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Look After Your Brain - Brainsmart - BBC

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3-6 Lesson 1

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Learn How To Identify Empathy Lesson- Feelings Chart.pdf

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Stretches for the Inflexible! Beginner Flexibility Routine

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Lesson 1

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Abstract Hip Hop Chill Trip Hop, Meditation (Zen Music) 1hr

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Abstract Hip Hop Chill Trip Hop, Meditation (Zen Music) 1hr

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Abstract Hip Hop Chill Trip Hop, Meditation (Zen Music) Zen Hop Mix Vol.1 by DJ Gami.K

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Abstract Hip Hop Instrumental Chill Trip Hop, Meditation (Zen Music) Zen Hop Mix Vol.1 by DJ Gami.K Buy this mixtape: https://djgamik.bandcamp.com/album/abstract-hip-hop-chill-trip-hop-meditation-zen-music-zen-hop-mix-vol-1-1-track-version 00:00 First Beat 01:32 Afro Japorhythm 04:08 Meditation 06:17 Beautiful World 09:24 GAGAKU -雅楽- 10:22 ZEN -禅- 13:35 Brave New World 16:23 Encourage Myself 18:29 KAZAHANA -snowing like a Flower- 20:17 Light & Shadow 23:40 Determination 26:07 KAKUSEI - Arousal 27:46 Bushido -武士道- 29:25 Impermanence 32:26 Survival 35:04 Cupido 38:17 Life is beautiful 41:07 Sacred Space 44:23 Reminiscence 45:31 Wa nastukashi 48:57 Sacred Space (Aco.

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Give your children opportunities to be aware of the moment using our free animal colouring sheets. Ten animals are available, including a bat, butterfly, dragonfly, elephant, fox, iguana, owl, raccoon, rhino and turtle. Use these free resources in your classroom in some of the following ways:

As calm mindfulness resources to give your children a chance to be aware of the moment and reflect on their feelings and thoughts.

Let children colour the printouts as a calm way to start each day... or each afternoon after a busy lunchtime!

Challenge children to colour them using a range of materials. Which do they prefer and why?

Ask your students to colour them using different shades of one colour.

Give children these resources and then ask them to create similar pictures based on their own favourite animals.

Have the resources available as an activity for children who have finished other activities early.

If you have any other ideas for using these resources, please let us know in the comments.

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Give your children opportunities to be aware of the moment using our free animal colouring sheets. Ten animals are available, including a bat, butterfly, dragonfly, elephant, fox, iguana, owl, raccoon, rhino and turtle.

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2 PRINTABLE MANDALA & ABSTRACT COLOURING PAGES

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2 PRINTABLE MANDALA & ABSTRACT COLOURING PAGES

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Adult colouring books are increasing with popularity, and while we could all do with some stress relief, not all of us can afford to buy them.

So, we have gathered our favourite Mandalas and abstract colouring pages for you to print and colour at a fraction of the cost!

All you need to do is right click on an image and save it onto your computer, print, and you are ready for your colouring meditation!

Coloring allows to unlock your creative potential. Perhaps more important, it helps relieve tension and anxiety. It unlocks memories of childhood and simpler times. As psychologist Antoni Martínez explains: "I recommend it as a relaxation technique. We can use it to enter a more creative, freer state. I recommend it in a quiet environment, even with chill music. Let the color and the lines flow."

Original Image Sources & where you can find even more printables!
http://joglokids.net/design-coloring-pages/adult-pattern-coloring-pages-4/

http://sea4waterman.com/new-coloring-pages/flower-mandala-coloring-pages-free-printable/?v=1

http://coolimages4free.com/printable-mandalas-for-coloring/

http://www.supercoloring.com/coloring-pages/mandala

http://www.uniquecoloringpages.com/mandala-coloring-pages-and-book.html

http://liveyourbliss.net/coloring-mandalas/

http://www.coloringcastle.com/mandala_coloring_pages.html

http://fatmumslim.com.au/five-of-the-best-adult-colouring-in-printables/

http://koloringpages.com/mandala-coloring-pages/

http://katibura.xyz/printable/adult-coloring-pages-printable-elephant

http://www.art-is-fun.com/free-adult-coloring-pages/

http://www.coloring-pages-adults.com/coloring-zen/

http://www.selfcoloringpages.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Butterflies-Coloring-Pages-For-Adults-1.jpg

