Artful Reflections

Experiment with Light

Artful Reflections

We've been using Painted Reflection Journals to make our thinking visible at Lower School for years. We began the practice 6 years ago in kindergarten and it has grown up through the grades over the years. There are a few classes who haven't yet discovered the power of exploring ideas, making connections, considering perspectives, etc. through artful thinking and reflecting. I'm sure that they'll discover this tool soon!

This is where we are:

REFLECTION JOURNALS

The power of any reflective experience is relies on the idea or provocation for reflection.  In order to teach and learn for understanding, time is needed for reflecting as an opportunity to synthesize and consolidate our learning.* 

Artistic expression, painting and drawing included, are a form of reasoning called visual thinking.  These journals are a place for that thinking to take place - for students to create their own visual metaphors. 

To make these reflection journals something that will really push students’ thinking and advance their understanding, students aren’t just be asked to reflect and then given some paints while the teachers wait for great things to happen.  We have to think carefully about what we want students to think about and how these moments of reflection will connect to our thinking and learning.

We reflect on:

Stories we either read aloud or share orally

Themes or connections we make during storytime, Roots, Community Meeting, etc.

The meaning of a poem the class had shared

A shared experience we have had as a class community

Ideas centered around Quakerism, Peace, Friendship  

Center, Settle, Listen, Reflect, Create

*adapted from Lisa Verkerk and Denise Coffin

Recently we thought about stitching together this work with artful thinking and our Quaker reflections. We turned to our own practices with Experiment with Light.

I researched the work of Rex Ambler and George Fox's intentions/experiences. I also found inspiration in the simplicity of the UK Experiment with Light blog. I took on some of the language that this group uses in the four step meditation and I added/made changes to make it accessible to an elementary audience.

BE STILL (breath and body):

1)   Mind the Light

Listen to you. Listen for sticky spots. Look inward.

2)   Be Open

Look for your own truth. Don’t be wary of discomfort. “Be still and cool in thy mind.”

3)   Be Patient

Wait. Let the Light show you the way. Wait for the answers to come, don’t try to rush or force it.

4)   Submit artfully

Accept and welcome ideas, insights, dreams, truth. Let artful reflection make the Light and the way visible.

Reflect using any form of artful expression. This is not an art lesson, it is a meditation or reflection. Consider color, shape, line, symbol, image as tools for reflecting and minding the Light.

This meditation is wonderful for faculty and parent communities as well as in my classroom!