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5, 4, 3, 2, 1 Mindfulness Exercise

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Find calm with our mindfulness section. Kid’s yoga, guided meditations, printables, & quotes. Perfect for classrooms, homeschools, & peaceful moments. 🧘‍♂️

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The Body Scanner! Mindfulness for Children

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COVID 19 Ripple Effect: The impact of COVID 19 on children in NYS

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COVID 19 Ripple Effect: The impact of COVID 19 on children in NYS

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A new analysis estimates that COVID-19 has led to severe, long-lasting, and racially disparate repercussions on children under age 18 in New York State. These include children who have lost a parent or guardian or who have entered poverty or are near poverty as a result of the pandemic.

Conducted by United Hospital Fund and Boston Consulting Group, the analysis estimates that between March and July 2020, 4,200 children experienced a parental death; and 325,000 children have been pushed into or near poverty as a result of the pandemic's economic downturn.

This analysis is broken out in two parts, which can be downloaded on this page. Part 1 highlights the impacts of parental death on New York's children. Part 2 addresses COVID-19's poverty-related effects and broader economic implications. Also available for download on this page is a look at county-specific data in New York State, as well as a literature review.

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COVID-19 Ripple Effect: The Impact of COVID-19 on Children in New York State | United Hospital Fund

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A new analysis estimates that COVID-19 has led to severe, long-lasting, and racially disparate repercussions on children under age 18 in New York State. These include children who have lost a parent or guardian or who have entered poverty or are near poverty as a result of the pandemic.

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The RULER Tools

RULER skill development relies on four core tools, which are introduced to all stakeholders in the school community-school leaders, teachers, staff, students, and families.

Charter: Builds and sustains positive emotional climates by creating agreed-upon norms for how people want to feel and how they can help each other to experience those feelings.

Mood Meter: Enhances self- and social awareness and supports the development of a nuanced emotion vocabulary and a range of strategies for regulating emotion.

Meta-Moment: Provides a process for responding to emotional situations with strategies that align with one's best self and that support healthy relationships and personal well-being.

Blueprint: Supports the development of empathy and conflict resolution skills by serving as a guide for reflecting on conflict and restoring affected communities.

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RULER is an approach to social and emotional learning (SEL) that teaches emotional intelligence to people of all ages, with...

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YouTube videos for teaching theory of mind/social skills

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YouTube videos for teaching theory of mind/social skills

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There are so many reasons why I love watching animated clips while working with my social kids: they are short (so you can stop-start to discuss and still get through it all in 30 minutes), they are engaging (so attention is typically not an issue) and they usually don't have much language (which means lots of opportunities to interpret facial expressions and body language).

I must have watched EVERY single short animated clip out there on YouTube and thought I'd compile my Top 10 that showcases a variety of perspectives and thoughts. If you haven't read my post about using YouTube in therapy, then have a quick read (and learn from my mistakes before you make them!). I'm sure you are already a Social Thinking® fan (an amazing teaching methodology created by Michelle Garcia Winner) so you can use these videos to help develop TONS of perspective taking concepts discussed in Thinking about You, Thinking about Me.

My biggest tip to get you started is to have some visuals of different feelings and emotions handy and/or a list of emotions if you are working with older students. When I didn't use visuals and probed 'how is he feeling?' I either got "I don't know" or one of the 'common three' emotions as I call them: happy, sad, angry. My go-to list for older students or those with stronger language skills is from Wikipedia as it categorises emotions and allows for a great discussion and vocabulary learning exercise ("is he angry or outraged?"). For younger students I use Thoughts and Feelings cards as I find that they really need something concrete AND visual. It works well to give a choice of 3 (e.g. "What is the man feeling: frustrated, angry or excited?) until they have consolidated the word meanings.

1. Mouse for Sale: This clip is about a mouse who looks different and is having a hard time being sold at a pet shop. It has some lovely 'eyeball' moments where we use our arrows to see what characters are thinking about. I also love getting my kids to 'think with their eyes' from a Social Thinking® perspective and tell me what might happen next.

2. This is particularly lovely if you have girls in your social group as it's about a tone-deaf princess (who has the most awful voice) and is really quite unaware that her singing is terrible (she's not checking in!)
Draws great parallels to your students who might also be missing a lot of social cues and there is a particularly great scene where they use a thought bubble.

3. Playmate: I like this clip to teach that other people are thinking about our actions. A boy starts to mistreat his toy robot when he gets a new friend - has a great range of emotions and feelings.

4. For the Birds: I love this clip because it can reflect what happens with my kids in social situations - where a friendly bird is not really reading the other bird's facial expressions, body language, and thoughts. Fantastic 'eyeballs' capturing a range of emotions.

5. Partly Cloudy: This is great to whip out your thought bubbles for a lot of 'what is he thinking?' probes. It has some nice imagery for emotions when the cloud is sad (it rains) and angry (thunderstorms).

6. Carrot Crazy: This is another funny clip and I love exploring vocabulary with this. We rank emotions and see how feelings start to escalate (e.g. from annoyed-frustrated-angry-furious-outraged etc.) as two hunters battle it out to lure a hungry rabbit with carrots - has a very unexpected ending - I like to get my kids to predict what will happen next along the way.

7. Embarked: A boy moves house and his treehouse decides to follow him. Very good to use with thought bubbles and to explore different vocabulary other than 'sad'.

8. The Egyptian Pyramids: This is a bit of a funny one involving a camel and an architect who discover something new in Egypt with a few surprises and confusion thrown in for different thoughts and feelings. I also like to put speech bubbles next to the characters and voice what they might be saying.

9. Runaway: While this has some spoken language, I love the facial expressions and the eye gaze in this funny clip about a fridge that has broken and thinks his owner will replace him. A good clip for thinking flexibly about different scenarios.

10. What the Fly: A conductor of an orchestra has to juggle flies buzzing around him while trying to conduct. Good facial expressions, but the body language is fantastic as it directly impacts the music... when the conductor moves his hand fast, the music speeds up.

So now all you have to do is: 1. Save these videos to your YouTube playlist and 2. Get these Thoughts & Feelings Cards and you'll be set to explore the wide range of emotions (and thoughts) that are out there!

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10 YouTube Videos You Need for Social Skills Therapy - Adventures in Speech Pathology

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There are so many reasons why I love watching animated clips while working with my social kids: they are short (so you can stop-start to discuss and still get through it all in 30 minutes), they are engaging (so attention is typically not an issue) and they usually don't have much language (which means lots

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Advancing Social and Emotional Learning - CASEL

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CASEL is helping make evidence-based social and emotional learning an integral part of education, preschool through high school.

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The Listening Game  | Cosmic Kids Zen Den - Mindfulness for kids

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Rainbow Relaxation: Mindfulness for Children

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Superpower Listening | Cosmic Kids Zen Den - Mindfulness for kids

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4 minutes

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Mindful Ozzy introduces Mindful Listening (Pre-K to Grade 2)

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Mindful Listening Mindful Listening makes all the difference.  * STOP - We STOP thinking what we are going to say. * NOTICE - We NOTICE our thoughts and fee...

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Series of daily mindfulness and yoga pose videos (18 videos as of this post)
Gives good background for reasons doing each pose/activity

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Mindful Activity of the Day #1: Mountain Pose

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Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are categorized into three groups: abuse, neglect, and household challenges. Each category is further divided into multiple subcategories. Participant demographic information is available by gender, race, age, and education. The prevalence of ACEs is organized by category.

ACEs Definitions

All ACE questions refer to the respondent's first 18 years of life.

Abuse

Emotional abuse: A parent, stepparent, or adult living in your home swore at you, insulted you, put you down, or acted in a way that made you afraid that you might be physically hurt.

Physical abuse: A parent, stepparent, or adult living in your home pushed, grabbed, slapped, threw something at you, or hit you so hard that you had marks or were injured.

Sexual abuse: An adult, relative, family friend, or stranger who was at least 5 years older than you ever touched or fondled your body in a sexual way, made you touch his/her body in a sexual way, attempted to have any type of sexual intercourse with you.

Household Challenges

Mother treated violently: Your mother or stepmother was pushed, grabbed, slapped, had something thrown at her, kicked, bitten, hit with a fist, hit with something hard, repeatedly hit for over at least a few minutes, or ever threatened or hurt by a knife or gun by your father (or stepfather) or mother's boyfriend.

Substance abuse in the household: A household member was a problem drinker or alcoholic or a household member used street drugs.

Mental illness in the household: A household member was depressed or mentally ill or a household member attempted suicide.

Parental separation or divorce: Your parents were ever separated or divorced.

Incarcerated household member: A household member went to prison.

Neglect

Emotional neglect: Someone in your family never or rarely helped you feel important or special, you never or rarely felt loved, people in your family never or rarely looked out for each other and felt close to each other, or your family was never or rarely a source of strength and support.

Physical neglect: There was never or rarely someone to take care of you, protect you, or take you to the doctor if you needed it, you didn't have enough to eat, your parents were too drunk or too high to take care of you, or you had to wear dirty clothes.

¹Collected during Wave 2 only.
Items were reverse scored to reflect the framing of the question.

Participant Demographics

Demographic information is from the entire ACE Study sample (n=17,337).
Note: Research papers that use Wave 1 and/or Wave 2 data may contain slightly different reports of participants' demographic information.
ACEs Prevalence

The prevalence estimates reported below are from the entire ACE Study sample (n=17,337).
Note: ³Collected during Wave 2 only (N=8,629). Research papers that use Wave 1 and/or Wave 2 data may contain slightly different prevalence estimates.
Note: Research papers that use Wave 1 and/or Wave 2 data may contain slightly different prevalence estimates.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Kaiser Permanente. The ACE Study Survey Data [Unpublished Data]. Atlanta, Georgia: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2016.

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Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are categorized into three groups: abuse, neglect, and household challenges. Each category is further divided into multiple subcategories. Participant demographic information is available by gender, race, age, and education. The prevalence of ACEs is organized by category. All ACE questions refer to the respondent's first 18 years of life.

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4.1. Mindfulness Practice and Instructor Training

Mindfulness instruction as a practice has taken on many forms, but MBSR is structured as a 26-h (eight 2.5 h sessions with 1 full day) involving mindful exercises, such as body-scans, mindful breathing, and yoga with meditation instruction, group discussions and encouragement of home practice [ 43, 104]. However, some programs have found effect with as few as 12-h of instruction, with no clear association between hours of instruction and effect size of post-MBSR effects, but studies are varied and limited in their duration of effect [ 105]. Britton et al. implemented a 15-min daily 6-week course in children, and Kalmanowitz et al. demonstrated that even a 4-day long intensive program in adults demonstrated benefit [ 52, 84].

There is no centralized credentialing required for teaching mindfulness. While there are certificate programs to become an MBSR instructor [ 106], many programs have branched off from Jon Kabat-Zinn's original model and even studies of mindfulness interventions vary in the qualifications of those implementing instruction to subjects. It is a further challenge to find practitioners that have completed both MBSR and trauma-informed training, and still further, rarely so with specific qualifications to work with youth. Importantly, even trauma therapists who offer mindfulness in practice, have varying degrees of self-practice that may impact their level of involvement [ 107].