https://www.etsy.com/listing/235451220/adult-colouring-pageoriginal-hand-draw

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_eye/2015/04/07/johanna_basford_enchanted_forest_secret_garden_addictive_coloring_books.html

http://www.colorpagesformom.com/coloringpages/flowers/flow36.jpg
This article 29 Printable Mandala & Abstract Colouring Pages Meditation & Stress Relief is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to the author and www.the-open-mind.com. All links and sources must remain intact.
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22 Printable Mandala & Abstract Colouring Pages For Meditation &...

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Adult colouring books are increasing with popularity, and while we could all do with some stress relief, not all of us can afford to buy them. So, we have gathered our favourite Mandalas and abstract colouring pages for you to print and colour at a fraction of the cost!

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Mindfulness Coloring Worksheets Pdf - mindfulness coloring worksheets pdf also relangga.com

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astonishing adult colouring in pdf download tree dragonfly henna zen mandalas also appealing 26 best coloring pages for adults images on pinterest coloring , fascinating 41 best color therapy images on pinterest mandalas coloring , breathtaking friends quotes coloring pages coloring pages , breathtaking mindfulness colouring sheets - thinking clearly also stunning the mindfulness colouring book anti stress art therapy for busy also amazing togetherness blog togetherness project also terrific 22 printable mandala & abstract colouring pages for meditation with cool animal coloring pages pdf adult coloring coloring books and owl , Mindfulness Coloring Worksheets Pdf

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8 Free Printable Mindful Colouring Pages

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8 Free Printable Mindful Colouring Pages

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Ever since I was a little girl, I've always adored colouring in. You'd be guaranteed to find me somewhere in the corner with some paper and pencils in my spare time, just scribbling away! It's been said that colouring in is the perfect de-stress-er and does wonders for relaxing and calming down. I, myself, can definitely second that. Who says kids are the only ones allowed to colour in?

Today I've been scavenging through the internet looking for some different designs to fill with colour. I do have a colouring book somewhere lying around, but it's always nice to change things up a little, especially if it's for free! Here I've found 8 of my favourite designs that you can download too. All you need to do is print them out and there you have it - the perfect end to your busy day.

Go ahead, grab yourself some pencils - perhaps a sharpener too - and give yourself a few minutes to unwind. You deserve it.

1. Owl Friends

2. Flower Doodles

3. Geometric Shapes

4. Birds and Blooms

5. Mindful Mandala

6. Pretty Peacocks

7. Secret Garden

8. Zen Swirls

P.s. Did you recognise one of my older posts with the printable Mandala? If you haven't already done so, be sure to give it a colour!

Have a wonderful day!
Follow me on social media for future updates!

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8 Free Printable Mindful Colouring Pages

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Ever since I was a little girl, I've always adored colouring in. You'd be guaranteed to find me somewhere in the corner with some paper and pencils in my spare time, just scribbling away! It's been said that colouring in is the perfect de-stress-er and does wonders for relaxing and calming down.

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Mindfulness Exercises for Kids Still Quiet Place (GoZen!).mp4

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Take 5 Breathing: A Breathing Exercise for Kids

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When you read a guided relaxation script to your child, you’re helping him see the benefits of relaxation or meditation at an early age.

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Headspace | Meditation | Underlying Calm

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Find calm with this minute-long meditation. ..................................................................................................................... Download the Headspace app and learn to meditate whenever you want, wherever you are, in just a few minutes a day. Each day, it delivers a new guided meditation based on teachings that Andy Puddicombe, Co-founder of Headspace, learned during the ten years he spent studying meditation and mindfulness in monasteries across Asia.

