Keynote for Kindergarteners: Unlocking Self-Awareness with Magic Move and Shapes

As a trained high school chemistry teacher, pivoting to teaching younger students  has been a humbling experience -particularly kindergartners. Even in my short time at the elementary school, I have come to understand that kindergarten is a pivotal time for children to develop a sense of their own identity, and self-regulation, which are keystones of emotional intelligence. As the Technology & Integration Coordinator, I am also responsible for the digital skills development of my learners. This combination of roles has provided an excellent opportunity to combine students’ digital skills with  creating their own mindful moment clips.

The Shape of Breathing

Breathing is one of the simplest ways to ground oneself when emotions arise. A great way for the little ones to learn and practice how to ground themselves is through the use of visual aids. Keynote’s versatile Shape library provides a rich palette through which  children can express themselves. For this project, students can select their shapes, resize their shapes, and place it in a blank template as follows:

The Magic of Magic Move

Keynote's Magic Move creates seamless transitions between slides, animating objects to morph and move fluidly. For kindergarteners, this can be a captivating way to ground themselves during breathing exercises. Imagine a child creating a slide with a small circle that gradually transforms into a bigger one, representing their breath as they inhale and exhale. Students simply had to duplicate their first slide and resize the shape to a larger one, like so: 

To simulate breathing, I would ask my students to duplicate the first two slides for 5 breaths - to a total of 10 slides. After which, we would select presentation mode, and the final product would look like this:

Key Benefits for Kindergarteners

• Visual Emotional Vocabulary: Using shapes and animations to represent feelings helps children develop a richer emotional vocabulary.
• Self-Reflection: Creating visual narratives encourages introspection and self-understanding.
• Communication Skills: Sharing their Keynote creations with peers and teachers to be used during Mindful Moments in the day enhances communication and social skills.

Tips for Implementation

• Connect with a Picture Book: I work closely with the school's librarian for the students' Innovation lessons, and we often start our lessons with a story and transition into an innovation task. Connecting with a picture book like Ruby's Worry by Tom Percival or A Little Spot of Feelings: Emotion Detective by Diane Alber would be a great introduction to the lesson activity.
• Classroom: In addition to managing students’ devices, Classroom also allows templates to be sent to specific student’s iPads via Airdrop. The lock after opening an app feature in Classroom ensures that students are focused on the task at hand.
• Celebrate Individuality: Emphasize that there's no right or wrong way to express oneself, fostering a safe and inclusive environment.

By harnessing the power of Keynote's Magic Move and Shapes, we can empower kindergarteners to embark on a journey of self-discovery and mindful self expression. Using this innovative approach can support our young learners in unlocking new expressions of self in the classroom.