There have been attempts at unique modifications to programming for children or those with special focused needs ( and ). Some studies have specifically involved instructors who have had years of experience specifically with children [ 78, 79, 80, 81, 82]. One study partnered a mental health therapist with adolescents in the community to co-facilitate a mindfulness meditation practice, though the study does not comment on the level of experience of the mental health therapist with mindfulness [ 108]. For mindfulness training implementation in schools, many programs have branched from the classic MBSR program as described by Meiklejohn et al., 2012 [ 109]. For example, The Mindfulness in Schools Project (UK based), based on MBSR, is one that has been studied with successful outcomes including fewer depressive symptoms in adolescents, and the Mindful Schools (US based) improved teacher-based perceptions of classroom behavior in a 6th grade public elementary school children [ 110, 111]. Many similar programs to The Mindfulness in Schools Project and Mindful Schools, as seen in , share in their methodology that mindfulness trained individuals lead practices in the school environment and also educate teachers to lead students [ 109].

Though many studies have administered mindfulness interventions to teachers, showing benefits for teaching work-environment and temperament [ 88], none have assessed associated student outcomes directly as a result of the teachers training in isolation. However, the training of teachers is a promising approach to improved classroom outcomes. One study cited by Gouda et al., 2016, showed that schoolteachers ( n = 82) had self-reported improvements in mood as well as measures of improved emotional regulation (decreased reactivity, increased compassion) as compared to controls, though the subjects were all female [ 112], and another showing decreased distress [ 113]. A smaller study ( n = 15) with similar outcome measures also suggested reduction in burnout [ 114]. Based on such studies, programs have launched to improve classroom learning environments such as the "Cultivating Awareness and Resilience in Education" Program [ 90]. Since, a larger combined RCT recently showed improvements in schoolteacher sleep and work satisfaction and decreased bad mood, but this was of a workplace mindfulness training not specific to educational environments [ 115]. Though only one small case study in preschool students showed decrease in negative social interactions [ 89], taken with the teacher trials, these studies suggest that it may be worth considering that future studies assess the effects and consider if training teachers alone may impact resiliency against ACEs. Therefore, perhaps implementation of programming for both students and teachers is ideal, as found by Gouda et al., 2016 in that both students and teachers showed improvement in interpersonal problems, and affect, whereas students also showed improved school-specific self-efficacy by specific developed self-assessment questionnaires [ 88]. It is important to keep in mind that lack of benefit of mindfulness in schools programs can be due to lack of teacher experience [ 116].

Even outside of the school, teacher-led environment, children are never cared for in isolation. It may be beneficial to consider methodology of mindfulness implementation that addresses their caretakers. Given that mindful parenting yields reduced parental stress, with increased parental warmth toward their children [ 10, 91], suggests that mindful parenting training should also be included in interventions for youth. However, many caretakers are involved in influencing children. As examples, one intervention partnered therapists with peer instructors, and another allowed time for individualized intervention for youth (average age 11.5 years) and their parents, then partnered them for family intervention [ 88, 108, 117]. The intervention to strengthen families ( n = 9) involved seven 2-h sessions with the first hour individualized between youth and their parents and the second hour for family training. It also allowed time for mindful parenting training with teaching and practice exercises on being mindful (attentive, reducing emotional reactivity, being less judgmental) [ 117], demonstrating how a holistic approach including caretakers, parents and children may be implemented.

The type and location of intervention taught varies tremendously in the literature. As discussed and seen in , many interventions are integrated directly into school curriculum [ 88], but also have been offered as extracurricular, in the clinic setting (primary care and specialty), during incarceration, and to parents [ 81, 82, 85, 87, 95, 108, 119]. Some offer mindfulness only as an addition to a structured and detailed training program with other included skillsets including cognitive therapy, behavioral therapy, resilience training for healthy behaviors, and meditation [ 6, 108, 119, 120]. There is no study to date that has compared settings, but variation may be dependent on population and outcome of interest. For example, if targeting improvements in mood dysfunction, this has been seen across settings by various different outcome measures for PTSD, depression and anxiety. Attention and behavior outcomes are more commonly measures in studies of school-based interventions, though importantly, there is no evidence that interventions outside of school would not produce effects in the school environment. Given the broad exposure to traumas and ACEs, and the generalizable benefits of mindfulness, mindfulness programs offered through school and/or primary care sites may be most suited to reaching the broadest population of children.

The methods of mindfulness implementation may vary given the diversity of existing academic curricula and environments for youth. Generally, schools offer the most appropriate environment to reach a broad spectrum of children across developmental stages, diagnoses, and socioeconomic circumstances, as well as stressor exposure [ 116]. Incorporation of mindfulness practice directly into the school curriculum addresses the suggestion of the school environment as a means to reach broad categories of children [ 78, 79, 81, 86, 88]. Examples of broad reaching implementations were postulated by Britton et al. who allotted half a semester on a course to mindfulness with the second half preserved for other curriculum and a mid-year switch of groups, or by Johnstone et al., who proposes to complete a study with a 2-semester health class incorporating eight weeks of mindfulness into the class [ 84, 121]. Kuyken et al. replaced studies in either religious studies or personal, social and health education, offering the idea that perhaps mindfulness could be offered as an elective course in the curriculum [ 83].

Though the school environment offers a promising delivery format for teaching mindfulness, other methods have been suggested. Home practice is one such model and may offer shorter study formats requiring as little as 5 min [ 122]. Some formats have even bridged home study with one-on-one in home training [ 95]. Clinic groups if advertised as a 'social' group rather than a 'stress management' group may pose another potential format [ 80]. To enhance participation regardless of the format studies have implemented facilitating transportation to class, reminder phone calls, and providing snacks, for example [ 123]. Other organizations are implementing mindfulness into women and children's shelters and community centers [ 124].

In school, home and clinic environments, a generalized training in mindfulness allows for broad population applicability, but individualized programs also may be helpful in certain specified populations. An example of individualization of mindfulness intervention methodology for a unique trauma exposed population was accomplished by a program that identified reactivity as a problem in incarcerated individuals and tailored the program "S.T.I.C". S.T.I.C. involves the following steps: stop, take a breath, imagine, and choose, allowing the mindfulness and attention to be directed at consequences and redirection of choices [ 119]. Though S.T.I.C. was individualized by targeting a specific population, personalization can also be accomplished in school or clinic settings by narrowing the target population such as by diagnosis or age. For example, one study clustered female students with any eating disorder history into a mindfulness program finding improved psychosocial outcomes relative to control by six months post-intervention [ 120]. Grouping by diagnosis has also been beneficial in the diagnoses of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), HIV, or psychiatric conditions [ 82, 85, 87], with incorporation of mindfulness into existing therapeutic interventions like cognitive or rehabilitation therapy, MBCT or MBRP, specifically. The RAP Club was offered exclusively to 7th and 8th grade students and catered to adolescent specific life challenges in the program design [ 108], whereas others incorporated simplistic terminology that can be applied to younger and older students such as, "FOFBOC: Feet on the floor and bum on chair", and "Beditation" referring to a body scan done while lying down [ 116]. Finally, mindfulness technique has been applied in combination with other therapies including sound and music, touch, walking, daily routines, and even "mindful texting" to allow for the inclusion of mindfulness in regular activities with the idea of "checking in" with the self as much as possible throughout the day [ 125]. For translating concepts of mindfulness to children, metaphors can be helpful and many children's books are available including those authored by Thich Nhat Hahn, a Buddhist monk who has helped bring the practice of mindfulness to western society with John Kabat-Zinn [ 126].

4.2. Trauma-Informed Care

Per the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) a program that is trauma-informed realizes trauma prevalence and its common adverse effects, recognizes signs and symptoms of trauma, responds with standard operating procedures, and seeks to resist re-traumatization. SAMHSA provides various examples of well-known trauma-informed intervention programs and they all include general principals of safety, connection and trustworthiness, collaboration, empowerment, and current and historical societal and cultural competency [ 127]. Formal mindfulness instructor training incorporates a number of these elements and lays the foundation for mindfulness as a trauma-informed care (TIC) practice.

In trauma-informed care, an intervention may be primary (preventive), secondary (reduction of severity and acuity of consequences), or tertiary (treatment of long-term sequelae) [ 128]. Though it is important for clinicians involved in intervention administration to be cognizant of the above principals of TIC, this does not necessarily mean that the specific stressors or traumas need to be identified for mindfulness to have a beneficial effect, though this has not specifically studied. There is a high prevalence of stress and trauma, with up to 34% of children in school reporting exposure to at least one trauma and evidence of post-traumatic stress even without a current diagnosis [ 8]. Further, it is known that abuse and trauma is underreported [ 129] and poorly recalled [ 130]. Even when reported, child memory of trauma can include intrusions or inaccurate recall [ 131], and symptoms of PTSD are often poorly recognized by parents [ 132]. In studies assessing previous trauma, methods of quantification vary widely from general indication of trauma domain to specifics of traumatic event(s). Further, PTSD may mask itself through generalized somatic complaints in children including trouble sleeping, low energy, stomach pain, dizziness, and headaches [ 133]. Taken together, these studies suggest that one cannot rely on always and accurately identifying the presence of traumatic experience in children. Yet, mindfulness may have an impact in children whether they report a trauma exposure, or not. Trait mindfulness is associated with resilience in face of adverse events, and is associated with strong cognitive abilities, and mindfulness interventions can reduce somatic manifestations of psychiatric undertones [ 6, 70, 71, 87, 134, 135]. In populations with high likelihood of ACEs, such as low-income urban areas, school-based mindfulness instruction provided to all students (primary prevention) has been shown to improve psychological symptoms and coping and to reduce post-trauma stress symptoms [ 79]. Therefore, mindfulness interventions that lead to enhanced coping and resilience can be beneficial when offered to all children regardless of specific identification of trauma exposure.

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The Role of Mindfulness in Reducing the Adverse Effects of Childhood Stress and Trauma

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Mindfulness instruction as a practice has taken on many forms, but MBSR is structured as a 26-h (eight 2.5 h sessions with 1 full day) involving mindful exercises, such as body-scans, mindful breathing, and yoga with meditation instruction, group discussions and encouragement of home practice [ 43, 104].

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Hi everyone, here is a body scan meditation for children that I made with my brother's John and Paul Shanagher. It would be good for before bed or any time a child feels anxious or worried.

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Be the Pond | Mindfulness for Kids | Cosmic Kids Zen Den

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3 Minutes Body Scan Meditation - Mindfulness For Kids And Adults

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Teaching Mindfulness of Emotions with Emojis ;)

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High school students and big emotions/stress 

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High school students and big emotions/stress 

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“I Am Mindful” - Sparking Self-Acceptance in the Classroom

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Bell, raising hand when no longer hear the bell activity

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100 Days of Mindfulness for Kids - Day 24 - Mindful Listening: What the Sound Sounds Like...