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Rainbow Breath - Learn To Raise Your Energy | Meditation For Kids | Breathing Exercises | GoNoodle

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Try Your Best - Think About It | GoNoodle

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Strengthen Your Focus | Guided Meditiation For Kids | Breathing Exercises | GoNoodle

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How To Manage Frustration | Guided Meditation For Kids | Breathing Exercises | GoNoodle

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Relieve Anxiety - Empower Tools | GoNoodle

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Learn To Bring Down Stress | Guided Meditiation For Kids | Breathing Exercises | GoNoodle

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Practice melting away that icky frozen feeling you get when you're scared, frustrated, or angry. Create a free account on GoNoodle.com now and find hundreds of ways to move! -- https://goo.gl/fA6qK3 Have you subscribed to the GoNoodle YouTube channel? What are you waiting for!? Subscribe today for exclusive content!

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Sesame Street: Name That Emotion with Murray!

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Sesame Street: Elmo and Jesse Williams explain Furious

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Have you ever been furious? It means to be really really angry. Jesse Williams and Elmo call on their pal Felix the Fly to explain why he's so furious. Subscribe to the Sesame Street Channel here: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=SesameStreet For more fun games and videos for your preschooler in a safe, child-friendly environment, visit us at http://www.sesamestreet.org Sesame Street is a production of Sesame Workshop, a nonprofit educational organization.

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Sesame Street: Common and Colbie Caillat Sing "Belly Breathe" with Elmo

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by Catharine Hannay, founder of MindfulTeachers.org

Here are a variety of useful activities and resources for practicing and teaching:

mindfulness and meditation,

kindness and compassion,

generosity and gratitude,

social responsibility, and

social-emotional skills.

I've gotten a lot of requests to use the activities in various contexts, and I've found some of this content copied onto other sites without permission. Please link to these resources; please do not copy them to your own site.

If you're looking for different types of mindfulness activities and complementary practices:

If you're looking for particular types of teaching resources for mindfulness and values-based teaching:

If you're interested in best practices in teaching mindfulness:

If you're looking for a variety of different perspectives on mindfulness:

If you found these resources useful, you might also be interested in theSelf-Care Resources for educators and other helping professionals.

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Resources for Practicing and Teaching Mindfulness - Mindful Teachers

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by Catharine Hannay, founder of MindfulTeachers.org Here are a variety of useful activities and resources for practicing and teaching: mindfulness and meditation, kindness and compassion, generosity and gratitude, social responsibility, and social-emotional skills. I've gotten a lot of requests to use the activities in various contexts, and I've found some of this content copied onto other sites without permission.

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Smiling Mind: Introduction to Mindfulness Meditation.

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A brief introduction to the importance of mindfulness meditation.

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4 EXERCISES TO TEST HOW FAST IS YOUR BRAIN!!!

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Mind in a Jar - Planting Seeds of Mindfulness  MOVIE!

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The Benefits of Meditation ~ Jon Kabat-Zinn

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😊 🌺 Breath Meditation for Kids 😊 ❤️‍ Mindfulness for Kids

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Mindfulness can boost the quality of our lives in numerous ways.

In today's rush, we all think too much-seek too much-want too much-and forget about the joy of just being.

- Eckhart Tolle

What does mindfulness do to spark "the joy of just being" that Tolle references? And, how can we teach kids to start benefiting from its practice?

This article delves into both of these questions and includes plenty of activities for you to start using today.

Research confirms that for children, mindfulness can:

Mitigate the effects of bullying (Zhou, Liu, Niu, Sun, & Fan, 2016);

Enhance focus in children with ADHD (Zhang et al., 2016);

Reduce attention problems (Crescentini, Capurso, Furlan, & Fabbro, 2016);

Improve mental health and wellbeing;

Improve social skills when well taught and practiced with children and adolescents.

It's also important for caregivers and educators to provide age-appropriate mindfulness practices to children.

For example, fostering mindfulness in preschoolers with tools like pictures, objects, food, simple movements, and music, can help them develop an ability to better focus their attention and stay present.

In a study by Flook et al., (2015), kids were asked to engage in an activity called "Belly Buddies", in which they listened to music while also noticing the sensation of a small tone on their stomachs rising and falling with each breath.

The kids became more attune to their bodies, breath and to the music.

