Where Energy Flows

Once you have a feel for the personality of the class as a whole and its individual personalities you can begin to set your intention for the class for the day, week, project, month, season or year. Part of that intention could be to have yourself and your children seated to maximize the learning experience. Here are some ideas to consider when setting up the classroom.

First, consider your needs:

• place your desk in the “command position” where you have a view of the room which includes the doorways and windows.
• have something solid behind you such as a wall or bookcase to give a feeling of stability.
• have easy access to what you need to work efficiently at your desk.

What are the children’s seating needs?

• try sitting in the children’s desks to see, hear, feel and smell what they do. Is this consistent with your intention for what they are learning at this time?
• individual children may need to be closer or farther from the blackboard or to the right or left of where you stand to teach in order to hear/see well.
• does the child see constant movement through the window/door or are they under a buzzing flourescent light?
• does the desk size fit the child?
• does the child need to see you for cues as to how to behave or activity change?

Another intention may be to have a classroom with a relaxed easy feeling. What about the energy of the room?

• is there a clear path so that you can walk easily through the room?
• is there adequate ventilation or do you need to open the window for 2-3 minutes on a regular basis?
• active activity areas such as an art center may benefit from mobiles hung above to keep the energy moving, clear colors such as yellow to keep children on task
• quiet activity areas for reading/writing/listening may benefit from individual squares of carpet to sit on facing a corner for increased attention.
• children may benefit from energy breaks. Using voice, song, musical instruments, stretching, jumping on the spot or marching will increase the energy of the child and the room in general releasing pent up energy to allow more focus. To focus on quiet activities have the children lay their heads on the desk, cover their eyes with their hands, or give themselves a big hug to settle.
• Breathing can help wake up or settle the room. Ten slow deep breaths for older children or pretending to blow out candles for younger children can increase focus.

Teachers juggle many, many things at once every day. Let the setup of the classroom help you to create the best year ever!

Copyright 2007 Brenda Rosenberg All rights reserved.

Have you ever experienced home sickness as a child away at camp for the first time or as a student sitting on the plastic covered bed of your first tiny dorm room at university? It hurts. You are in a place of feeling excited about the new adventure with butterflies in your stomach but you can feel off balance, without connection, missing the familiar support with little to hang onto and your heart aches for family or friends. Out come the things that connect us to home. Familiar textures, smells, and visual reminders. These are our resources, the reminders of home, friends and family. Soon we have arranged our rooms and are off to meet new challenges.

What is happening when we feel off balance in our own homes? In Feng Shui we talk about there being a lack of energy flow in a home or too much movement of energy. If you are feeling stuck in some aspect of your life look around your home to see if there are areas that block your progress such as an unruly collection of shoes, schoolbags and more just inside the front door. What is the message you get every time you enter this area? If you never seem to be able to sit and enjoy your home does the pathway from the front door seem empty, cold and it sweeps you quickly out again?

What other resources do you have? Perhaps exercise, walking in nature, reading, listening to music, or writing in a journal help you to feel safe and renewed. Does your home provide a comfortable, nourishing place to develop these resources? Does it provide a welcoming area for friends to visit or do they tend to avoid your home? Do your children have a space they can call their own to develop their resources? Developing resources will support you during future times of change. And change they will.

Copyrighted 2007 by Brenda Rosenberg.  All rights reserved.

The kids are out of school. What a wonderful time to prepare for the summer. By taking time to clear out the end of school papers, books and miscellaneous found objects you can set the stage for summer break. This could be the time to instill good habits and good feng shui by sorting through these items to determine which have special meaning and are important to save. Then you can involve the kids in how they want to save it, store it or get rid of it.

This is essentially clutter clearing 101. If you love it, use it or need it to function, it stays. Review each item and consider rotating art projects on display or choosing special writing projects to place in a decorated folder. Now, this review may be more of a challenge to some Moms than kids. Are you a save everything Mom or a throw everything out Mom? Perhaps there is a middle ground that can be found that can honour what the child has accomplished during the year. Determine how much space you are willing to devote to school memories then use your imagination.

School items can enhance the energy in the Children and Creativity area of the home. But, what if this area of the home appears to not be appropriate for children’s art work and writing? Perhaps there is a spot on a shelf, a shadow box on the wall or a decorated box that could fit into your lifestyle. Again, if it makes you happy, puts a smile on your face, or reminds you of the importance of family or the time you spent together creating the memory then you have put it in the right spot.

Copyright 2007 Brenda Rosenberg All rights reserved.

Transitions can be difficult for some children.  Changing topics, changing moods from the excitement of the playground to the quiet time of classroom work, or even leaving the world of a book or story time can present challenges for children and teachers.  Applying the concepts of Space Clearing to the classroom can ease transition time for everyone.

Space clearing involves using your intention to calm an overstimulated room or energize an oppressive one.  Space clearing changes the vibration and mood of a room.  Have you ever walked into a room and knew by how it felt that an arguement had occured?  Or perhaps walked into a classroom where the excitement level was too much to handle? 

To calm a classroom you could use Music for Modulation by TempoSpace Productions.  Next have the children alternately breathe in and out through one nostril then through the other for three minutes.  Placing their hands over their eyes can help calm prevail by eliminating one of their senses so they can focus inside.  A gentle small bell can alert everyone that it is time to pay attention to these activities, beginning the process.  By making this a routine that children know is aimed at calming the room everyone will soon have this a common goal.