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AboutKidsHealth - The Hospital for Sick Children

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Everyday mindfulness | AboutKidsHealth at The Hospital for Sick Children

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What's the weather like inside you? Mindfulness for kids and adults alike

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5 Awesome Mindful Gratitude Activities for Kids - Blissful Kids

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In this post I'll share five of my absolute favorite mindful gratitude activities you can do with kids of any age. These are perfect for thanksgiving ... or any day you want to connect with your kids and feel better. All activities are suitable for a group of kids and one-on-one.

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A Simple Mindful Gratitude Exercise - Mindful

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Science suggests that expressing true gratitude boosts your health and spreads happiness. Here are a few simple exercises to help you build your capacity for gratitude.

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Gratitude Meditation for Kids | Guided mindfulness practice for kids

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TREP Mindfulness schedule for School/Classroom

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TREP Mindfulness schedule for School/Classroom

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Mandala coloring pages | Free Coloring Pages

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Mandala Coloring pages. Select from 73141 printable Coloring pages of cartoons, animals, nature, Bible and many more.

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Zen Sessions for Kids with Kira Willey: Send Good Thoughts

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100 Days of Mindfulness for Kids - Day 12 - 3 Minute Body Scan: Investigate your Feelings!

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- has movements to notice feelings in hands/body throughout
- Many schools use this book already with Social Emotional programs

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Coach Mambru PE Read Aloud - Listening to my Body by Gabi Garcia, illustrated by Ying Hui Tan

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Which will it be - the berries or the chocolate dessert? Homework or the Xbox? Finish that memo, or roam Facebook?

Such quotidian decisions test a mental ability called cognitive control, the capacity to maintain focus on an important choice while ignoring other impulses. Poor planning, wandering attention and trouble inhibiting impulses all signify lapses in cognitive control. Now a growing stream of research suggests that strengthening this mental muscle, usually with exercises in so-called mindfulness, may help children and adults cope with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and its adult equivalent, attention deficit disorder.

The studies come amid growing disenchantment with the first-line treatment for these conditions: drugs.

In 2007, researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, published a study finding that the incidence of A.D.H.D. among teenagers in Finland, along with difficulties in cognitive functioning and related emotional disorders like depression, were virtually identical to rates among teenagers in the United States. The real difference? Most adolescents with A.D.H.D. in the United States were taking medication; most in Finland were not.

"It raises questions about using medication as a first line of treatment," said Susan Smalley, a behavior geneticist at U.C.L.A. and the lead author.

In a large study published last year in The Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, researchers reported that while most young people with A.D.H.D. benefit from medications in the first year, these effects generally wane by the third year, if not sooner.

"There are no long-term, lasting benefits from taking A.D.H.D. medications," said James M. Swanson, a psychologist at the University of California, Irvine, and an author of the study. "But mindfulness seems to be training the same areas of the brain that have reduced activity in A.D.H.D."

"That's why mindfulness might be so important," he added. "It seems to get at the causes."

Depending on which scientist is speaking, cognitive control may be defined as the delay of gratification, impulse management, emotional self-regulation or self-control, the suppression of irrelevant thoughts, and paying attention or learning readiness.

This singular mental ability, researchers have found, predicts success both in school and in work life.

Cognitive control increases from about 4 to 12 years old, then plateaus, said Betty J. Casey, director of the Sackler Institute for Developmental Psychobiology at Weill Cornell Medical College. Teenagers find it difficult to suppress their impulses, as any parent knows.

But impulsivity peaks around age 16, Dr. Casey noted, and in their 20s most people achieve adult levels of cognitive control. Among healthy adults, it begins to wane noticeably in the 70s or 80s, often manifesting as an inability to remember names or words, because of distractions that the mind once would have suppressed.

Bolstering this mental ability, specialists are now suggesting, might be particularly helpful in treating A.D.H.D. and A.D.D.

To do so, researchers are testing mindfulness: teaching people to monitor their thoughts and feelings without judgments or other reactivity. Rather than simply being carried away from a chosen focus, they notice that their attention has wandered, and renew their concentration.

According to a recent report in Clinical Neurophysiology, adults with A.D.D. were shown to benefit from mindfulness training combined with cognitive therapy; their improvements in mental performance were comparable to those achieved by subjects taking medications.

The training led to a decline in impulsive errors, a problem typical of A.D.D., while the cognitive therapy helped them be less self-judgmental about mistakes or distractedness.

Mindfulness seems to flex the brain circuitry for sustaining attention, an indicator of cognitive control, according to research by Wendy Hasenkamp and Lawrence Barsalou at Emory University.

For a study published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, they imaged the brains of meditators while they went through four basic mental movements: focusing on a chosen target, noticing that their minds had wandered, bringing their minds back to the target, and sustaining their focus there.

Those movements appeared to strengthen the neural circuitry for keeping attention on a chosen point of focus.

Meditation is a cognitive control exercise that enhances "the ability to self-regulate your internal distractions," said Dr. Adam Gazzaley, a neuroscientist at the University of California, San Francisco.

His research seeks to duplicate these effects with video games that "selectively target the key circuits without the kind of side effects you get with drugs."

With colleagues, he designed NeuroRacer, a game for older adults in which they respond to traffic signs that appear suddenly while driving on a winding road. The game enhanced cognitive control in subjects ranging from 60 to 85, according to a study published in Nature.

Stephen Hinshaw, a specialist in developmental psychopathology at the University of California, Berkeley, said the time was ripe to explore the utility of nondrug interventions like mindfulness.

Dr. Swanson agreed. "I was a skeptic until I saw the data," he said, "and the findings are promising."

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Exercising the Mind to Treat Attention Deficits

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Which will it be - the berries or the chocolate dessert? Homework or the Xbox? Finish that memo, or roam Facebook? Such quotidian decisions test a mental ability called cognitive control, the capacity to maintain focus on an important choice while ignoring other impulses.

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Write down things you are grateful for, and make a chain

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*can us get ready, do, done to make

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What is MINDFULNESS and how do you do it? (Zen Den) | Cosmic Kids

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Mindful Minute -  Beach (Classroom, Studying, School Mental Break)

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Mindful Ozzy Introduces Mindfulness (Pre-k to Grade 2)

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100 Days of Mindfulness - Day 81 - Mindful Looking & Sketching

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Videos range from 3-11 mintues, most around 7

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Intro to 100 Days of Mindfulness - for Kids!

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3 Minute Breathing Space Meditation for Kids

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Example of page from Mindfulness for Kids book above

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Example of page from Mindfulness for Kids book above

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* The Mindfully Me series is the first set of mindfulness books to be directed

at Irish primary school children aged 4 to 8.

* This new series addresses the rise in young children's anxiety in a practical,

helpful way and aligns with the 'self-identity' unit of the SPHE strand

* Each book in the Mindfully Me series introduces effective and evidence based

techniques which have been proven to promote positive mental

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Louise Shanagher | Mindfully-Me | Worbooks & Lesson plans

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The Mindfully Me series is the first set of mindfulness books done by Lou Lou Rose to be directed at Irish primary school children aged 4 to 8. This new series addresses the rise in young children's anxiety in a practical, helpful way.

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🦋THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT ⁂ Elevate your Vibration ⁂ Positive Aura Cleanse ⁂ 432Hz Music

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Mindfulness website with tons of exercises/resources 

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Mindfulness website with tons of exercises/resources 

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The aim of The Free Mindfulness Project is to provide easy and free access to mindfulness meditation exercises by inviting the wider mindfulness community to share their resources here. The focus of this site is mindfulness as practiced in mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) and other closely related approaches.

If you would like to access the collection of mindfulness exercises, go to the section. Free Resources

For opportunities to practice mindfulness live, go to the online mindfulness section .

Our sister is Words to Sit With : a home for contemporary, free-to-share mindfulness poetry.

If you have a few moments, why not ask yourself;

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Welcome Welcome to The Free Mindfulness Project - Home to a growing collection of free-to-download mindfulness meditation exercises. The aim of The Free Mindfulness Project is to provide easy and free access to mindfulness meditation exercises by inviting the wider mindfulness community to share

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WELCOME to Yoga With Adriene! Our mission is to connect as many people as possible through high-quality free yoga videos. We welcome all levels, all bodies, all genders, all souls!
If you’re brand-new to yoga, check out my Yoga For Beginners and Foundations of Yoga series. These are designed to giv…

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Tibetan Healing Sounds: Cleans the Aura and Space. Removes all negative energy

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Savy Baby - Educational Activities for Children

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How to Make Calm Down Sensory Discovery Bottles | VOSS | 4-Ways!

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Creating a safe place for our kids to learn might begin with creating some space for them to breathe.

By Caren Osten Gerszberg

On a cold March afternoon, the hallways were abuzz with chatter and giggles at Chatsworth Elementary School in Larchmont, New York. As the kindergarteners from Liz Slade's class ambled into their classroom from lunch and recess and put their jackets and lunch boxes into their cubbies, Slade asked, "Can today's mindful leader please come up front and begin?"

Isabella, a 6-year-old wearing a heart-clad gray shirt and polka-dot leggings, quietly took a cross-legged seat on the classroom rug facing her peers. With her palms facing up and resting on each knee, she began to tap her thumbs on each of her fingers, simultaneously repeating the words "I-am-calm-now" with each tap. Without hesitation, each of Isabella's classmates, along with their teacher, followed their mindful leader, tapping their thumbs and saying "I am calm now," gently lowering their voices after each repetition until the room grew quiet. Slade then asked her students to slowly make their way to their tables and take out their "feelings" journal.

"They are learning the experience of settling their body," said Slade. "What used to be a wild time now becomes a charming, sweet moment when we all take a pause and come back to being present."

Chatsworth is one of thousands of schools across the country that is bringing mindfulness into the classroom. Growing numbers of teachers, parents, and children are reaping the benefits that learning mindfulness-defined by Jon Kabat-Zinn as "the awareness that emerges through paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally"-can bring, including reduced levels of stress and anxiety, increased focus and self-regulation, and improved academic performance and sleep, among others.

Children today are faced with an unprecedented amount of stress and anxiety-25% of 13- to 18-year-olds will experience an anxiety disorder according to the National Institutes of Mental Health.

With heightened academic pressure trickling down to kids as early as kindergarten, resulting in less time for play and the arts, children today are faced with an unprecedented amount of stress and anxiety-25% of 13- to 18-year-olds will experience an anxiety disorder according to the National Institutes of Mental Health. Such early stress levels can negatively impact learning, memory, behavior, and both physical and mental health, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Escalating stress and pressure continue into middle and high school- a survey of 22,000 high school students conducted by the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence found that, on average, students reported feeling negative emotions, such as stress, fatigue, and boredom, 75% of the time. An antidote to all this stress has never been needed more. Enter mindfulness.