Ultimately, simple activities like these can have long-lasting developmental benefits when practiced regularly.

Want more? We have 25 mindfulness activities designed specifically for children. Plus, they are fun to do.

But, before you read on, we thought you might like to download our three Mindfulness Exercises for free. These science-based, comprehensive exercises will not only help you cultivate a sense of inner peace throughout your daily life but will also give you the tools to enhance the mindfulness of your children, students or young clients.

4 Fun Mindfulness Activities and Exercises for Children

Let's start with these simple ways to attune children with their bodies. At a young age, humans naturally curious about the strength and flexibility of their bodies. It's a great age to introduce body-mind awareness as a valuable way to take care of themselves.

Mindful Posing

One easy way for children to dip their toes into mindfulness is through body poses. To get your kids excited, tell them that doing fun poses can help them feel strong, brave, and happy.

Have the kids go somewhere quiet and familiar, a place they feel safe. Next, tell them to try one of the following poses:

1. The Superman: this pose is practiced by standing with the feet just wider than the hips, fists clenched, and arms reached out to the sky, stretching the body as tall as possible.

2. The Wonder Woman: this pose is struck by standing tall with legs wider than hip-width apart and hands or fists placed on the hips (Karen Young, 2017).

Ask the kids how they feel after a few rounds of trying either of these poses. You may be surprised.

Spidey-Senses

While on the subject of superheroes, this can be a related "next step" to teach kids how to stay present.

Instruct your kids to turn-on their "Spidey senses," or the super-focused senses of smell, sight, hearing, taste, and touch that Spiderman uses to keep tabs on the world around him. This will encourage them to pause and focus their attention on the present, opening their awareness to the information their senses bring in (Karen Young, 2017).

This is a classic mindfulness exercise and encourages observation and curiosity-great skills for any human to practice.

The Mindful Jar

This activity can teach children how strong emotions can take hold, and how to find peace when these strong emotions feel overwhelming.

First, get a clear jar (like a Mason jar) and fill it almost all the way with water. Next, add a big spoonful of glitter glue or glue and dry glitter to the jar. Put the lid back on the jar and shake it to make the glitter swirl.

Finally, use the following script or take inspiration from it to form your own mini-lesson:

"Imagine that the glitter is like your thoughts when you're stressed, mad or upset. See how they whirl around and make it really hard to see clearly? That's why it's so easy to make silly decisions when you're upset - because you're not thinking clearly. Don't worry this is normal and it happens in all of us (yep, grownups too).

[Now put the jar down in front of them.]

Now watch what happens when you're still for a couple of moments. Keep watching. See how the glitter starts to settle and the water clears? Your mind works the same way. When you're calm for a little while, your thoughts start to settle and you start to see things much clearer. Deep breaths during this calming process can help us settle when we feel a lot of emotions" (Karen Young, 2017).

This exercise not only helps children learn about how their emotions can cloud their thoughts, but it also facilitates the practice of mindfulness while focusing on the swirling glitter in the jar.

Try having the kids focus on one emotion at a time, such as anger, and discuss how the shaken verse settling glitter is like that emotion.

Safari

The Safari exercise is a great way to help kids learn mindfulness. This activity turns an average, everyday walk into an exciting new adventure.

Tell your kids that you will be going on a safari: their goal is to notice as many birds, bugs, creepy-crawlies, and any other animals as they can. Anything that walks, crawls, swims, or flies is of interest, and they'll need to focus all of their senses to find them, especially the little ones (Karen Young, 2017).

A similar exercise for adults is the mindfulness walk. This exercise provokes the same response in children that a mindful walk elicits in adults: a state of awareness and grounding in the present.

If you're interested in more information on how to encourage the practice of mindfulness in children and teens, you can check out the other exercises from this website. Otherwise, head on to the next section where we lay out key tips for teaching these concepts.

15 Tips for Teaching Mindfulness to Kids and Teenagers

When you are trying to teach your kids or young clients about mindfulness and its benefit, we recommend you begin with a few guidelines:

1. Make sure they are ready to give mindfulness a try; if they are full of energy and itching to run and play, it may not be the best time for practicing mindfulness for the first time.

