21st September Pause the World Day; World Gratitude Day

Pause the World Day is a day to turn off all the extra noise in our lives that raises our blood pressure and stresses us out. On this day, the world should be paused and our troubles should be forgotten. True silence is a rarity in our modern lives, but it can help us connect with ourselves and listen to our emotions.

World Gratitude Day is also observed each year on September 21st. It began in 1965 and was created by the spiritual and meditation leader Sri Chinmoy. The purpose of this holiday is to foster feelings of appreciation, positivity, worthiness, and connection, which can create a ripple effect of benefits for everyone involved. 

Can we combine these days into one celebration? Is it a time for all those mindfulness books? Can we think of all the things we are grateful for while enjoying the silence? We show gratitude to the people in our lives by giving them the space and time for some silence. I'm reminded of poor Mrs Large in Five Minutes Peace who just needed a short time out for herself. 

If you are good at meditation or creating calm with your students you will have a handful of go-to picture books that you use. If you don't and would like to explore these sort of books look at my Mindfulness Pinterest. Here's some books to look for in the library.

25th February Quiet Day

    

Quiet Day, also known as Don't Utter a Word Day, is observed annually on February 25th. It  was established to remind us to slow down and give silence a chance. It is about taking a pause and appreciating the sound of silence. Noise is everywhere — be it on the train, in a busy office, in the classroom, or even at home!

Most religions advocate for quiet and the wonders it can do for one’s emotional and physical well-being. They advocate for meditation and reflection.

Surrounding ourselves with peace and clarity can open our minds to new experiences and inspire us to lead more meaningful lives. 

It is very hard to get a class full of children to be completely quiet for any length of time, but some students do find their classrooms and the playground 'noisy'. These students come to the library at lunchtime and say can you make it quiet here. Even that isn't always possible because there are groups of children using puppets, doing jigsaw puzzles, drawing ... Perhaps I should invest in some headphones for the library, but I do like the congenial, cross-grade chat that occurs at lunchtime.

I will do a display of books for Quiet Day in the hope that some of them may spark some good discussions about silence and its virtues.

Books to display:

•  Be Quiet!  by Ryan T. Higgins

• Silence  by Lemniscates

•  Quiet by Tommy de Paola

• The Quiet Book  by Deborah Underwood

• The Quiet Place  by Sarah Stewart

• A Quiet Girl  by Peter Carnavas

• Quiet as a Mouse  by Martha Lightfoot

• Charlotte and the Quiet Place  by Deborah Sosin  Sara Woolley

• The Sound of Silence  by Katrina Goldsaito & Julia Kuo

• Hush! by Minfong Ho & Holly Meade 

• The Silence Slips In  by Alison Hughes & Ninon Pelletier

• I Am Quiet  by Andie Powers and Betsy Petersen

• Silence  by Lena Shamshurina

• Why Are You So Quiet? by Jaclyn Desforges & Risa Hugo

• Mole's Quiet Place  by Jane Chapman

• When I Listen to Silence  by Jean E. Pendziwol & Carmen Mok

• Quiet, Please!  by Russ Williams

• I Don't Want to be Quiet! by Laura Ellen Anderson

• Shhh! Quiet!  by Nicola Kinnear

31st March RIP Tomie dePaola

"In this gorgeous and contemplative New York Times bestselling picture book, legendary author-illustrator Tomie dePaola reminds us that mindfulness--being quiet, still, and present with one another--is a very special thing. Everything is in such a hurry, busy as busy can be.  
The birds are flying so fast, the dragonfly is zooming over the water--even the trees are waving their leaves. 

So what if we sit here, you next to me...and we can just be? "

This is what I did when I heard the sad news about the passing of Tomie dePaola, who was such a 'giant' in the  children's picture book world. Everyone is getting more time to sit, notice things around them and just be at the moment so how fitting that we have this book to remind us of wonder, awe, beauty and the skills of an author illustrator!

Pause and remember his brilliance while you watch and read.