Case Study: Mindfulness translates into improved academics

The Research on Mindfulness in Schools

While the implementation of school-based mindfulness programs for children in grades K through 12-such as Inner Resilience, Mindful Schools, Learning to Breathe, and MindUp to name just a few-is becoming more popular, empirical research proving the benefits of mindfulness is only beginning to emerge and more rigorous research will be needed over the coming decades. "We know very little about which programs work and what works for whom and under what conditions," said Kimberly Schonert-Reichl, Ph.D., co-author with Robert Roeser of the recently published Handbook of Mindfulness in Education: Integrating Theory and Research into Practice, and a professor and researcher at the University of British Columbia. A 2015 study by Schonert-Reichl looked at the effectiveness of a 12-week social and emotional learning (SEL) program that included mindfulness training. Ninety-nine 4 th and 5 th graders were divided into two groups: one received MindUp's weekly SEL curriculum and the other a social responsibility program already used in Canadian public schools. After analyzing measures, which included behavioral assessments, cortisol levels, feedback from their peers regarding sociability, and academic scores of math grades, the results revealed dramatic differences. Compared to the students who learned the social responsibility program, those trained in mindfulness scored higher in math, had 24% more social behaviors, and were 20% less aggressive. The group trained in mindfulness excelled above the other group in the areas of attention, memory, emotional regulation, optimism, stress levels, mindfulness, and empathy.

Compared to the students who learned the social responsibility program, those trained in mindfulness scored higher in math, had 24% more social behaviors, and were 20% less aggressive.

Although in its early stages, research on the effects of school-based mindfulness programs is being fueled by three decades of studies on adults, which shows promise for its psychological and physiological benefits. Researchers are turning their focus to children and teens to figure out what, when, how much, and from whom the teaching of mindfulness works best. "We don't have conclusive evidence at this point about the benefits or impacts of mindfulness on youth," said Lisa Flook, Ph.D., associate scientist at the Center for Healthy Minds, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. "We do see the promise of interventions and trainings on outcomes related to grades, wellbeing, and emotional regulation." In other words, the research looking at the benefits of mindfulness in education is pointing toward the positive.

"Mindfulness is a powerful tool that supports children in calming themselves, focusing their attention, and interacting effectively with others, all critical skills for functioning well in school and in life," said Amy Saltzman, M.D., director of the Association for Mindfulness in Education, and director of Still Quiet Place. "Incorporating mindfulness into education has been linked to improving academic and social and emotional learning. Also, mindfulness strengthens some underlying development processes-such as focus, resilience, and self-soothing-that will help kids in the long run."

This is What a Mindful Classroom Looks Like

No one sees the value of a child's impulse control and focused awareness as clearly as a teacher. Liz Slade, who's been integrating mindfulness into her classroom for the last eight years, once observed a student walk up to a tall structure of blocks being built by a few of her classmates. "I watched this little girl raise her foot to kick the blocks, take a breath and then walk away," she said. "The kids can learn to notice distraction, self-regulate, and ask themselves, 'What do I need?'"

Photo Credit: The Crim Fitness Foundation

Slade came to mindfulness on her own about 10 years ago, and after seeing the benefits in her own life, she started experimenting in the classroom with practices that used breathing and mindful listening. "As I became more knowledgeable, experimenting and seeing what was working, I was really impressed," she said. "The kids verbalized to me that they felt they had tools to use to handle stressful situations, which was very moving to me."

Recognizing the impact of her own practice and the positive effects in her classroom-and with the support of her school's principal, a critical component-Slade went on to apply for a grant for her school to bring in a formal training program called Inner Resilience, created by Linda Lantieri, who is also a founding member of the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL). From there, the support and enthusiasm spread throughout the Mamaroneck School District among teachers, parents, and the administration, with the Inner Resilience training program now offered to teachers and support staff at all six of its schools, which serve 5,200 students. "The best way to implement mindfulness is in an integrated way with social and emotional learning," said Lantieri. "If we are going to be in schools we need to make sure we are helping kids learn better, and if mindfulness can help with that, great."

"The best way to implement mindfulness is in an integrated way with social and emotional learning," says Linda Lantieri, a founding member of the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL)

Most experts feel that the best implementation of mindfulness involves a teacher having her own mindfulness practice or at least an understanding. "It is how they teach, not just what they teach, and if a teacher is mindful in a classroom, the kids learn to be mindful," said Tish Jennings, M.Ed., Ph.D., associate professor at the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia, who started a program called CARE (Cultivating Awareness and Resilience in Education) for Teachers. "Teachers are really under a lot of stress and we know their stress affects our kids, so supporting them is a win-win," said Jennings. Her recent research found that teachers trained in the CARE for Teachers program felt less time urgency and were more positive and more sensitive. In addition, children were more engaged and productive.

For Rosalie Choniuk, a teacher at P.S. 94 in the Bronx, New York, learning mindfulness through the CARE for Teachers program has been life-changing. "I am a completely different person since learning mindfulness-mentally, physically and emotionally," said Choniuk. As an ENL (English as a New Language) teacher, Choniuk wears several hats in her school, often providing coverage for teachers when they need to be out of the classroom. Before developing her mindfulness practice, Choniuk grew anxious every time she was to report to a particular fifth-grade classroom, where kids were unruly and fights often broke out. "Now when I go, instead of having anxiety, I set an intention to be calm and deal with them in a positive manner," said Choniuk. "I see the changes in the kids, who are less reactive, and the changes in myself, and now I look forward to being in their class."

Create a Culture of Mindfulness in Schools

If a classroom teacher is not able to provide mindfulness lessons to their class, schools often bring instructors in from outside the school. But long-term mindfulness programs can be difficult to maintain in the classroom with this model. "With an outside person, programs can work insofar as they can train teachers to keep it up," said Trish Broderick, Ph.D., founder of the Learning to Breathe program and a research associate at the Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center at Penn State University. "The advantage of bringing in a program to teach mindfulness is that it can be replicated and used effectively when taught by teachers or school staff who already have a relationship with the kids."

The Mindful Schools program prefers to call its approach an adoption-where mindfulness begins at the individual teacher level-versus a rollout, or top-down decision made by leadership to implement a new program. "We don't mandate this for all the teachers; we let it grow organically," said Camille Whitney, former head of research at Mindful Schools. "We encourage any number of people to take the course voluntarily, and encourage it as a group so they can practice and build a program together."

Photo Credit: The Crim Fitness Foundation

Integrating mindfulness into a health and wellness curriculum is another alternative for implementation. "Rather than adding on, a program can be supplemented into an existing program," said Broderick, whose Learning to Breathe program is often used as part of a middle or high school's health curriculum.

Last winter, Annie Ward, the assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction for the Mamaroneck Union Free School District, wandered into a high school health class during a school visit. Ward was struck to see the students sitting quietly with their eyes closed and feet on the floor, as they listened to a guided meditation the teacher was playing on a CD. "It was great to see this meditation happen with no fanfare, watching the kids settle right into it and seeing that it was clearly a ritual," said Ward.

Transform School Culture

When teaching mindfulness is accepted and embraced, it can change the tone and tenor of an entire school, or district. In 2008, the South Burlington, Vermont, school district began an effort to train teachers and students, using the Inner Resilience program for younger grades, and the Learning to Breathe program for older ones. For two years, almost 130 teachers volunteered to take the mindfulness training, and the program continued to grow and expand more deliberately to include cafeteria staff and bus drivers, totaling 170 trainees.

On top of the school-wide effort, they also invited parents to participate by offering evening mindfulness classes and lectures by local experts and visiting instructors, and in some cases, regular updates from teachers on mindfulness activities in the classroom. Training the teachers before the children and parental involvement were two components integral to the success of the South Burlington district's efforts, according to Marilyn Neagley, former director of Talk About Wellness, an initiative dedicated to funding and developing programs for youth and family wellness.

Including parents when a program is introduced is a way to expose them to what mindfulness is and is not. And then there's the questionable connection to religion, which can, in some communities, be a hot topic. "One of the most important things we learned from public meetings with parents and the community was to be sure the training is completely secular with no religiosity at all," said Neagley. The teaching is based entirely on emerging neuroscience and keeping all references to Buddhism, and words commonly used during yoga, such as namaste, out of the school vernacular is critical. In some schools, the word yoga has been replaced with "mindful movement" so there is no confusion about the ways in which mindfulness is being taught. "What we are teaching is how to pay attention and be more aware, and how to implement that awareness in our lives," said Lantieri. "What we are teaching we teach in a secular context."

One of the most important things we learned from public meetings with parents and the community was to be sure the training is completely secular with no religiosity at all," says Marilyn Neagley, former director of Talk About Wellness.

For systemic change to take place in a district-as it did in South Burlington -administration and teachers need to figure out where mindfulness can fit, how it will work, and what is needed to bring it in. And there needs to be a point person who can move it forward. "Any district I'm working with has a superintendent or assistant superintendent who is thinking five years out, not just about one classroom," said Lantieri. "That's how SEL started, with one teacher who got excited."

After journaling time was over, Liz Slade's kindergarteners gathered again on the rug to do some imagination breaths. Going around the circle, each child paired a breath with a made-up hand movement and named it-a snowflake breath, a jellyfish breath, a clamshell breath-and the rest of the class mimicked the movement. After a while, when the kids got antsy, Slade asked them to get up and jump around. There were wiggles and tumbles and twists and then she said, "Now make a mindful statue." The children froze in place, and all you could hear was the sound of their breath.

Tips and Practices for Teachers and Parents

By Susan Kaiser Greenland

When children and teens practice appreciation painful thoughts and emotions sometimes show up. As parents we often want to ease our children's pain, but children can easily misinterpret guidance to be thankful as an indication that we're minimizing their challenges, even when that's not the case. So how should we help when painful emotions do come up? We should encourage kids to view how they feel through a wide lens, not to gloss over their feelings or push them aside. When kids acknowledge their hurt feelings and remember the good things in their lives, they embody an open mind. There's a practice I like to do called Three Good Things that gives children a chance to practice this holistic mind-set when they're upset and they need it the most.

Appreciation Practice: Three Good Things

When faced with a disappointment, we acknowledge our feelings, and then we think of three good things in our lives, too.

Leading the game:

1. Ask your child: "Do you ever feel disappointed by something or someone?"
Listen to children's stories.

2. Ask: "How did that make you feel? "
Acknowledge children's feelings and, if appropriate, talk about them.

3. Say something like: "I bet even when you're feeling disappointed there are good things happening in your life too. Let's name three good things together."

Tips for naming three good things:

1. Remind children that the point of this game isn't to pretend they're not upset when they feel upset. It's to remember that they can feel two things at once: they can feel grateful for good things while feeling sad, hurt, or disappointed by challenges.

2. If children or teens have trouble thinking of three good things on their own, brainstorm and help them discover some.

3. When kids understand that this game is not about sweeping their feelings under the rug, the phrase "three good things" can become a playful and humorous response to the minor gripes that show up in family life. For instance, if a young child spills a glass of apple juice and looks like he's going to cry, you can respond with something like, "Ahhh, that can be frustrating. Can you name Three Good Things while we wipe the counter?"

4. Parents can encourage kids to remind them to name Three Good Things when they're stuck on a trivial disappointment or minor annoyance, too.

5. To develop a habit of thankfulness, play Three Good Things around the dinner table, before bedtime, and at other times when the family is together (and no one is upset).

The more families carve out time to practice appreciation when life is good, the easier it is for parents and children to be thankful for the good things in life when times are hard.

