I learned about a one-word check in during my years at @drexeluniv in the Culture of Respect. As an introvert, who's heart palpitates at the mere thought of public speaking, this simple practice of using my voice, being heard, and sharing was incredibly important. It gave me the opportunity to reflect on how I was feeling - beginning to check in with myself. What's going on? How was my day? What's my body and mind feeling? And it was such an amazing tool as an educator and teaching assistant for the class because it allowed us to get a pulse on the vibration of the room for that evening's class. I offer this to you now, and will continue to offer this as a prompt to get us self-reflecting and checking in with our inner feelings and our community. What's your word? #onewordcheckin
At the beginning of every class I taught at my learning co-op (ages 5-9) I would go around the room, in a circle, and offer young people to share a one-word check in with the group. It allowed everyone's voices to be heard, once; without the pressure of saying anything overwhelming (it was only a word); and it helped all of us to practice mindful listening (it was only one word per young person which seemed like an attainable amount of quiet to expect from the others as we listened, made eye contact, and heard the pulse of the room for the day.) it is definitely one of the life skills, self care skills, I offer as a practice in my Mindfulness group workshop. And so easy to implement at home to get littles thinking about their feelings and checking in with their bodies, minds, and hearts. 💗
xoxo - Jessica