle children's issues in different ways. One way is to model their behavior back to them, asking them to reflect, take perspective and empathize on how/what they are doing or how others feel as a result of their behavior.

Another way is through role plays and this time, the facilitators at preschool decided to role play as children. They chose three scenarios to role play:
a) taking every communication with peers as an attack and being rude in response to attack,
b) self victimizing by saying they have no friends, and
c) wanting to look like the others and not satisfied with how they already look (especially the skin color).

Each scenario explains what the facilitators role played and what children reflected after each of the scenes.

Scenario 1

Friend 1 makes fun of friend 2's drawing that leads friend 2 to be upset and get into a mode of rejecting the other's friendship and her opinion by telling herself things that are not productive.

Reflections
 
An, "The house can be drawn however we want it to be."
Em, "We should not be rude at other's work."
An, "Friend 1 did not care about what the other child said." 
An, "Yes, she cared only about herself."
Sh, "She was hurt!"
Aad "Friend 2 was upset and was telling herself that she wants to be on her own."
Anya " Yes, she kept telling bad things to herself like, I don't like other people and they are rude to me!"

At this point the facilitator asked them, "Did friend 2 telling herself bad things help her?"

All, "Nooo!!!"

Facilitator (F), "What could she tell herself instead?"

Various responses such as, "I like mine, but I don't know why she did not like mine...", "I like mine but maybe she likes the way she draws...", "We should like what others do...", etc., came out.

F, "Are we expecting others to tell good things about us?"
An, without a blink, "Yes!"

F, "Is it ok when somebody doesn't like what we do?"
An, "It's okay I'll like it anyway."
F, "Okay. You can also tell them politely , "I like the way I have painted.""
F2, "So what did we learn from this?"
An, "To be kind to others and ourselves."

And the facilitator added, "Saying good things to ourselves and what we choose to do is not for other people's approval."

Scenario 2

Facilitators role played 2 kids playing and talking about their interests. Another child who wanted to join them did not want to join them as he did not get invited, and how the child 3 feels sad.

​Reflections

​For a very long time I only thought the world was doomed (in an environmental way, and maybe some other ways) but I only voiced it out I never really took much action. That was until I was able to be involved in a journey that I’d always wanted to be part of.  Here’s the journey…

HOW IT STARTED?
At Sparkling Mindz we aim to change the world, to be changemakers and what I soon learnt was we can’t wait for the opportunity of change to be given to us. No! We had to grab it.
With the help of our facilitators grab we did. Our mission this time was about looking at our world, the one we live in, and turn it into the best world it can be. To bring it back to the once  sustainable, original and “green” form. We tried empathising with the land in which we live in and we figured out if kept at the rate at which we were going (which is carelessness of our natural resources and abundance of harmful litter) we weren’t going to go far. So that’s how we started TRUI.

OK, WHAT’S TRUI?
Tinker, 2Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle), Upcycle and Innovate. TRUI, simple, right? Wrong.

TRUI was a mission that needed blueprints, stepping into it just like that wouldn’t necessarily be an ideal plan. The process involved using waste materials and turning it into something useful, TRUI made You the magician. It was one of the centres of our learning this year, making all out learning areas revolve around it. How? Well, taking a pieces of junk and recreating which connects to so much that we have learnt in our learning areas (in other words, all the subjects we learn).  And it reflected in our output.

OUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS
So as said before our learning areas really helped in the ideation process of using TRUI. And here’s our  output. We were able to come up with  a set of ideas which involved making coasters, wind chimes, lamp shades and dust bins. Each learning area helped us in the process of getting here. We’ve already started attempting these and so far it has been fun and we still have so much more to do.

MY LEARNING
Through out this journey I have learnt many things, some I may have known and actually played out and some I found out on the way. There were many learnings that played a role in my learning areas and yet so many that I know I will use in the future for my academics. So other than learning how I can be an innovator, I learnt how being a part of a change that is going to impact the lives of so may people just makes me a better person along the way.

