Fabric Kids Explore Brave Listening!

Diving into the planning and preparing for the series Hearing Voices, I wondered how we could create space for kids to both spend some time hearing voices of our neighbors that are frequently ignored or systematically quieted and explore the ways that we can grow our brave listening skills.  What does that look like from the perspective of young people whose lens of time is only a decade or less and who have less control over who is in their circles than we do as adults?

We spent the last month learning what comfort and discomfort feel like in our bodies and how we can pause to examine why.  We also got to listen to the voices of children with physical and emotional challenges with the Pacer Puppets, and we explored the idea of what is fair and unfair.  The overwhelming conclusion is that we have only begun to scratch the surface of the conversations that we could have around this topic. But a beginning is a beginning.

This past week we explored some books written for children that do an excellent job of tackling the subject of race and injustice in ways that kids can understand and be challenges by. The books exposed kids to the ideas of whiteness and how our race affects every corner of our lives.  They tackled the tough subject of police shootings of African Americans, and the idea of white privilege. I’m proud of our leaders and kids and the openness that they listened to the stories in these books and how they were willing to ask some hard questions around these subjects.

These books deserve a second look!  We have copies at the office if you would like to borrow them to read at home or I’m sure the library or local bookstore would also have them.

Looking for more ways to widen your circle as a family?

Visit the RACE exhibit at the Minnesota Science Museum!

Go see the show Ruby Bridges at Youth Performance Company!

Spend and afternoon at the Minnesota African American Heritage Museum!

Centering Practices: Creating Focus and Building Community

This fall Fabric Kids have been taking time each week to participate in a few centering practices to help us calm down, gain focus, and to connect together as a group.  One of the things we are aiming at is to help kids to become more aware of their bodies. When we have more awareness in our bodies, we can respond rather than react to what is going on.  A great practice for all of us is to S.T.O.P – Stop what we are doing, Take 3 deep breaths, Observe what is happening around you and then Proceed with awareness.

Here are a few centering practices to try and home:

Slinky Breathing: Hold a slinky in the palm of your hand, settle your body, then with your other hand stretch the slinky up as you breath in and fill up your lungs. As you push the air out of your lungs return the slinky back to your palm, controlling your timing to match your breathing.  Repeat 4-5 times.

Calm Down Jars: You can create a Calm Down Jar using a recycled soda or juice bottle.  Rinse out and then fill 2/3 full with warm water.  Add glitter glue and stir or shake (with lid) until it is mostly incorporated with the water. Then fill up the rest of the way with water.  Put a small bead of hot glue in the lid to secure.  When your body is feeling angry, upset, or worried, shake up the jar and then sit quietly watching the glitter fall back down to the bottom of the jar.  Remember to breathe! 

Tensing and Releasing: Lie down and take a few deep breaths. Say: Tense your stomach muscles for the count of two and then release or relax them.  See how this feels. Say: Now we’ll start this tensing and relaxing with each part of the body, starting with the toes. Clench your toes for the count of two, then release them. Now clench your feet for two, then release. Let’s try your calf muscles. Clench for two, then release. Work your way up your body until you finally finish up by clenching and releasing the top of your head. For added fun, you can ask your child to make a silly face as he clenches his face. Think about how letting go of hurt feelings might feel in your body?

Jungle Yoga: Yoga is a great way to connect with our bodies and the way our bodies are holding onto our feelings.  It’s fun too!  We did Jungle Yoga at the beginning of the year! There are lots of on-line jungle pose ideas or books for kids that you can try!

Cupcake Breathing: Imagine that you are holding your favorite cupcake in your hand. What does it look like?  What flavors would it have?  Now breath in the smell of that cupcake, slowly so you can enjoy every whiff! Now, imagine that the cupcake has a birthday candle on top. Use your inhaled breath to blow out the candle creating an “O” shape with your lips as you are exhaling.  Repeat 5 times.

Raising children with an openness for diversity and inclusion.

On Sunday we held Open Space discussions related to how we can be Fabric, in ways that are inclusive and supportive to all humans.  There were a number of groups that raised questions about families and kids.  I know that as my kids were small, I felt like I was never equipped as well as I wanted to be and often avoided conversations because I was worried about not have the ‘right’ answer or that I would say something to my kids that would end up to be hurtful or offensive.  One of the best ways I found to begin conversations that seemed big or challenging was with books.  There are so many great books out that help introduce gender diversity, pronouns, and all the different ways that families can be!  On Sunday we used books as a way for kids to dig into the same conversations as the adults, in age-appropriate ways!

Click HERE for a list of great books with descriptions