At first, appreciation and thankfulness may feel like a mere intellectual exercise. Yet the more families carve out time to practice appreciation when life is good, the easier it is for parents and children to be thankful for the good things in life when times are hard. When that shift happens, appreciation becomes an integral part of a family's worldview and is no longer just an intellectual exercise.
This article was excerpted from Mindful Games © 2016 by Susan Kaiser Greenland. Illustrations © 2016 by Lindsay DuPont. Reprinted in arrangement with Shambhala Publications, Inc. Boulder, CO.

A Guide To Bringing Mindfulness into Your School

What can you do to bring mindfulness into your child's school? What are the best strategies, practices, and resources to implement a mindfulness program? Implementing a school-wide mindfulness program can take several years, so create a well-thought-out plan that includes presenting programming to parents and faculty. Be patient-making changes in schools can be a lengthy process. Here are a few things to consider:

Why teach mindfulness?
1) Kids are stressed.

1 in 8 children in the United States suffers from Anxiety Disorders. (National Institutes of Health)

1 in 5 children suffers from a mental health or learning disorder, and 80% of chronic mental disorders begin in childhood. (Child Mind Institute)

2) Teachers are stressed.

According to research, most teachers experience job stress at least two to four times a day, with more than 75% of teachers' health problems attributed to stress. (National Education Association)

The Benefits of mindfulness

Studies show that the benefits of mindfulness may include:

Increased focus, attention, self-control, classroom participation, compassion

Improved academic performance, ability to resolve conflict, overall well-being

Decreased levels of stress, depression, anxiety, disruptive behavior

How to bring mindfulness into schools

Start with teachers. Teachers are the vehicle for integrating change into a school's culture. Is there a teacher who already has a mindfulness practice, and is willing to champion the effort to bring mindfulness into your child's school? If not, are there teachers willing to learn more about the benefits of mindfulness for themselves, as well as their students?

Know the science. The research on teaching mindfulness to children is only in its beginning stages, yet there are studies that show its impact on both the body and the brain. Scientific evidence is an important component for bringing administrators and faculty to embrace your plan.
A few key studies:

A 2016 study in Frontiers in Psychology measured emotional well-being of 7- to 9-year-olds and found that a school-based mindfulness program improves higher-order thinking, and helps students become more engaged, positive learners.

A randomized controlled study in the Journal of School Psychology on more than 100 6th grade students found those who completed classroom-based, teacher-implemented mindfulness meditation were significantly less likely to develop suicidal ideation or thoughts of self-harm than the control groups.

A study of 4th and 5th graders published in Developmental Psychology found that students who received mindfulness training improved their cognitive ability and stress physiology, reported greater empathy, perspective-taking, emotional control, and optimism, showed greater decreases in self-reported symptoms of depression and peer-rated aggression, and were more popular.

Engage faculty, administrators, and parents. Including parents and school staff-and ideally support staff, such as aides, bus drivers, and cafeteria workers-will provide the basis for the most effective implementation of a school-based mindfulness program. If there is hesitation or resistance to mindfulness, take the time to offer the facts, benefits, and science, and emphasize the importance of teaching mindfulness in school in an entirely secular way.

Look for developmentally appropriate practices. Mindfulness in schools comes in different shapes and sizes-just like the kids-so research the programs that fit specifically with the ages in your school. There are some designed for the youngest ages, which differ in style and content from those designed for older grades.

Which mindfulness program is right for your teachers?

There are a variety of programs you can consider recommending to teachers and administrators, or for your own training. Some are online, some use recordings, and some may require in-person training. Here are a few to consider:

4. Cheryl Brause
Mindfulness Instructor
Daniel Warren School * Rye Neck, New York

On a recent visit to the Daniel Warren School, where she's a visiting mindfulness instructor, Cheryl Brause entered a second-grade classroom, sat down, and made eye contact with the children who settled on the floor in front of her. "Instead of feeling the need to tell them what to do, I could simply acknowledge them one by one, silently welcoming them into our time together, and this let them know that I am here to listen and to be present with them as we explore mindfulness together," said Brause. As her own practice and knowledge deepened through a yearlong mindful educator certification that she completed this summer, Brause recognizes the changes in her experience. "I'm much less distracted while teaching, thinking less about what I need to accomplish, and more present and focused on the kids, allowing the lesson to flow from there."

Brause came to mindfulness as a means to slow down and be more present in her own life. It began with a yoga practice, and after trying a variety of types of meditation, it was an MBSR class that exposed her to mindfulness. "I realized how quickly mindfulness resonated with me and made a real difference in my everyday life," said Brause. "It made me realize how distracted I had been and how little time I spent being fully present."

10 Mindful Books for Adults

1. Mindfulness for Teachers: Simple Skills for Peace and Productivity in the Classroom, by Patricia A. Jennings.

2. Teach, Breathe, Learn: Mindfulness In and Out of the Classroom, by Meena Srinivasan.

3. The Mindful Child: How to Help Your Kid Manage Stress and Become Happier, Kinder, and More Compassionate, Susan Kaiser Greenland.

4. Learning to Breathe: A Mindfulness Curriculum for Adolescents to Cultivate Emotion Regulation, Attention, and Performance, by Patricia C. Broderick.

5. A Still Quiet Place: A Mindfulness Program for Teaching Children and Adolescents to Ease Stress and Difficult Emotions, by Amy Saltzman, MD

6. Growing Up Mindful: Essential Practices to Help Children, Teens, and Families Find Balance, Calm, and Resilience, by Christopher Willard, Psy D

7. The Stress Reduction Workbook for Teens: Mindfulness Skills to Help You Deal with Stress by Gina M. Biegel

8. Mindfulness for the Next Generation: Helping Emerging Adults Manage Stress and Lead Healthier Lives by Holly Rogers, MD, and Margaret Maytan, MD

9. Teaching Mindfulness Skills to Kids and Teens Hardcover by Christopher Willard PsyD and Amy Saltzman MD

10. Brainstorm: The Power and Purpose of the Teenage Brain Hardcover , by Daniel J.Siegel, MD

8 Mindful Books for Children & Teens

1. Visiting Feelings, by Lauren Rubenstein

2. Peaceful Piggy Meditation by Kerry Lee Maclean

3. Sitting Still Like a Frog: Mindfulness Exercises for Kids (and Their Parents), by Eline Snel.

4. Take the Time: Mindfulness for Kids, by Maud Roegiers

5. Have You Filled a Bucket Today? By Carol McCloud

6. Lemonade Hurricane, by Licia Morelli and Jennifer Morris

7. What does it mean to be Present? By Rana DiOrio and Eliza Wheeler

8. Anh's Anger, by Gail Silver

Read More

So much of communication is actually not about what we say. It's about how we come across, the tone of our voice, our body language, and all of that is an expression of our internal state. So this is one of the reasons why mindfulness is such an essential and... Read More

If you're trying to bring this into a school, or into an organization, you find the person most likely who's going to be open to it, and you start there. Maybe, you just start in that one classroom. Find a Mindfulness Ally I have a friend, she's a nutritionist and... Read More

Join the Mindful Educators Community: A free resource for teachers, students and communities

A free resource offering the best practices for bringing mindfulness into the classroom from 25 of today's leading mindfulness experts and educators. Read More

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Best Practices for Bringing Mindfulness into Schools Creating a safe place for our kids to learn might begin with creating some space for them to breathe.

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Power point- introduction to Mindfulness K-2

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Power point- introduction to Mindfulness K-2

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free resrources

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Resources on This Page:

Tips for downloading: PDF files can be viewed on a wide variety of platforms -- both as a browser plug-in or a stand-alone application -- with Adobe's free Acrobat Reader program. Click here to download the latest version of Adobe Reader.
Click on any link below to view or download that file.
Documents to Help You Get Started

Quiet Time Primer
Introduction to implementing Quiet Time in the classroom

Bell Schedule
Bell schedule at Visitacion Valley Middle School

Code of Conduct
Visitacion Valley Middle School code of conduct for students

Parent Letter
Parent letter outlining the Quiet Time program at Visitacion Valley Middle School

Parent Permission Form
Permission form for students to be trained in Transcendental Meditation* as part of the Quiet Time program

Additional Resources on the Web
School Meditation Programs

Center for Wellness and Achievement in Education (CWAE) --The nonprofit organization responsible for implementing the Quiet Time program at Visitacion Valley Middle School; specializes in high-impact, whole-school transformation through meditation-based stress-reduction and readiness-to-learn programs

MindUP -- An educational initiative of The Hawn Foundation, is a mindful-awareness program developed in consultation with University of British Columbia professor Kimberly Schonert-Reichl

Inner Kids -- A mindful-awareness practices training program researched by UCLA's Mindful Awareness Research Center

Learning to BREATHE -- A mindfulness-based curriculum for adolescents, developed by Patricia Broderick, a research associate at the Penn State University Prevention Research Center and former director of the Stress Reduction Center at West Chester University of Pennsylvania

David Lynch Foundation -- A nonprofit that funds the implementation of stress-reducing techniques including Transcendental Meditation for at-risk populations

Mindful Schools -- A program using mindfulness to teach kids how to manage emotion, handle stress and resolve conflict

The Lineage Project -- A program using awareness-based practices such as yoga and meditation to teach mindfulness to at-risk and incarcerated teenagers

The Impact Foundation -- A program that trains K-12 teachers in mindfulness through its SMARTinEDUCATION eight-week program

Guidelines to Lead Meditation Resources for Learning Meditation * Transcendental Meditation® and TM® are registered or common law trademarks and are used under sublicense.

What do you think about this Schools That Work story? We'd love to hear from you!
Tweet your answer to @edutopia, comment below, or email us.

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Resources & Downloads for Meditation in Schools

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Tips for downloading: PDF files can be viewed on a wide variety of platforms -- both as a browser plug-in or a stand-alone application -- with Adobe's free Acrobat Reader program. Click here to download the latest version of Adobe Reader. Click on any link below to view or download that file.

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I Am Peace, A Book of Mindfulness - By Susan Verde | Children's Books Read Aloud

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I AM PEACE Song - Emily Arrow (book by Susan Verde, art by Peter H. Reynolds)

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"yin yoga" "yoga with kassandra" "yoga for flexibility" "yin yoga class" "yoga stretch" "yoga for beginners" "vinyasa flow yoga" yin "30 min yoga" "60 min yo...

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Welcome to my channel - your #1 resource for free online Vinyasa & Yin Yoga. Here you'll find weekly yoga classes for all experience levels. Browse through 750+ yoga classes and tutorials right here on my channel. Please subscribe and hit the bell icon to be notified of new uploads.

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RULER is an evidence-based approach to social and emotional learning (SEL) developed at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, where Marc Brackett is the founding Director.

RULER supports entire school communities in understanding the value of emotions, building the skills of emotional intelligence, and creating and maintaining a positive school climate.

RULER aims to infuse the principles of emotional intelligence into the immune system of schools, enhancing how students learn, teachers teach, families parent, and leaders lead.

To learn more, visit https://www.rulerapproach.org/

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Developed at Yale; an evidence-based approach to developing EQ/ EI

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
RULER is an evidence-based approach to social and emotional learning (SEL) developed at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, where Marc Brackett is the founding Director. RULER supports entire school communities in understanding the value of emotions, building the skills of emotional intelligence, and creating and maintaining a positive school climate.

