{"id":196,"date":"2012-09-23T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2012-09-23T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/4ecafb51-c72e-4174-ba97-d4b161d39841"},"modified":"2012-09-23T05:00:00","modified_gmt":"2012-09-23T05:00:00","slug":"finding-your-center-a-pedagogical-story-for-anxious-children-of-all-ages","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/thewonderchildblog.com\/?p=196","title":{"rendered":"Finding Your Center: A Pedagogical Story For Anxious Children of All Ages"},"content":{"rendered":"

Finding Your Center<\/span><\/p>\n

A Pedagogical Story for Anxious Children<\/span><\/p>\n

of All Ages<\/span><\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n


<\/span><\/p>\n

As many of
\nyou know I am back in the Waldorf School teaching first grade.  It is such a gift to be able to freely teach
\nthe whole child.  One of the ways this is
\ndone is through stories.  Since the first
\nday of school I have been telling the children a running story that weaves
\naround the Great Secret of Beauty.  In
\nthe story a boy and a girl, a grandfather, an angel, a dragon, and various other
\ncharacters appear and have many adventures and talks together. The subjects and
\nthemes of the story are culled from where I think the emotional states of the
\nchildren are.  Since there are a few students
\nwho are a little nervous or anxious for one reason or another, this part of the
\nstory came out.  It is for all children,
\nbig and small who sometimes feel afraid and do things they wish they didn\u2019t.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

One day the
\nboy was sitting in the grass in his backyard. 
\nHe had been thinking about what the dragon had said to him the day
\nbefore.  For sometimes when it seems a
\nchild is not listening, it is well to remember that it only seems that
\nway.  Children are listening, and when
\nthey are ready they will reflect on what you have said.  And on this particular morning, the boy was
\nthinking about what his friend the dragon had told him the day before.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI used to
\nhit people with my tail,\u201d said the dragon, \u201cIn fact, I used to eat people. I
\ndon\u2019t know why I did these things.  I
\nguess I was actually nervous and afraid and my fears came out like that.  And besides, people are yummy.\u201d<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBut how did
\nyou learn to not hit and eat people?\u201d asked the boy.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTime,\u201d said
\nthe dragon, \u201cit took time and practice.\u201d<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWill I ever
\nchange?\u201d asked the boy, \u201cI don\u2019t want to hit my friends and say mean
\nthings.  I just want to have fun and
\nsometimes I worry I will never change.\u201d<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

And as he
\nwas remembering the dragon\u2019s answer he heard another voice, a tiny, slow voice.  One that came as if it measured every word it
\nsaid.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou are
\nchanging,\u201d said the voice, \u201cand your friend was right, it takes time.\u201d<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHow did you
\nknow what I was thinking?\u201d the boy asked the keeper of the voice he could not
\nyet see.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou were
\nthinking out loud,\u201d said the voice.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

And then the
\nboy\u2019s ears caught the direction of the sound and when he followed that direction
\nwith his eyes, he found the source of that slow, measured voice.  It was coming from a snail sliding slowly
\ntowards him carrying his great, spiraling house upon his back.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOh, hello
\nsnail.\u201d<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cGood
\nmorning,\u201d said the snail stopping to rest on the leaf of an autumn colored mum.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSo you
\nthink I can change?\u201d asked the boy, \u201cYou really think I will stop hitting other
\nchildren?  I really don\u2019t want to hurt
\nanyone.  It\u2019s just that sometimes I get so
\nmad, especially when I\u2019m feeling scared, and then before I realize what\u2019s
\nhappened, I\u2019ve hurt someone.\u201d<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCan change?\u201d
\nsaid the snail, \u201cYou are changing.  Some
\nchanges are quick, like a shooting star flashing across the night sky; other
\nchanges are slow, like winter melting into spring.  You need to practice of course, find other
\nways to move through your fears and worries. 
\nYou need to find your center. But you are changing, rest assured.\u201d<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy center?  What does that mean?\u201d<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s how I
\nbuilt this house I carry with me.  And I
\nbuilt it without any hands.\u201d<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m afraid
\nI don\u2019t understand,\u201d said the boy, \u201csometimes I feel like I don\u2019t understand
\nanything.\u201d<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWell,\u201d said
\nthe snail, \u201cwalk the path of my house with me. 
\nI\u2019ll lead you around the lawn.  As
\nwe walk the shape of my spiraling shell, think of a place you like to go when
\nyou are feeling afraid.  Think of a thing
\nyou like to do that helps you feel calm, peaceful, and happy.  And as we walk this spiraling walk you will
\ndiscover your center.\u201d<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