So there it is, a short yet fairly detailed glimpse of our TRUI journey and from the beginning till now I felt like magician, except that I knew the magic that was released was real.


Contributed by Maya Nair, Falcons (Grade 8), Sparkling Mindz Global School.

#reggioemiliainspiredlearning
#gamebasedlearning
#joyouslearning
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​#inspiringconfidentlearners

Before the pandemic and online classes became the new normal, children at Sparkling Mindz had been discussing the 'power within me' in their House Circle. This was a culmination of the theme for the previous year and the various inspiring ways in which the children had engaged with it. 
With the online mode of operation becoming a reality, we decided to bring together their inspiration in the form of a newsletter. Now, if this newsletter had to take forward their House Circle Time, it had to be essentially 'for the students, of the students, by the students'. 
We are glad to say that it is - from compiling their individual inspirations, to documenting their journeys of finding the 'power within me' in the form of a cover story, adding other external elements like crosswords and quotes, requesting a facilitator to write a column, self-learning the aspects of layout on an online platform to the final writing, designing and reviewing - it is an example authentic student-work. It is not perfect, but glorious. It is not a 'product' but an output of genuine student-led learning. It is the start of a new learning curve. It is the first of the many SM Times' to come in the future. 

T is visibly upset, screaming and crying, sitting on her pink mat, "I want H to sit next to me not Ash!!!!!!!"

Now both the classes, Cubs (4 - 5 y/o) and Joeys (5 - 6 y/o) were staring at the scene, wondering what was happening. 

T was then reminded to use her words and that we couldn't help her if we didn't understand why she was so upset. After a few seconds, when nothing seemed to help her calm down, the facilitator (F) stepped in, "Can T please come with me? Let's go to our calming corner."

This was done so that her emotions could be addressed with her calmly and to help her calm herself. 

T and the F then came to their class (Cubs' class) for further discussion,

F: What happened? 
T, still crying, at this point her words are not clear, murmurs something. 
F: You know I can't understand what you are trying to tell me. 
T, calms down and starts to talk after a few seconds: I wanted Ash to sit here (pointing to her left) and H there (pointing to her right). I didn't want Ash to sit here (pointing to her right). 
F: So what can you do about it?
T (now angry): I told her so many times. She didn't listen!
F: Okay, I hear you. 
T: NOOOOOOOO!!! (screaming and crying slightly) She made me upset. 
F: You're saying that she made you feel upset and cry? 
T: Yes.
F: What can T do about this now?
T, now calm: I can take a deep breath and go sit somewhere where there is space. I can make new friends also. I was upset because she made me. 
F: Hmm, so you are saying that somebody else has the power to upset you and make you cry?
T agrees. 
F: So you have given the power to make you feel angry or any other emotions, to people outside of you?
T: Yes. Only others can make me feel bad and happy. 
F: Interesting. So that's what you're choosing to tell yourself ?
T, now pondering, but also agreeing. 
F: Okay. Let's think about it this way, what does this power of yours look like? 
T: Like a mossy rock!
F: Awesome! And?
T: Yellow, bright like that sun (points at the ceiling, to show the sun in the sky). Oh, I don't need that sun, I can make a sun for myself!
F: WOW! And where is this power?
T points into the middle of her chest.
F: In your chest? Wow. So when you give your power away to others, when others have the power to upset you or make you happy, where does this bright mossy sun go? 
T, thinking. No response. 
F continues, "Next time you feel like others have upset you, can you look for that power within you and see where it is?"
T: Yes.
F: And if you that power is missing, what can you do?
T: Put it back in my chest! And I'll be powerful and bright like the sun! (does a little dance)
F: Awesome! Would you like to think about this and come back after a bit, so we can talk more about it?
T: Mm-hmm. 

And off she went hopping and skipping with the power of mossy sun within her! Who knows what hidden powers we carry when we don't stop to introspect or too easily hand over all our power to others to hurt, to anger us. What if, we chose to take back that power and work with it instead? What would your power look like? Have you wondered?