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If you're an educator interested in developing students' social and emotional well-being, it can be hard to know where to start. Which social-emotional learning (SEL) program should you choose? Or would it be better to focus on mindfulness? Perhaps you've heard great things about both, and, in the end, don't they just do the same thing?

© Remains

The confusion is especially understandable given that research in both fields suggests some similar outcomes for students: increased academic achievement and well-being, less risky behavior, and better relationships with peers and teachers.

SEL and mindfulness, in fact, are two separate areas-that work great when taught and learned together. Thus, choosing one over the other may not actually be the best choice.

One of us ( Linda) has had a front-row seat in the development of both SEL and the practice of mindfulness in education, as a co-founder of the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning ( CASEL) and other researched-based SEL and mindfulness programs. With over 40 years of experience, Linda has learned that both SEL and mindfulness may be necessary to truly make a difference in students' lives and in the world.

But how can they be integrated? The answer is that one works from the outside-in-and the other works from the inside-out. When the two come together in the mind of a student, the effect can be powerful.

The difference between SEL and mindfulness

To start, SEL uses an outside-in approach with a focus on teaching skills: a teacher introduces a skill such as recognizing an emotion or using "I" messages, the students practice it for a set amount of time, and then the teacher moves on to the next skill. SEL assumes that this process is enough to enable students to use the skill in all relevant, real-life situations.

Mindfulness, on the other hand, works from the inside out, drawing on the premise that each person has the innate capacity for relationship-building qualities such as empathy and kindness-a premise that research now supports.

By helping students become aware of and then embody the connection between their emotions, thoughts, and bodily sensations, students are better able to regulate their emotions, which then impacts things such as their behavior, stress levels, relationships, and ability to focus. In short, mindfulness practices connect students' inner and outer experiences and help them see the congruence between the two.

Cultivating in tandem

SEL and mindfulness, however, are each limited in their own way. Telling students to use an "I" message when they get angry doesn't guarantee that they will do so when their emotions are running high. And just because someone practices mindfulness doesn't mean they have the skills to resolve conflicts.

The limitation of SEL was really brought home to Linda when a male student who had been taught SEL skills through the Resolving Conflict Creatively Program lost control of himself. The boy had been serving as a conflict mediator in his high school when he heard balloons pop. By the third pop, he had shoved the student who was popping the balloons up against the wall.

The principal called Linda and said, "I don't know what went on here. I know he has these SEL skills. Now I have to suspend him and he'll never be a mediator again." When Linda talked to the student, she found out that at one point in his life he had had a loaded gun shoved into his mouth that thankfully didn't go off. She quickly realized that because balloon popping sounded like gunfire, the student had been emotionally triggered and lashed out.

So, even though this student knew how to mediate conflicts-a standard SEL skill, because his amygdala had "hijacked" him, he wasn't able to access those skills when he really needed them. If this student's training had included mindfulness, he would have been more likely to notice that something was going on in his body when he heard the balloons pop. With this awareness, he could have chosen to regulate his emotions through deep breathing or some other technique and then use the skills he had learned through RCCP.

On the other hand, children who just learn mindfulness without SEL skills may be able to calm their emotions in a difficult situation, but still make wrong choices when it comes to getting along with others. For example, students who are insecurely attached - meaning they haven't experienced a safe, trusting relationship with a main caregiver - might have a belief that, in general, people are not to be trusted; thus, these students may not possess the skills for forming positive relationships with peers and teachers.

Integrating SEL and mindfulness

When SEL and mindfulness are integrated, the five SEL competencies laid out by CASEL have more fertile ground in which to grow and ultimately be embodied by students and adults alike. For example:

Competency 1: Self-awareness Students' self-awareness deepens when enhanced by the mindfulness practices of focusing attention and self-compassion.

Competency 2: Self-management Mindfulness increases students' emotion regulation skills, which enhances their ability to resolve conflict more creatively or to say how they're feeling in an emotionally balanced way.

Competency 3: Social awareness Mindfulness increases students' empathy by helping them to regulate their emotions rather than get emotionally overwhelmed when faced with a difficult situation. As a result, their capacity to notice another person's suffering and respond to it increases.

Competency 4: Relationship skills Mindfulness increases compassion. Thus, when students practice SEL skills such as creating a win-win solution with someone who challenges them, they are doing so with more compassionate understanding.

Competency 5: Decision-making Mindfulness increases cognitive flexibility and creativity, which gives students a wider range of responses to challenging situations.

Being the change in the world

Ultimately, when taught and learned together, mindfulness and SEL have the potential to transform our communities and our world with the former cultivating the tendencies for compassion and ethical ways of living and the latter teaching the skills to make that happen.

Linda saw this potential while working with schools in New Orleans when the city was rated the highest in the country for daily shootings. One day when she was teaching students SEL skills, a siren went off in the school and all the children hid under their desks.

One child said to Linda, "Ma'am, Ma'am, please duck and cover. Please duck and cover." Linda then realized that there was a free-for-all shooting happening outside and that the bullets might come in through the classroom windows. The shock of the situation made Linda wonder if there was truly any value in the skills she was teaching to these children.

Later, she asked this group of fifth grade students, "How many of you have been using these skills?" and they all raised their hands. But then one child said, "You know, it's very sad. We're using these skills, but then we go outside and we see terrible things. I saw someone get killed yesterday." Then Linda asked all the students, "How many of you have ever seen somebody get killed?" Again, every hand went up.

But then another child raised his hand and said, "Wait a minute, I just thought of one thing. I realize that even though those bad kids and bad adults are out there, pretty soon we are going to grow up and we're going to be those adults. And that's where it's going to change. That's how it will change for good."

And that is how it will change for good.

Greater Good wants to know: Do you think this article will influence your opinions or behavior?

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How SEL and Mindfulness Can Work Together

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When taught together, social-emotional learning and mindfulness can have even greater impact on both individuals and the world around us.

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Three ways to "take a moment" to be grateful.....

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Gratitude journal prompts for kids (and writers of all ages) -In today's fast-paced world, sometimes it's tough to slow down and appreciate all the wonderful things in our lives. However, practicing gratitude is a great way to help kids see how great life really is. Plus...

Writing about gratitude has been shown to improve mood, reduce anxiety, and generally increase happiness levels-and it's also simply a nice thing to do.

Yes!

With that in mind, we've created 35 fabulous gratitude journal prompts for kids - and for students in all grades, really - to use in your classroom this year.

Some Wonderful Benefits of Gratitude

In addition to the reasons listed above, further benefits of gratitude include feeling better about life overall, being kinder and more generous to others, and sleeping better. So yeah, teaching kids about gratitude is important - particularly as kids transition into the tween and teen years.

Between hormones and increased social pressures, it's easy for young people to get overwhelmed and feel like their lives are ruined over even small things.

However, taking time to actively practice gratitude and to stop and appreciate what they do have can give students some much-needed perspective - and in some cases, even a new outlook on life.

Hooray for a Regular Practice of Gratitude

Now....

As kids reflect on their own experiences with receiving and offering gratitude, they will better understand the importance of showing appreciation and focusing on positive things. And...

As they stretch their brains to consider some of the often-overlooked things they are thankful to have in their lives, they'll develop a deeper sense of gratitude for their own good fortunes.

Of course, you can use this list of gratitude journal prompts for kids in any grade to help them see just how much there is to appreciate in life. These prompts can also be used in the classroom as conversation starters and will, no doubt, have a positive impact on your kids.

Ok, grab a notebook and get to using and enjoying this list wonderful list of gratitude journal ideas.

35 Gratitude Journal Prompts for Kids

1. How often do you stop and think about what you are grateful for? How could you do this more often?

2. How do you feel when someone shares their gratitude for you or something you've done?

3. Write about a time when you thanked someone and you could tell it made them really happy.

4. Why is it important to practice gratitude?

5. Do you ever find it difficult to be grateful? Why or why not?

6. Think of something good you did for yourself recently and write yourself a thank-you note.

7. Write a thank-you note to a friend for the part he or she played in a special memory.

8. Write a thank-you note to your parents for any topic of your choice.

9. Write a thank-you note to your most prized possession for the purpose it serves in your life.

10. Write a thank-you note to someone you don't know well who impacted you recently.

11. Make a list of all the people you are grateful to have in your life. Then, choose one to write about in detail.

12. Make a list of physical capabilities you are grateful to have. Then, choose one to write about in detail.

13. Make a list of aspects of nature you are grateful to be able to experience. Then, choose one to write about in detail.

14. Make a list of things your parents have done for you that you are grateful for. Then, choose one to write about in detail.

15. Make a list of things about school that make you feel grateful. Then, choose one to write about in detail.

16. What are some good ways to show your gratitude when someone does something nice for you?

17. Describe the feeling of gratitude with as much detail as you can. Use adjectives and metaphors to be as creative as you wish!

18. Write about a time when someone expected you to be grateful but you weren't. What happened? How did you handle the situation?

19. Write about a time when you had to express gratitude for a gift you didn't really like. What did you say or do?

20. Write about a time when someone failed to show their appreciation for you. How did that make you feel?

21. Try keeping a gratitude journal for a full day and record as many items as possible. Then, at the end of the day, write about your experience.

22. Make a list of 100 things you are grateful for. Then, write about whether or not it was tough to come up with that many items.

23. Make a list of things you often take for granted but that you are very thankful to have. What are some ways that you could try to recognize these things more often?

24. Make a list of experiences in your life you are grateful to have had. Then, choose one to write about in detail.

25. Do you think you would benefit from keeping a daily or weekly gratitude journal? Why or why not?

26. Write about a time when you had trouble expressing the depth of your gratitude. What did you do?

27. Why is it so important to show our gratitude to others? What happens if you fail to do so?

28. Does practicing gratitude ever change your mood or outlook? Describe your experience.

29. Write about a time when something made you unhappy-but you eventually came to feel grateful for it in the end. What caused your perspective to change?

30. Do you ever find it difficult to feel gratitude? Why or why not?

31. Make a list of things that exist in the world that you are grateful for. Then, choose one to write about in detail.

32. Make a list of basic necessities that you are grateful you don't have to worry about. Then, choose one to write about in detail.

33. Make a list of lessons you are grateful to have learned. Then, choose one to write about in detail.

34. Make a list of experiences you are grateful that you will have the opportunity to have in the future. Then, choose one to write about in detail.

35. Make a list of things you were grateful for as a child. Then, choose one to write about in detail and describe why it was so meaningful to you.

I hope you enjoyed this list of gratitude journal prompts for kids.

191 MORE Free Journaling Prompts

A Few Closing Thoughts

Students often find that it is easy to focus on negatives - you may find that a daily gratitude journal can help kids develop an "attitude of gratitude". Thanksgiving is often a time where one focuses on gratefulness; gratitude activities can be incorporated into the classroom year-round, not just during the month of November.

