TO MY FRIENDS IN
LITTLE HAITI
We are living in
unprecedented times.
Pokie is an example
of courage,
dedication, and
passion to children
in Little Haiti.
Stories of Pokie’s
adventure with friends
learning to be kind
to ourselves, to our fellow
humans and to all animals
on earth, in the air,
and in the water.
ISBN: All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted in any way by any means electronic, mechanical,
photocopy, recorded or otherwise without the prior permission of the copyright holder,
except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review to be printed in magazine,
newspaper or radio/TV announcement, as provided by USA copyright law.
ISBN: 979-8-9851466-22
Published by Williams and King Publishers
Table of Contents
Introduction _1 – 2
Beach Clean Up Party 3–4
Live the Now 5-6
Nature Hike in the Park
Just Breathe _7 - 8
Diversity Matters Bag 9 - 10
I AM Lion / Affirmation Sheet 11 - 12
Workshop Sheet Coloring / Writing 13 - 14
Love Museum Journal 15 - 16
Author’s Bio 17 - 22
24
INTRODUCTION TO POKIE
Mindful Pokie in the Moment
Pokie teaches that Mindfulness Meditation has a host of positive effects not only when you
meditate, but also afterwards, improving your mood and your social connection.
In this book you will find mindful and interactive activities that you can do with family and
friends. Pokie says that calling a friend when in need and reconnecting with someone who
cares about you can also change your mood, consequently making you feel more connected
to the people around you, especially to the ones who really care for you.
In the morning as you wake up, think about 3-5 things to be grateful for then:
1. Plan your intentions for the day.
2. Next, plan on doing a simple and random act of kindness.
3. You may also write a thankful l e t t e r t o a friend or a family member.
4. Write your affirmations and let us practice together. Close your eyes, tune out the world
and reconnect with the beautiful person you are.
Do your affirmations
I promise myself to be good.
I promise myself to be nice to others.
I promise myself to help at home.
I promise myself to clean up after I have used something.
I promise myself to stay positive.
I promise myself to practice meditation every day.
I promise myself to be kind and use kind
gestures.
1|Mindful Pokie
MINDFUL POKIE
When you are lonely
When you are sad
Pokie is here, child
For you to feel glad
Glad to have friends
Glad to be free
Glad to have hope
And glad for you and me
2|Mindful Pokie
A BEACH CLEAN-UP PARTY
“Where are we going today Pokie, and why are you dressed like this?” ask Dave and Oscar.
“It’s a beautiful day for a walk on the beach,” answers Pokie. “This is not an ordinary
walk on the beach today, we are going to a beach clean-up party! I am wearing a hat to keep
my head from getting sunburned. I am wearing sunblock to keep my face, arms, and legs
protected from a sunburn. I am also wearing shoes to keep my feet safe from the hot sand
and any sharp objects in the sand. My facemask and gloves protect me from germs.”
Dave and Oscar quickly go home to get dressed. What should they wear? Circle what
they should wear for this clean-up party and draw a line to where these items should go on
Pokie.
3|Mindful Pokie
“What will we do at the party?” ask Dave and Oscar.
“We will fill up our buckets with any trash we see on the beach,” answers Pokie. “Trash is
things that should be in a garbage can, like cigarette butts, straws, plastic bags, plastic
bottles, Styrofoam coffee cups, and balloons. These things might look like food to the birds,
turtles, fish, and other animals and living creatures in the water called marine life. Some
examples of marine life are dolphins, whales, sharks, sea turtles, sea lions, penguins, and fish. Marine
life also includes ecosystems like seagrass and coral reefs.”
“Why do we want to do this, Pokie?” ask Dave and Oscar.
“I love my animals and marine life friends,” replies Pokie. “These animals are like babies who
do not know that eating this trash will be bad for them. It will hurt their tummies. I pick up
this trash so that my animal friends are safe. They can be your friends, too! Do you want to be
their friends?”
“YES!” shout Dave and Oscar.“Let’s go now to the clean up!”
Below are some new animal and marine friends for Pokie, Dave, and Oscar. Put a circle
around anything you see that should not be on their friends? We need to talk to our parents,
our neighbors, and our friends about keeping trash in the garbage cans and not on the ground
where it can blow into the sidewalk and street stormwater drains that take the trash right out
into our waterways where our animal friends can be hurt from all that trash!
4|Mindful Pokie
MINDFUL POKIE
Live the Now
I am happy, safe, healthy living with ease.
Practice Healing
I am safe and secure,
I am calm and confident in my ability to heal my body from...
Let’s start healing by practicing love and kindness.
Tools to change your mood
1. Act of giving and showing compassion
2. Respect to someone.
Let’s change the collective energy by being more mindful of the communities
around us by using words that unite us.
May I be safe
May you be safe
May we be safe
May I be happy
May you be happy
May we be happy
May I live with ease
May you live with ease
May we live with ease
5|Mindful Pokie
Meditate with Pokie
Mindful 6P|oMkiniedful |Pok6ie
A NATURE HIKE IN THE PARK
“Yamilah, are you excited to go on a nature hike? It is a beautiful day! What will you wear to the
park?” asked Pokie.
