The positive benefits of teaching mindfulness activities to children have been proven across a number of studies. Incorporating mindfulness into everyday classroom activity is becoming more and more common. A five or ten-minute daily mindfulness practice can see students reduce stress and anxiety, increase concentration and engagement, sleep better, improve social skills, and develop problem-solving and decision-making skills.
Spend time preparing to incorporate Mindfulness in your classroom. Talk about what Mindfulness is, show your students the clips below so that they understand the evidence base and how it can help with wellbeing and learning. Develop a common understanding of what a regular mindfulness practice will look like in your classroom and how it can be successful. Make an anchor chart that you and the students can refer back to with your class’ collective understandings listed explicitly.
In the classroom, mindful meditation works best when the teacher practices it with students.
What is Mindfulness?
What is Mindfulness?
How Mindfulness Empowers Us (Sharon Salzberg)
MINDFULNESS RESOURCES
You can expose your students to all the different mindfulness offerings and have them choose the one that they like best.
Register with Smiling Minds and choose a different Mindful Meditation each day based on your year level. https://app.smilingmind.com.au/
You Tube has a Smiling Minds channel – this is an example
Use your “Mindful Moments” booklet given to you at the beginning of the year.
Zen Den (Cosmic Yoga)
Peaceful Kids
I am Peace
My Magic Breathe (with the Chicago Symphnoy Orchestra)
Breathe Like A Bear
CARING OPENINGS
1. Silent 60: Start the class by having all students sit quietly for 60 seconds to get themselves ready for learning. You can add a focus on a particular sound in the room, an image you provide (e.g., a dot on a piece of paper, an abstract picture you put up on a screen), or their breathing. Start with 15 seconds for early elementary students and gradually increase. Begin with 20–30 seconds for upper elementary.
2. Powerful Listening: Ring a bell, use a wind chime, or employ another object that makes a long, trailing sound. Ask students to listen and raise their hands when they no longer can hear the sound. After all agree that the sound has stopped, set a timer for one minute, ask students to sit quietly, and then when time is up, ask them what they heard during that minute.
3. One Minute for Good: Start the class by having students reflect for a minute about something that has gone well or something that they are grateful for. This can be done in writing, pair shares, or small or large group discussions. Larger groups work best for early elementary.
4. Morning Classroom Conversations: Start the day with a quote that can stimulate short conversations to help middle and high school students begin to interact with classmates in supportive ways. Sample conversation prompts can be found here.
IN THE MOMENT
5. Three Breaths: Have students take three deep breaths at regular intervals, such as before class changes or whenever strong feelings of anxiety or tension arise. Teachers should instruct students on this breathing technique and create visual reminders and prompting signals for students to begin. This is a valuable practice for staff as well, as expert mindfulness teacher Danielle Nuhfer, who has compiled an array of marvelous techniques in The Path of the Mindful Teacher, shared with me:
“The great thing about Three Breaths is that if the teacher would like to share with students what he/she is doing, they can. I’ve been known to pause, put my hand on my chest/heart, tell my class that I need a moment, and take three breaths. This is something that is a great way to demonstrate our own emotional regulation. When students witness their teacher work through a stressful situation in a way that demonstrates awareness and presence, they may remember that themselves. Sometimes this kind of role modeling can be more impactful than even teaching a lesson to our students about emotional regulation.”
ENDING THE DAY
The value of reflection is also a mindful practice. Ideas for closing the school day:
- Something I learned today…
- I am curious about…
- My favourite part of today was when…
- I am looking forward to tomorrow because…
- Something I’ll do (next, later today, this weekend, before the end of the week, etc.)…
- A question I still have is…
- I had the best feeling today when…
- Something from today that I am grateful for/thankful for/appreciative of is…
https://www.teachstarter.com/au/blog/classroom-mindfulness-activities-for-children/