Oh, and in the list of gratitude journal prompts for kids above wasn't enough, you could have your writers get into a habit of gratitude by starting off their day by listing their recent accomplishments, and writing something about their emotions, blessings, or about their favorite thing. Yeppers, there are endless gratitude writing prompts to inspire your kids.

If you enjoyed these Gratitude Journal Prompts for Kids, please share them on Facebook, Twitter, and/or Pinterest. I appreciate it!

Ok, that's all for now. Thanks for reading. I'm grateful for you! 💜

Until next time, write on...

Sincerely,
Jill
journalbuddies.com
creator and curator

PS - explore these Tips for keeping a gratitude journal!

Now Offering You 17,000+ Prompts!

Hello! I'm Journal Buddies Jill. I am so happy you found my blog.

You have discovered an awesome resource of wonderful writing ideas and fabulous journal prompts. Take a look around, enjoy and write on...

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Discover 35 creative gratitude journal prompts for kids that will not only improve your child's mindset, but also boost their self-esteem and resilience #Gratitude #Journaling #Writing #JournalBuddies

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Mindful Kindness with Barbie and Eve (Headspace)

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Mindful Kindness with Barbie and Eve (Headspace)

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5 ways to teach mindfulness to kids

Of course, you can always ask your kids to join you in your meditation practice. But there are plenty of other mindfulness activities for kids that can also have a big impact. Just remember: It doesn't really matter which activity you choose. The most effective way to teach children about mindfulness is to practice it yourself. After all, kids are constantly watching how their parents act and what they say, soaking up information like sponges. That's why modeling a regular meditation practice can go a long way in helping them to establish their own mindfulness habits. Here are 5 different ways to teach your child mindfulness:

Breathing. Focusing on the sounds of their own breath and motion of their bellies rising and falling helps children learn to be in the present moment. Here's an idea that's particularly fun - and effective! - for young children. On the inhale, tell them to pretend they're smelling something yummy, like their favorite flower or chocolate brownies in the oven; on the exhale, they can pretend to blow out candles. And, if your child can't sit still for more than a couple of minutes, don't sweat it: start with 10 breaths and over time, build up to several minutes.

Create a mindful bedtime ritual. A regular mindfulness ritual at the end of the day can help your child to calm their body and reflect on their day. One way to do this is with a short body scan: Have your child close their eyes and focus on their head, arms, belly, etc., working their way through all the body parts. Or, you can do a simple gratitude meditation by having them share one thing they are thankful for.

Take a walk. This activity is not only a great way for kids to practice mindfulness and notice the present moment, but they also get exercise and fresh air. On the walk, take a few minutes to be completely silent and pay attention to all the sounds that you hear: passing cars, wind rustling dry leaves, a dog barking. Afterwards, talk about what you and your child heard, and how that made you both feel.

Eat a snack ... mindfully. Mindful eating is a practice that engages all five senses, and it's fun and easy to do. Before eating the snack, ask your kids to think about its appearance, shape, size, color, smell, and texture. Then, when they place it in their mouths, think about the sensation and the process of eating it. By learning to slow down and notice food, kids are more likely to savor it, digest better, and enjoy the meal more.

Meditate together with Headspace. It's critical to introduce meditation and mindfulness at an early age, which is why Headspace offers fun, engaging activities that teach kids the basics of mindfulness. These activities involve everything from breathing exercises and visualizations to focus-based meditation. And because different exercises work best for different ages, Headspace offers customized sessions for three age groups: 5 and under, 6 through 8, and 9 through 12.

Try a kids meditation:

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Mindfulness Activities for Kids - Headspace

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Of course, you can always ask your kids to join you in your meditation practice. But there are plenty of other mindfulness activities for kids that can also have a big impact. Just remember: It doesn't really matter which activity you choose. The most effective way to teach children about mindfulness is to practice it yourself.

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Mindfulness Exercises for Kids in the Classroom - Waterford.org

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Use these 51 mindfulness activities to help children recognize and manage their thoughts, emotions, and actions—all important SEL skills.

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51 Mindfulness Exercises for Kids in the Classroom

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Stop, Take deep breath, Observe, Proceed

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When we teach mindfulness to kids, we equip them with tools to build self-esteem, manage stress, and skillfully approach challenges. Explore our guide on how to introduce mindfulness and meditation to your children—at any age.

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Classic Books that can help teach mindfulness

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Classic Books that can help teach mindfulness

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In recent years, there has been an explosion of books for kids about mindfulness and contemplative practice. Many of these wonderful books are explicitly about discovering the present moment, impermanence, equanimity, and other similar concepts. The best of these books are deceptively simple. Many have few words or a single, simple idea. The most elegant ones do not resort to preachy exposition.

Some of the most insightful lessons, however, come from books that are not actually trying to teach mindfulness! Just as mindfulness has been around for a long time, so too have picture books that convey mindful messages. In many cases, we just never noticed these lessons before. As parents, and children's book authors ourselves, we have discovered that many of the best books about mindfulness are often just the best kids' books.

With this inspiration in mind, we've put together a list of classic children's books with profound lessons on mindfulness. We hope you'll share your favorite classics with us, too.

1) The Snowy Day

By Ezra Jack Keats, Puffin Books

The Snowy Day takes readers on a journey with a boy as he explores his neighborhood after a recent snowfall. How is this story mindful? The simple rhythm, the heightening and highlighting of the senses ("crunch crunch crunch" through the snow) bring us into the moment, while the sheer joy, awe, and intentional curiosity of nature's beauty and surprises in the midst of the city all evoke mindfulness. This brightly illustrated book is so sensory-the boy smacks a tree with a stick, then drags the stick though the snow, all before relaxing into a warm bath-that the reader can almost experience the day alongside the boy. By the end we have been transported to that feeling of waking up to a still, quiet snow blanketing the busy city, and the coziness of thawing out upon returning home.

2) The Missing Piece

By Shel Silverstein, HarperCollins

Shel Silverstein has many classics that teach compassion, emotional intelligence, humor, and so much more. The Missing Piece, told in minimal text with Silverstein's trademark line drawings, tells the tale of a circle who is missing a pie-shaped piece. The circle ambles through the countryside, singing and observing, when, at long last, it finds its missing piece: a slender triangle that fits just right. Yet, once whole, the circle can no longer sing (the piece is in the way), and it now rolls too fast to smell the flowers or truly look at the butterflies. The circle decides that it is happier without the piece, and the two go their separate ways.

For us, this books shows us how we all have a missing piece or two, but those imperfections are what make us human. If we try to "fix" all those qualities that we see as our flaws, then we are no longer true to who we are. Maybe you have to read it to understand what we are talking about.

3) The Important Book

By Margaret Wise Brown and Illustrated by Leonard Weisgard, HarperCollins

While Margaret Wise Brown is best known for her timeless Goodnight Moon, The Important Book is a quirky little story that explores the essence of everyday things in elegant, almost haiku-like prose. One page reads, "The important thing about the sky is that it is there. It is true that it is blue and high, and full of clouds and made of air. But the important thing about the sky is that it is there." On the first reading, it may seem obvious, but only after frequent revisiting does the book's profound lessons become apparent. It encourages readers to meditate on the true essence of everyday things-the sky-ness of the sky-without preconceived judgments clouding our view. The rhythm of the book sticks with you long after the kids have gone to sleep, inviting you to continue pondering: What is the true essence of the sun? The floor? This screen? Bonus: A posthumous follow-up illustrated by Chris Raschka, Another Important Book, is a sweet variation about growing up.

4) The Lion and the Little Red Bird

By Elisa Kleven, Puffin Books

A good friend and colleague, Susan Greenland, suggested The Lion and the Little Red Bird as a mindful book for children. The tale of a bird admiring a lion with a mysterious, color-changing tail is perfect in so many ways. It is just the right length, traces one main story and idea, includes beautiful pictures, and uses language that is straightforward, yet descriptive. The prose captures the vibrancy of the natural world, and teaches readers through the example of a simple act of kindness. The book ends with the bird and lion becoming friends and sharing their essential gifts with one another.

5) "Alone"

6) "At Evening"

By Arnold Lobel, HarperCollins

Arnold Lobel was a childhood favorite for us, so we had to include not one, but two of his humorous tales of friendship and feelings in this list. Our children love to read about the inspiring friendship between Frog and Toad, most mindfully as it plays out in the story, "Alone." As Frog chooses to enjoy time by himself, Toad grows concerned about Frog being unhappy. The story closes with an image of appreciation both for friendship and the beautiful summer day, with "two close friends sitting alone together."

Another favorite is the quirky "At Evening," from the adventures of Grasshopper on the Road. As other insects look on in confusion, Grasshopper takes his time to truly enjoy his journey and gives himself a rest when he needs to, rather than focusing on his destination.

7) The Story of Ferdinand

By Munro Leaf and Illustrated by Robert Lawson, Puffin Books

We both remember this book vividly from our own childhoods. In The Story of Ferdinand, Ferdinand the bull is happiest under a cork tree, smelling the flowers. When he is stung by a bee, his fierce reaction leads a bullfighter to take him to the city to fight before a crowd. But when Ferdinand gets into the bullring, all he wants to do is sit and smell the flowers. Our own parents' generation, who protested the Vietnam War and helped to popularize mindfulness, rediscovered this classic from the 1930s with its message about peace and nonconformity.

While we identified with Ferdinand as kids, gazing at the clovers in the outfield instead of keeping our eye on the game, we both remember finding this book a bit frightening (Chris) and sad (Olivia). Rereading it as adults, we resonate with the simple imagery of sitting beneath a tree and smelling the flowers as the clouds drift by.

The glitter jar represents the mind settling. It's a great afternoon activity that your kids can keep coming back to as a mindfulness practice. Read More

Teaching children how to bounce back from adversity starts with modeling our own mistakes and how we forgive ourselves for them. This expert Q&A with Sharon Salzberg, Dr. Chris Willard, and Dr. Mark Bertin explores what it means to go through the muck instead of around. Read More

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7 Classic Children's Books That Teach Kids Mindfulness - Mindful

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In recent years, there has been an explosion of books for kids about mindfulness and contemplative practice. Many of these wonderful books are explicitly about discovering the present moment, impermanence, equanimity, and other similar concepts. The best of these books are deceptively simple. Many have few words or a single, simple idea.

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Positive affirmations foster optimism and confidence.

In fact, research has proven that regularly practicing affirmations has many mental and physical benefits, including decreasing stress and rumination, boosting feelings of optimism, and strengthening resilience.

They can even help improve performance in sports, academics, and career endeavors.

What are positive affirmations?

Affirmations are positive statements or mantras that you repeat to yourself, either silently or out loud.

They are intended to help you reach a goal, change a mindset, improve self-esteem, boost your confidence, or improve your health.

When they are repeated consistently, positive affirmations can help "rewire" your brain to support the changes you are hoping to achieve by using them.

In fact, you can use affirmations in any situation in your life where you want to improve or make a positive change.

Positive Affirmations for Kids

But affirmations aren't just for adults - children can benefit from using positive affirmations too to foster a mindset of optimism and success.

Kids affirmations instill creative thinking, strengthen the little ones' self-esteem and allow them to become adults with a growth mindset and positive habits.