Pokie is wearing a hat, face mask and shoes. He is also wearing a backpack with a sandwich,
an apple, a banana, and a reusable bottle of water inside for his lunch. Also in the backpack,
there is some bug spray and sunblock.Pokie is ready for this hiking adventure with Yamilah,
Jolene, and Mael.
“Pokie, what do you like about hiking outdoors in the park?” asks Jolene.
“We get to see many animal friends!” answers Pokie as his eyes light up. “Seeing my friends
make me happy. I feel good to see them happy, too.”
“Cool,” says Jolene, then sure enough, there was a butterfly bush near the path with several
butterflies and hummingbirds flying and landing on the flowers.
“Hi everyone!” greets Pokie. “Good to see you!”
“Hi, back at you, Pokie!” they answer. “Where are you going?”
“We are going to continue our walk on this park path, then circle back to go home” replies
Pokie. “Enjoy your walk, Pokie!” says everyone. “By the way, I think you might see Stinky and
Randy near the path up ahead. Maybe you will see Thumper Rabbit and Squirrely, too.”
Pokie, Mael, Jolene, and Yamilah take a break to eat their lunch.
“You have so many friends, Pokie,” says Mael.
“Yes, I do,” says Pokie. “These animals can be your friends, too! Be kind to them, and learn
more about them, so you can better understand them. That is how to be a good friend to
animals.”
“I have a question,” says Jolene. “I am happy in the pollinator garden. What is a pollinator?”
“That’s a great question,” answers Pokie. “A pollinator garden has plants and flowers that
have nectar and pollen. These plants attract bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, and other
insects called pollinators.These pollinators move the pollen to make flowering plants.”
Well, sure enough, around the next bend was Stinky and Randy! Stinky is black with a white
stripe running down the back. Skunks squirt an awful smell when they need to protect
themselves from strangers. Randy is a young deer that is just getting antlers. Randy is
jumping around a lot and rubbing the skin off their antlers on a nearby tree bark.
7|Mindful Pokie
“Hi, everyone!” says Pokie smiling. “Isn’t today a beautiful day?”
Stinky is smelling a pretty, yellow flower. “Ah, I lov e the smell of this flower,” he says.
Randy grunts “Hello” and continues to rub his antlers against a tree stump. “I feel itchy,” he
grumbles.
“Great day for a walk!” says Pokie.
Up in a tree, a flick of the tail, Squirrely waves to say “Hi.” Everyone waves back at Squirrely
as theywalk by. Nearing the end of their walk in the park, Thumper Rabbit pops the head
out of a hole in the grass to see Pokie’s friends. Pokie introduces everyone to Thumper
Rabbit.
It is now time to say goodbye to their friends as their walk in the park comes to an end.
“Goodbye friends! What a wonderful adventure we had today in seeing so many animal
friends while on our hike.”
“Goodbye, Pokie! Thank you for being our guide today and meeting so many new animal
friends!” says Jolene, Mael, and Yamilah.
* **
Draw the animals that you just read in the story.
8|Mindful Pokie
JUST BREATHE
“What is mindfulness, Pokie?” asks Yamilah.
“Mindfulness is living the now,” answers Pokie. “It is to be in the moment without judgment.”
“How can I know what the moment is?” inquires Yamilah.
“Now, is when you stay still and you breathe in, then you breathe out, observing the
sensations in your body,” says Pokie. “Let’s try to do it together. We can try to do the lion’s
breath.”
“Oh, lion’s breath? What is that? That sounds interesting,” says Yamilah excitedly.
“The lion’s breath is breathing like the lion in the palms of our hands feeling our warm breath
going in and out and outfocusing on taking in a breath and giving out a breath. Just like the
lion does while he is focusing on his next prey. We are focusing on our breath while
observing the sensations in our body.”
“I really like that,” says Jadore. “I can feel my breath in my hands.”
“It feels warm. This exercise makes me focus Pokie,” says Mael.
“This is a mindfulness tool that we can practice regularly together,” suggests Pokie.
“I would love that!” exclaims Alan. “I like to stay still and just feel the sensations in my
body.”
“Do you sometimes feel anxious or nervous? How does that feel? Where do you feel it?”
asks Pokie.
“I feel it in my head,” says Mael.
“I feel nervous in my heart!” says Yamilah with her hand over her heart.
“I feel nervous in my fingers,” Oscar starts wiggling his fingers.
“Ah!” says Pokie. “I am inviting you to feel comfortable in your seat. Feeling your body as
you normally do. Breathing in and out without forcing your breath nor pushing too much to
follow. Your body is comfortable, and you may notice your back against the chair. Follow
your breath and if you get distracted, come back breathing in and out. Breathe in and out,
noticing the sensations in your body. Observe your body staying quiet for a moment
observing - the now. Continue breathing in and out. Putting our hands on our heart listening
to our heartbeats, breathing in and out.”
