The Value of School Field Trips

At The Lotus School, field trips are an essential part of our academic curriculum and our mindfulness program. An interesting article titled “The Educational Value of Field Trips” discusses the value of school field trips and states that: Taking students to an art museum improves critical thinking skills, and more According to this article published by Education Next, “The school field trip has a long history in American public education. For decades, students have piled into yellow buses to visit a variety of cultural institutions, including art, natural history, and science…

Nockamixon State Park Hike

  On a beautiful June day, The Lotus School spent the better part of the school day hiking the trails at Nockamixon State Park. Our school does a visit at least twice a year, as we are fortunate enough to be very close to a trail head. Along the route we stopped to examine forest creatures, skip stones at the lake, and play frisbee. We ended up at a scenic overlook to enjoy our packed lunches before making our way back. Learning opportunities and different perspectives present themselves when we take the classroom…

The Power of Positivity In Your School

At the teacher-powered Lotus School, teachers can enable optimism through focusing on the upside, gratitude, small acts of kindness, emotional mindfulness, brain and body exercise, and positive surroundings. This great article for educators from Edutopia discusses how a positive community of educators within a school has a powerful effect on the students who learn there. Individually, teachers contribute to that positive environment by exhibiting and modeling an optimistic outlook and can-do attitude. Teachers who understand the role that emotions play in learning can…

Printmaking in Art Class

Block Printing in Art Class What is “space” in artwork? How does space affect color and balance? Art 1 students at The Lotus School have been experimenting with how to divide space in a composition. Linocut printing shows a clear distinction between negative and positive space. Students carved reliefs in linoleum blocks that they then used to block print their images. Some students played with multiple plates in a single print; others tested out their color theory by mixing ink colors and trying different combinations of ink color and paper…

Be Kind – To Yourself

Self-Kindness Supports our Well-Being Throughout history, many of the world’s greatest thinkers have talked about how kindness and friendliness are the foundation of well-being, happiness, and connection. It is also the basis of cooperation, which is a key function of empathy. Research shows that a regular practice of kindness – in as little as two weeks – can improve our well-being.  Developing a kind and friendly relationship with ourselves is one of the most powerful expressions of mindfulness practice. We might all try to focus our attention on developing an attitude…