But how can you seamlessly integrate affirmations into their everyday life?

As a parent or a teacher, teaching children to think positively and use positive mantras is a gift that will serve them throughout their lives.

By practicing affirmations, children will learn to use their inner mental resources when they are met with challenges and difficulties.

As an adult, you can encourage children to remember positive beliefs and goals every day by creating an affirmation board or affirmation cards they can use whenever they need a boost.

Affirmations for children should be as compelling and straightforward as they are for adults.

If you don't know where to start with affirmations for kids, or you're just looking for some inspiration, we've got you covered.

We have curated a list of 125 empowering positive affirmations for kids to help them feel great about themselves and reach their goals.

I am smart, amazing, and powerful.

I don't need to worry. I can try again.

I can do more than I believe.

My dreams will come true.

I am great today, and I will be even greater tomorrow.

My heart is full of kindness and courage.

Every day my life is better and better.

I am worthy.

I love myself.

I create my life just the way I want it.

I am creative and bright.

I am happy.

My family and friends are always there for me.

I overcome challenges easily.

Learning is fun!

I am unique.

I love the world around me.

Everything I do matters.

I am extraordinary.

I am deserving of happiness and love.

I will succeed.

The sun will shine again tomorrow.

I bring joy to everyone around me.

I do my best every day.

I am responsible.

My memory is fantastic.

I am a fast learner.

I always offer others a big smile.

Failure is my teacher, and I learn from it.

No one knows everything, but I learn as much as I can every day.

Words can hurt others so I only think and say good things.

I am free to choose who I want to be.

It will all pass. Happiness is around the corner.

I always find the bright side of anything.

I trust myself.

Whatever it is, I can do it.

Today is a beautiful day.

There is beauty in everything around me.

I discover new things everywhere I go.

I am gentle with everyone, including myself.

I love to try new things.

The person I am today makes me proud.

My decisions and thoughts are positive.

It's okay to ask others for help.

Every moment is special.

I am patient and calm.

I am free to express my ideas.

Everyone is different and that's amazing!

I am happy to help others.

Nature is my friend.

I can solve any problem.

I have wonderful friends.

I am thankful for everything I am and have.

I am optimistic every day.

I am powerful and courageous.

I have confidence in me.

I am talented.

A lot of great things are still to come.

I respect others and they respect me.

I can always start again.

I believe.
More Related Articles: 119 Of The Most Positive, Uplifting Affirmations For Women 50 Of The Best Growth Mindset Quotes For Kids And Teachers 65 Short Positive Quotes To Brighten Your Day
It's okay to cry.

Everything will work out.

Everything I do creates a happier and healthier life.

I like my differences, and I like the differences in others.

I have the courage I need to face my fears.

I forgive myself, and I know I can always improve.

I always choose compassion over anger.

I let my heart guide me.

Life is full of miracles and wonders.

Even if people are rude to me, I choose to be nice and polite.

My family is proud of me.

I love my family and friends very much and they love me too.

I am honest and open-hearted.

I am dedicated and persistent.

The world is full of infinite possibilities.

I am cheerful and energetic.

I look forward to what is to come.

I transform any day into a fantastic day.

I am patient with myself.

I am a hero.

My body, heart, and mind are beautiful!

I am a great listener.

My imagination and knowledge are always growing.

I forgive others because everyone has their own difficulties.

I'm thankful for receiving, and I am glad to give.

Challenges help me grow.

I freely share my thoughts and emotions with my family.

I enjoy being myself.

Who I am is more than enough.

I can change anything.

I am fun and friendly.

I am good at anything I set my mind on.

I am full of dreams and ingenious ideas.

Every day is a new opportunity.

I learn something new every day.

If I keep on trying, I will make it next time.

I am growing strong and tall like a big oak tree!

Practice and effort make anything possible.

I choose to think and feel only good, positive things.

I make a difference in this world.

Everything I say is meaningful.

I deserve to be heard and respected.

If I can't do this yet, I will learn it and do it tomorrow.

I embrace myself just the way I am.

Life is beautiful.

My positive attitude creates a better world.

My own choices determine where I'm going next.

I am bigger and stronger than my fears and mistakes.

Step by step, I get closer to my dreams and goals.

I am becoming a better person every day.

I am an attentive student.

I enjoy going to school and learning new things with my teachers.

I love helping my teachers and classmates create a better school for all of us.

If I look hard, I can always find a solution to any problem.

I conquer difficulties and keep moving forward.

I overcome bad days with hope and optimism.

I am excited to explore the unknown.

I take my time learning and improving myself.

I believe life always brings me wonderful things.

I love and embrace people just the way they are.

I have faith in myself.

How to Use These Positive Affirmations for Kids

There are so many creative ways for children to use positive affirmations.

Click on the image below to download the full list of positive affirmations for kids (PDF).

The most important part of using affirmations is consistency.

Ask your child or students to choose one affirmation each week to focus on.

Then you can use a variety of activities to reinforce the positive statement so the child won't get bored by simply repeating the words every day.
Here are some ideas:

Have the child look in the mirror while saying the affirmation out loud.

Create affirmation cards by asking the child to write positive statements on index cards.

Print coloring pages or printables with positive affirmations for children to color.

Try a rock painting activity where kids paint their favorite affirmations on smooth river rocks.

Have your child write the affirmation on sticky notes and put them around the house (or classroom).

Create an affirmation jar filled with small slips of paper with different affirmations related to the main mantra.

Ask children to sing their affirmations, making the activity fun and memorable.

Design a weekly affirmation log and checklist to help remind kids to repeat affirmations.

Since kids have short attention spans, try to keep the affirmation activities short and fun.

You might choose a specific time of day to practice affirmations so that you cement a regular habit with your child or students of practicing them daily.
What are your favorite positive affirmations for children?
You can do it.

And so can your children.

Explore and create your own list of positive affirmations alongside your kids, and show them how you put your own self-talk into practice.

Remember to establish and constantly maintain a line of open communication to find out how their affirmations influence them.

Kids affirmations are the tools your children need to enjoy a more positive life and grow into kinder, braver, more creative, and emotionally intelligent adults.

Wouldn't the world be a much better place if all children could grow up like this, believing in their potential and knowing that they matter? So why not spread the word?

Reach out to other parents and teachers by sharing this article on Facebook or Twitter, pinning it to your Pinterest or adding it to your Pocket.

May your optimism and confidence influence everything you - and your children - do today.

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125 Positive Affirmations For Kids To Help Them Grow Up Happy and Confident

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Positive affirmations foster optimism and confidence. In fact, research has proven that regularly practicing affirmations has many mental and physical benefits, including decreasing stress and rumination, boosting feelings of optimism, and strengthening resilience. They can even help improve performance in sports, academics, and career endeavors.

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The Emotional Basics

Children learn about face and body clues in order to understand what emotions look like.

Breathing

Studies show that deep breathing brings more oxygen to the brain and has a measurable physiological impact.

The Emotional ABCs Toolbar

The Emotional ABCs Toolbar shows children how to quickly figure out what they are feeling (Pause), why (Rewind) & how to make a good choice (Play).

The Emotional Playbook

Children are given a reference book of good choices to draw from during everyday situations. Children learn potential "good choices" from a Playbook of options.

Moodlandia

In Moodlandia, children bring all their new skills together by guiding Moody through everyday scenarios.

Games, Fun & Extras

All lessons lead to My Board where children see rewards they have earned and can play unlocked games.

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What if your child could have a better day...EVERY day?

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Empower your child with better social-emotional skills! Learn why Emotional ABCs is used by parents & schools worldwide to improve social emotional learning.

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Teach Kids to Manage Big Feelings Through Effective Social Emotional Learning

Over 80% of U.S. public schools reported in 2022 on the negative impact of the pandemic on child well-being and self-regulation. Kids are:

Struggling to manage their feelings and mental health

More disruptive in the classroom

Needing additional social, emotional, and behavioral support

(source: National Center for Education Statistics)

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The Zones of Regulation is a complete social-emotional learning curriculum, created to teach children self-regulation and emotional control.

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Greetings! I'm Linda Farmer, a Certified Zentangle Teacher (CZT®). TanglePatterns.com was created over a decade ago in May of 2010 to serve and network the Zentangle® community with new tangles and great creative resources.

A very warm welcome to you, you are certainly among friends. Tanglers are a wonderful, generous and sharing community. I hope you enjoy the site and are inspired by the tangles and many useful resources you find here. Please feel free to add your thoughts in the comments on any page and join in the community.

If you are new to the Zentangle art form, I suggest you visit the ZENTANGLES > WHAT IS A ZENTANGLE page (top menu bar) first to get an idea of the focus of TanglePatterns. On the ABOUT > HOW TO USE THIS SITE page you'll find helpful suggestions for using the site.

Here's another resource that's handy for newcomers - Exploring TanglePatterns. Be sure to check out the rest of the pages on the menu at the very top of every page - there's a wealth of information there you'll want to see. Also, don't miss the TUTORIALS tab on the pink alphabetic tangles menu bar.

I've also added an FAQ page on the "About" menu that may answer any other questions you might have.

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Have a good look around, there are lots of great tangles here ... and ... happy tangling!

NOW AVAILABLE in PAPERBACK or as a KINDLE EBOOK!
The fabulous hardcover, and now softcover or digital ebook by Zentangle's co-founders, Zentangle PRIMER Vol 1.

"Absolutely the best Zentangle Book yet! As an accomplished artist I used to think I did not need instruction on this art form. How wrong I was! My tangling improved by leaps and bounds after reading this book.

If you think you have Zentangle down then you need this book more than ever!" ~ Kris H

Below you will find all the articles posted on the site with the most recent listed first. Enjoy!!

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Greetings! I'm Linda Farmer, a Certified Zentangle Teacher (CZT®). TanglePatterns.com was created over a decade ago in May of 2010 to serve and network the Zentangle® community with new tangles and great creative resources. A very warm welcome to you, you are certainly among friends. Tanglers are a wonderful, generous and sharing community.

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Bring out the artist inside you with the Zentangle Method. An easy-to-learn, relaxing, and fun way to create beautiful images by drawing structured patterns

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Online training, professional development, and classes proven to improve physical, mental, emotional, and social health.
To get started, what age group do you work with?

We are committed to accessibility, equity & justice.

Yoga Ed. is dedicated to making the tools of yoga & mindfulness accessible by, relatable to, and available for all. We believe that yoga & mindfulness separated from social justice becomes just another distraction.

We are a global movement with 20 year history.

Over the past 20 years, our programs have reached 6 continents, 46+ countries, 12K+ schools, 79K+ educators, and 15M+ students.

Since 1999, we have certified thousands of individuals in the art and science of teaching yoga and mindfulness worldwide.

We partner with schools, non-profit, and for-profit organizations to sustainably improve the health and wellness of communities.

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Online training, professional development, and classes for educators, health care professionals, yoga instructors, and anyone inspired to bring the benefits of mindfulness and yoga to youth in their lives. Online and on-site programs for kids yoga, teens yoga, and yoga in schools.

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Trolls: Can't Stop The Feeling | GoNoodle