9|Mindful Pokie
DIVERSITY MATTERS BAG
“Our artwork today is going to be about expressing tolerance and showing respect to each
other,” Pokie tells his friends, being full of excitement.
“Does that mean we are going to be kind to one another, Pokie?” asks Mael.
“Yes Mael!” says Pokie. “We are also going to have fun drawing and coloring on our tote bag,
today.”
“And how does that show tolerance, Pokie?” asks Jadore.
“Well,” says Pokie, “taking the time to think about Diversity Matters and what it means
to every single one of us, then drawing that on our bag with colors that we like which will
express our feelings and our thoughts.”
“That sounds like fun! I love to draw and color on my bag. This is great! But what does
tolerate mean, Pokie?” asks Yamilah.
Pokie explains, “Tolerate means the ability to accept or the willingness to accept something
even though you may not agree with it.”
“That’s what it means, Pokie?” responds Jadorie. “Well, I tolerate my cousin even though I do
not always agree with some of the things he does or says.”
“That is exactly what it means,” Pokie lights up because he is happy that Jadore understands.
“Drawing and coloring on our tote bag, showing the diversity of our community, writing
Diversity Matters, will send a message of tolerance to everyone.”
“Especially to the ones who don’t agree that Diversity Matters matter, right Pokie?” asks
Jadore.
“Right! Diversity is important, and such a beautiful thing! We can write Love on our
bag as well as drawing hearts and flowers.”
“Oh! I know, I will draw birds on my bag!” exclaims Oscar.
“Me, too!” agrees Mael.
“I will write the Latin words that I heard from Maya Angelou, “Homo sum; humani nil a me
alienum puto,” says Aby.
“Sounds so fancy! What does that mean, Pokie?” asks Liana Faith.
11|Mindful Pokie
“It means, I am a human being, nothing human can be alien to me,” explains Pokie.
“I love that!” chirped in Mael. “I love trees. I am going to draw different types of trees
that we have in my community. Does that also show tolerance, Pokie?”
“Yes, it does Mael. That’s an excellent idea, Mael,” comments Pokie.
“I am going to draw my friends from school because we are different colors,” smiles Dave.
“Excellent idea, Dave,” says Pokie.
D a v e co nti nu es , “I will also write Diversity Matters on my bag because I’m Black and I
think it’s very important that people respect who I am.”
“Yes, it is very important to show respect to yourself,” agrees Pokie. “ And yes, we can also
write: I am beautiful, I am amazing, I am part of the diversity in my community.”
“Right Pokie, sounds so lovely. I want to see your beautiful bags!” Jadore says smiling.
12|Mindful Pokie
I AM
13|Mindful Pokie
Mindful Pokie Lion Affirmation Sheet
Write your own words and color in your Lion
14|Mindful Pokie
Mindful Pokie Workshop Sheet
After reading about Pokie, what emotions come up for you?
Express your emotions through coloring.
15|Mindful Pokie
Mindful Pokie Emotional Learning Workshop
Express your emotions through words and poetry
Diversity Bag with Pokie. Draw and
color all the things that represent the
beautiful diversity that surrounds you.
16|Mindful Pokie
Mindful Pokie Love Museum Journal for 21 days
Write and Draw five things you are grateful for today
Take a moment to be present following your breath. Close your eyes, breathe in, breathe out. Do this meditation with
Pokie, for a whole minute. Open your eyes, write five things you are grateful for today. Do this exercise for 21 days.
Day 1 Day 2
1- 1-
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Day 3 4-
1- 5-
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17|Mindful Pokie
Day 5 Day 6
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Day 7 Day 8
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18|Mindful Pokie
Day 9 Day 10
1- 1-
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Day 11
1-
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19|Mindful Pokie
Day 13 Day 14
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Day 15 Day 16
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20|Mindful Pokie
Day 17 Day 18
1- 1-
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Day 19 Day 20
1- 1-
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5- 5-
21|Mindful Pokie
Day 21
Congratulations!
You have completed your Love Museum Journal.
Celebrate with some beautiful words and drawings to express your gratitude on this big page.
Write a letter to Pokie. 22|Mindful Pokie
Pokie would like to know about your experience.
MindfulPokie
TO: Love Museum Little Haiti - Mindful Pokie
5600 NE 4th Ave. #605, Miami FL 33137
23|Mindful Pokie
Artist, Author and Waldorf Educator Alexandra Jeanty-Leclerc, is the founder of
Mindful Art Education, a community-oriented organization that teaches mindfulness
meditation,the awareness of plastic pollution recycling, sustainable art therapy classes and
fencing in the communities of Little Haiti and Liberty City.
Mindful Pokie is about kindness and mindfulness meditation with Pokie, the character
that livesin the Love Museum in Little Haiti. Pokie is a DJ and teaches children
mindfulness meditation, compassion, love for nature and the world.
I extend a special thanks to my students of Easter Seals in Little Haiti, and Easter Seals for
encouraging my education initiative in the summer of 2020.
24|Mindful Pokie