Stargirl - Creative Activities in the Arts for Mindfulness

How many of you have an "Enchanted Place?"  A place where you can go either physically or in your mind?  A place where you can "close your eyes and erase yourself."  Chapter 17 in the book Stargirl describes her Enchanted Place and it is also beautifully portrayed in the Disney + movie.  Create an Enchanted Place of your own. Travel there to feel relaxed and a sense of peacefulness especially when you feel stressed and experience anxiety.   Let Stargirl guide you in finding and creating your personal Enchanted Place.

1.  Sit cross legged in a comfortable position and take off your shoes.  Stargirl calls this the art of doing nothing.  A deeper kind of nothing!

2. Training your mind to do nothing is a challenge! It is difficult to mentally rest. Our mind is always bouncing from thought to thought.

3.  Now, imagine that you have a GIANT eraser.  Begin at your feet and focus on erasing yourself bit by bit until you have nothing left to erase but your mind.  Training your mind and calming your senses is the hardest part.

4. You will become most peaceful when you can erase all the thoughts cluttering your mind.  Only then can you achieve "nothingness."

5.  Once you achieve "nothingness," you will experience a sense of peace.

                                                     

Here are a few creative ideas for you,  Have some fun!

If your "enchanted place" is a physical spot you like to go, Draw or Paint it.

Create an "imaginary enchanted place."  Draw or paint it.

After you have returned from "nothingness'' write a poem or story.

Journal how you feel?  Were you able to achieve a peaceful state of mind?  Did you feel more relaxed physically?  Does it become easier each time you erase yourself?

Find some relaxing music to play while you "erase" yourself.

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Stargirl - Acts of Kindness Challenge

Have you watched the Disney Plus movie Stargirl? If not... what are you waiting for? It is perfectly cast and there are so many special moments and lessons for girls to learn about individuality, social relationships, self esteem, goal setting, acts of kindness, creativity, mindfullness and more. You could also read the book of the same title by Jerry Spinelli.

Today's blog focuses on Acts of Kindness:

In this time of distress, many of us are experiencing anxiety. Anxiety is a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome. Sound like what we are all experiencing today!


Why not refocus our attention to ACTS OF KINDNESS? That was one of Stargirls special traits and often she never let on that she was the person initiating the Act of Kindness. She made cards, sang songs, gave secret presents and thought of original ways to make someone happy.

Stargirl Challenge.
Many people, old and young are experiencing anxiety. Many parents are stressed because the schools are closed. Be creative! What Act of Kindness can you develop and carry out?
Think of the elderly that live in your neighborhood, someone who is sick, someone who is scared... take time to put a smile on their face! The Arts are a GREAT way to accomplish this!

Post your idea at stargirl-program.blogspot.com
You will also find more activities!

Stargirl Blackout Poetry

Blackout Poetry is fun for kids and adults alike.   All you have to do is select words of interest
from a written page such as a magazine, book, or other printed material.  We used a worn Stargirl book for ours.

Blackout Poetry is about deconstruction and then reconstruction.  A blackout poet believes that there is a poem lying within the words of any page.  You just have to discover it!  Single words and short phrases, when pieced together, can form a masterpiece!  To create yours, do the following:

1.  Materials: Plenty of black sharpies, pencils, and other colored markers.

2.  Find a Stargirl book that has been worn.  Carefully rip out some of the pages. 

3. Allow the students to select several pages.

4. Instruct the students to scan the page and look for key words that might form a theme.

5. Read the page and circle words with a pencil that stand out on the page.  You may not change the order.  Do not circle more than 3 words in a row.

6. Analyze the words circled and create your poem.  Erase the words you do not want to use.

7.  Decide on an illustration to enhance your poem. Do not color over your words.

8.  Create a masterpiece.  Share your poems in a Blackout Poem Gallery.

See the examples below:

                                                                 Page 95 - Stargirl

We were alone
The only ones in school
Walking in the hall
Noise melted away
Utterly alone
Two people in a universe of space and stars.
I had dreamed!

                                                                      Noteworthy
                                                                      Interesting
                                                    Strumming, Singing, Strutting, Twirling
                                                                     She's not real!