And off she went back to the class, happy as ever. Holding space for children to express their emotions give them the understanding that it's okay to feel what they are feeling without feeling judged. In this space, they feel safe to be themselves, and to be open to express and explore different parts of them.  

Now when T starts to get triggered, she can simply be reminded of the sun to shift it back to within herself and she's good to go. And that's all it takes, to emerge out as an empowered person, to realize and remember that we have the power within us to do whatever it is that we want to, that it is nobody but us who are responsible for our own lives. ​


#sparklingmindzglobalschool
#sparklingmindzglobalpreschool
#socialemotionallearning
#youngachieversacademy
#inspiringconfidentlearners
#everychildcan
#21stcenturylearning
​#powerwithinme

Contributed by Sruthy Krishna, Learning Facilitator at Sparkling Mindz Global Preschool

Sparkling Mindz makes you do things beyond your comfort zone; gently nudging and pushing you to grow.  This one (as you must have guessed from the article) is about HOW I RAN A 12K MARATHON! Actually, how all of us at school ran a 12k Marathon?

Yes, we do run a marathon every year and this year on Oct 2nd, 2019 we all ran a solid 12 kilometers! While at any other place a marathon maybe about running and winning. Not at Sparkling Mindz. Here, it stands for everything that we as Sparkling Mindzians stand for -

1. Beating my best - it was not about comparing with anyone else but bettering our own timing
2. Being one with oneself - spending an hour+ running by yourself can bring out a lot of voices in your head - some that are cheerleaders and others that can be very discouraging
3. Finding my rhythm - running is all about discovering the rhythm in your breath, body and mind and each can find a different one

Something interesting happened on one of our last day of practice,. You must be wondering why bring up a practice session? Well, it was the day where we would run three rounds of around 4K each on site testing whether we could really do 12Kms or not! The moment of truth was here.
​
As soon as we began stretching you could already see the different thoughts running through people's minds, "Yay! We are doing 3 rounds today!", "Can I really run 3 rounds.... [sighs]",  "Oh my, I am so excited! I am sure I can do it", and more.  All of us having different thoughts, all of them that affected our run. Thoughts affected run? Yes! Let's explore what I meant through this.

We began our run and the facilitator screamed a heavy ‘Ready.......Steady.......Go..!’ and all of us ran with our hands moving front and back, our lungs filling with air, our legs drifting across the surface and thoughts running across our minds. All that were there in front of us was the pitch black road with trees on either sides, rocks laying here and there and wind passing by. In the first stretch some of us stopped and some took time off, all based on what we chose to tell ourselves.
We all finished the first round like we were flying through air and when the second round began, things started to get different. Few had pulled themselves up, some had fallen behind, some were determined, some were just talking and others were just walking. All telling themselves different things - ‘I can do this I will finish .’, ‘What! Where is my friend I can’t run like this.’  and ‘[sighs]...I am so tired I am not sure if I can do this’. Throughout the second round there were distractions, motivations, goals and narratives all of them new and some, different. Well, all of us managed through the second round.

​You ever hear the words ‘strong determination’? Well now we witnessed it because in the third round, narratives shifted and patterns changed. Everyone who committed to the third round began and this round started off like a bird taking off with its wings wide open. All of us told ourselves, "We could do it!" All of us with a productive mindset. This round was as fast as the wind and everyone by now was very eager to finish this run and achieve their goals.

The run ended and everyone was stretching- when we closed our eyes and took a deep breath,  we could feel this energy inside of us, something that drove us for the rest of our day. It was a source of power within us.

Why is this so important? Well, because that day the amount of improvement all of us showed was huge, how some of us learnt to shift states and narratives was an achievement. That day was the day when we all gave it our best, the best that we could give then. 

What’s next? Well, we are from Sparkling Mindz...so we want to constantly do more and do better, and so we will! We will continue our practices diligently and continue growing and learning. This is just one of our milestones in the many coming ahead.

Contributed by Meenakshi Tanikella, Falcons (Grade 8), Sparkling Mindz Global School. 
Edited by Sreeja Iyer, CEO & Founder Sparkling Mindz.