Day One:
Students will learn about mindfulness through the book Here and Now by Julia Denos, illustrated by E.B. Goodale. The goal is to help them understand how being aware of the present moment can make them feel calmer and more appreciative. They will explore the concept of time (PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE) and how focusing on their five senses can help them stay grounded in the PRESENT moment. Students will notice what’s around them—listening to sounds, feeling different textures, smelling scents, and tasting flavors, to fully experience “now.”
Together, they will discuss how each season (Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer) uniquely engages the five senses. Students will first explore seasonal activities and sensory details, such as raking leaves in fall or hearing birds in spring. They may then choose to include personal connections, like family traditions or special celebrations, to make their present-moment experiences unique to them. As a culminating activity, each student will select a personal moment when they felt fully present and illustrate the senses they experienced using pencils and crayons.
Day Two:
Students will continue developing their compositions by discussing how colors can express a mood. They will observe the different colors in the sky, noting how they change depending on the weather and time of day. Then, they will consider which colors depict certain moods for them personally. Using this knowledge, they will create a drawing that tells a personal narrative, expressing both mood and mindfulness through color. To conclude, students will present their artwork to the class, explaining which senses they highlighted, what seasonal or personal details they included, and how their chosen colors express their feelings in that present-moment experience.
