Briarcliff First Graders Create Lucky Shamrocks

from the Briarcliff Manor Union Free School District:

In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, first graders in Jennifer Horowitz’s class had a mindfulness lesson with school counselor Gillian O’Connell that was all about being lucky and feeling gratitude.

Students began with a guided “mindful moment” and with eyes closed, focused on their breath.

“Take a moment to focus on luck,” Ms. O’Connell said to the students. “What does it feel like to be lucky? Picture a time that you felt really lucky - what was the situation like? Revisit that situation and play it in your mind like a movie. Why are you lucky to be you? Focus on the reasons that you are lucky to be the amazing person that you are.”

Students sat at their desks with their eyes closed and thought about all the reasons they had for being lucky.

“When we turn our attention to things that make us feel lucky, we start to feel grateful about things that we have in our lives,” Ms. O’Connell said.

When the guided “mindful moment” was over, Ms. O’Connell showed the students a shamrock that she created.

She wrote on the shamrock all the things that make her feel lucky, such as having a healthy family, having great friends and having a wonderful job.

Ms. O’Connell and Ms. Horowitz helped students brainstorm ideas for why they feel lucky.

Some answered, “I have the best teachers and friends,” “I have my family,” “I feel lucky because I am loved,” “I am lucky because I am kind,” and “I feel lucky because I have great parents.”

“I feel lucky because I am healthy,” Ms. Horowitz said.

Next, students wrote the reasons they felt lucky on heart-shaped pieces of paper and used markers to trace their words. They colored the paper hearts, cut them, and after coloring the shamrock’s stem, they glued the leaves together to create a beautiful lucky shamrock that can remind them of how lucky they are.

This press release was produced by the Briarcliff Manor Union Free School District. The views expressed here are the author’s own.