And so the
\nsnail slipped slowly to the ground and began sliding through the grass a great
\nspiral, a labyrinth that slowly unfurled inwards towards a still, focused center.  The boy walked behind the snail, careful not
\nto go ahead or step on the snail, for his steps were much bigger than the
\nsliding trail of the talking snail.  As
\nthey moved together, the boy thought about times he was mad or afraid, nervous
\nor scared and he suddenly remembered that when he felt those ways he often
\nfound himself drawing.  In fact, as he
\nneared the center of the spiral he knew\u2014drawing was his centering place. And as
\nhe stood in the center of the spiral, the spiral drawn by the snail, he felt
\nhappy and relieved to know he had a place to go when he felt uncomfortable
\nfeelings.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSo you see,\u201d
\nsaid the snail, with a voice as gradual as the dawn, \u201cwe all have a
\ncenter.  We all have something we can do,
\nor a place we can go where we can pause, rest, and calm ourselves down.  And when we go to that place, or do that
\nthing, over and over, over time and over years, we build ourselves a house, a
\nhouse we can carry within, well, in my case on my back, but the point is, we
\nbuild ourselves a house of habits\u2014healthy, helpful habits.  And these become a safe place to go.\u201d<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI
\nunderstand,\u201d said the boy, \u201cis it OK if I have more than one centering place?\u201d<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOf
\ncourse!  You humans are like that.  They have many mansions within themselves
\nthat they can explore when they need to.\u201d<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOh good,\u201d
\nsaid the boy, \u201cbecause mostly I draw when I\u2019m feeling nervous, but other times
\nI go for walks, ride my bike, talk with grandfather, and sometimes, and you\u2019re
\nthe first person I\u2019ve ever told this: sometimes I even sing and dance.\u201d<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWonderful!\u201d
\nsaid the snail, \u201cThank you for telling me. 
\nThose are all perfect places to go and things to do to find your center.  And the more you go to those places, and the
\nmore you do the things you love, you will find yourself hitting your friends
\nless and less.  You will find yourself
\nsaying fewer and fewer naughty things. 
\nIn fact you will see that your friends have their own centering places
\nand things they love and you\u2019ll know then that they too have hearts that
\nsometimes feel afraid and nervous just like you do, and then you will find
\nyourself just being nice because you are really so much alike.  And oh, what fun you will have sharing your
\ncenters, inviting your friends to walk with you, draw with you, and sing with
\nyou.\u201d<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThat does
\nsound fun,\u201d said the boy.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWell,\u201d said
\nthe snail, \u201cI must be off, I have to get into town soon and meet the man who
\nowns the bicycle store. I am going to buy a bike today!  Toodle-Loo!\u201d<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWait,\u201d said
\nthe boy, \u201cI have one more question please.\u201d<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAsk away.\u201d<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWell,
\nsometimes I forget my centering places. 
\nWhat should I do then?\u201d<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBreathe,\u201d
\nsaid the snail, \u201cBreathe deeply from your belly, still yourself like a mountain,
\nand that will help center you.\u201d<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThank you,\u201d
\nsaid the boy.<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re
\nwelcome,\u201d said the snail, \u201cand another thing you can do to help yourself find
\nyour centering place is to talk with someone you trust.  Sometimes we all need help finding our centering
\nplaces.\u201d<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

And with
\nthat the snail raced towards town, which if you were looking at the snail you would
\nnever have guessed he was racing.  You
\nwould have just thought: \u201cThere goes the slowest friend I know.  Look at him go carrying his house upon his back,
\ncarrying his centering place that he built without any hands; that he built
\nwith the slow, patient practice of centering himself.  There he goes to go buy a bike.  A bike? 
\nHow is he going to ride a bike?\u201d<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

And once the
\nstory was over, without me ever asking: \u201cDo you have a centering place or
\nsomething you do that helps you feel better when you\u2019re feeling afraid?\u201d, the
\nchildren, one by one, shared their centering places. <\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI go to a
\nstill, quiet place.\u201d<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI draw.\u201d<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI go for
\nwalks.\u201d<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI ride my
\nbike.\u201d<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI
\nskateboard.\u201d<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI sleep.\u201d<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI read.\u201d<\/o:p><\/span><\/p>\n

“I pet my cat.”<\/span><\/p>\n

And while I
\ndid not ask them, I will ask you.  <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhere
\nis your centering place?  <\/span><\/p>\n

What do you do
\nwhen you\u2019re feeling anxious and afraid?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

Copyright Joseph Anthony of the Wonder Child Blog<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Finding Your Center A Pedagogical Story for Anxious Children of All Ages As many of you know I am back in the Waldorf School teaching first grade.  It is such a gift to be able to freely teach the whole child.  One of the ways this is done is through stories.  Since the first day […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[19,11,20,16],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/thewonderchildblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/thewonderchildblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/thewonderchildblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thewonderchildblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thewonderchildblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=196"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/thewonderchildblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/thewonderchildblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=196"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thewonderchildblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=196"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thewonderchildblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=196"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}