mandalas Archives - Susan Fitzell https://susanfitzell.com/tag/mandalas/ The Modern Day MacGyver of Business and Education! Fri, 17 Sep 2010 16:27:14 +0000 en hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.1 https://susanfitzell.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/cropped-favicon2-32x32.png mandalas Archives - Susan Fitzell https://susanfitzell.com/tag/mandalas/ 32 32 Sit Back, Relax, and…Color a Mandala? https://susanfitzell.com/sit-back-relax-and-color-a-mandala/ Fri, 17 Sep 2010 16:27:14 +0000 http://www.thehomeworkguru.com/?p=245 When other relaxation techniques such as deep-breathing fail, coloring a mandala may be the answer to relieving a student's stress.

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]]> When a student has a large or challenging assignment, it is easy for them to become frustrated, stressed and unfocused.  When other relaxation techniques such as deep-breathing fail, coloring a mandala may be the answer to relieving the student’s stress.

A mandala is a geometric or pictorial design often enclosed in a circle.  Coloring one can help to calm the mind and kindle creativity.

How they work:

  • Coloring from the center to the edge broadens attention
  • Coloring from the edge to the center focuses attention
  • Relaxes the body
  • Activates the right brain
  • Visual prompt/structural map for writing feelings in a poem, song or composition

A good source for mandalas can be found at http://www.mandali.com

Mandalas can also be a useful tool in the classroom to help calm a rowdy, inattentive class, or help students focus before a test.

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]]> Mandalas: A Classroom Management Strategy https://susanfitzell.com/mandalas-a-classroom-management-strategy/ Sun, 26 Jul 2009 06:14:47 +0000 http://susanfitzell.edublogs.org/?p=148 Value of Mandalas in the Classroom I’ve often talked about the value of mandalas for their calming effect on students and their ability to expand creativity. Michelle Waymouth attended one of my seminars and shared that her students love mandalas and are proud of their work. She said that one year she pieced all of […]

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]]> Value of Mandalas in the Classroom

I’ve often talked about the value of mandalas for their calming effect on students and their ability to expand creativity. Michelle Waymouth attended one of my seminars and shared that her students love mandalas and are proud of their work. She said that one year she pieced all of her students’ paper mandalas into a “quilt” and hung it in the hallway. Students were encouraged to write a message about how their mandala made them feel. Those messages were also hung up next to the quilt.

Jennifer Jones, from Ector County ISD, suggests putting a mandala (with enough copies for each student) into each of her substitute folders. The students can work on their mandalas and give the substitute teacher some time to prepare.

Mandala
Mandalas can also be useful teaching tools. They lend themselves well to math and geometry lessons, and they can also be incorporated into units about Native American or Asian cultures.

Mandala patterns can be simple to complex and can be purchased or downloaded for free. Just do an image search, download the patterns you like, and print them for your students. My website also has several hand made mandala designs that you can use in your classrooms. Enjoy!

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]]> Thank you Northeast Regional Education Coop (Rec 4) from Las Vegas, NM https://susanfitzell.com/thank-you-northeast-regional-education-coop-rec-4-from-las-vegas-nm/ Sun, 28 Sep 2008 00:43:42 +0000 http://susanfitzell.edublogs.org/?p=78 Presented Differentiated Instruction Strategies Tuesday, I presented “A Differentiated Instruction Strategy Blast” at a conference held by the Northeast Regional Education Coop (Rec 4) from Las Vegas, NM. We had a great day discussing strategies for differentiating curricula and how it can raise student test scores and encourage success for both students and teachers. They […]

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]]> Presented Differentiated Instruction Strategies
Tuesday, I presented “A Differentiated Instruction Strategy Blast” at a conference held by the Northeast Regional Education Coop (Rec 4) from Las Vegas, NM. We had a great day discussing strategies for differentiating curricula and how it can raise student test scores and encourage success for both students and teachers. They were a fabulous group with a lot of questions and willing to share their best tips for student success.
Here are a couple shared tips:
Students who fidget often find it calming to use stress balls. An inexpensive solution to obtaining stress balls is to make your own. You’ll need:

 

  • Balloons
  • Flour or Baking Soda
  • A paper funnel for pouring the Flour or Baking Soda into the balloon.

Instructions:

  • Fill the balloon using a paper funnel.
  • Tie the end of the balloon and squeeze away!

This tip was contributed by Lisa Burciaga Segura, NM: NE Regional Education Coop. (Rec 4).

Another educator who chose to remain nameless suggested that teachers could use pieces of swim noodles  as a buffer for tapping pencils and pens. Tap on the swim noodle! Other options are tapping on pieces of soft sponge or mouse pads.

When I mentioned the calming effect of coloring mandalas, one teacher shared www.papersnowflakes.com. This website has access to mandala style snow flakes and many other cool links.

Thanks once again for all your hospitality and all the positive feedback I received after the seminar. I had a great time and I hope you not only learned a lot to help your students and teachers, but that  you had a great time, too!

 

 

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