2. Explain what mindfulness is and what it is not; give examples of what seems similar to mindfulness but is not (i.e., introspection or chasing thoughts down the "rabbit hole" versus listening to our bodies).

3. Say it in an age-appropriate way, with words they will understand.

4. Offer to practice mindfulness with them; sometimes having a model makes all the difference.

5. Assure them that it's okay to get off track, and how to gently guide themselves back to mindfulness when they realize they lost focus.

6. Finish the practice by doing something they enjoy with them to ensure they have a positive experience.

Megan Cowan, co-founder, and co-director at the Mindful Schools program in Oakland, also has some tips on how to teach mindfulness to kids (2010):

1. Keep the purpose of mindfulness practice in mind. Be sure to engage in mindful practice with children in positive situations, and never use it as a disciplinary tool.

2. Make sure you practice mindfulness yourself!

3. Set a daily routine for practicing mindfulness to make sure you incorporate it.

4. Prepare the environment for successful practice; move the furniture around or have everyone switch positions.

5. Involve students in the process; perhaps designate a different child each day to alert the class when it's time to practice mindfulness or help set up any tools or props.

6. Share your own experiences with the kids; this will help them understand how mindfulness is applied and practiced in everyday life. Feel free to share how you redirect yourself when you feel distracted during a mindfulness session.

7. Encourage the children to share their experiences as well, whether they were good experiences with mindfulness or experiences in which they got distracted. Maybe each session can end with a few students sharing how it went for them.

8. Practice every day. The more you embed mindfulness into the daily routine, the easier it is to engage.

Cowan (2010) also includes a short script if you'd like to use her mini-lesson.

Relay the following instructions to your kids:

"Please get into your mindful bodies-still and quiet, sitting upright, eyes closed."

"Now place all your attention on the sound you are about to hear. Listen until the sound is completely gone."

Ring a "mindfulness bell," or have a student ring the bell. Use a bell with a sustained sound or a rain stick to encourage mindful listening.

"Please raise your hand when you can no longer hear the sound."

When most or all have raised their hands, you can say, "Now slowly, mindfully, move your hand to your stomach or chest, and just feel your breathing."

You can help students stay focused during the breathing with reminders like, "Just breathing in ... just breathing out ..."

Ring the bell to end.

For more in-depth tips and ideas on teaching mindfulness to children, check out the book Planting Seeds: Practicing Mindfulness with Children by Thich Nhat Hanh and the Plum Village Community.

The website from editor and children's book author Annaka Harris also provides some great ideas for exercises that teach mindfulness to children.

8 Mindfulness Games, YouTube Videos, and Apps to Support Your Teachings

Technology offers learning and development for these practices. To ensure that you are using technology to your advantage when it comes to teaching children mindfulness, give some of these resources a try.

Smiling Minds App

Another application that is popular for children as young as seven is the Smiling Mind app. This app is available through the Apple app store as well as the Google Play store. It is free to download and use.

This app offers similar features to the Mindfulness for Children app, including a body scan activity. There are dozens of modules with hundreds of sessions available, each customized for wellbeing, education, and the workplace (for adults).

If you'd like to check out the reviews for this app or learn more about it, visit the website.

Still Quiet Place

If you'd like to use a video to help your kids learn how to practice mindfulness, the "Mindfulness Exercises for Kids: Still Quiet Place Video" is a great resource. This animated video can help students learn how to go to a "still quiet place."

Check out the video here, and scroll down to the link below the video to see more activities from GoZen.com.

Mindfulness Games for Kids

Several interactive games are available on the Kids Activities Blog. Here are just a few:

1. Blowing bubbles. Have your kids focus on taking in a deep, slow breath, and exhaling steadily to fill the bubble. Encourage them to pay close attention to the bubbles as they form, detach, and pop or float away.

2. Pinwheels. Use the same tactics from blowing bubbles to encourage mindful attention on the pinwheels.

3. Playing with balloons. Tell your kids that the aim of this game is to keep the balloon off the ground, but have them move slowly and gently. You can tell them to pretend the balloon is very fragile if that helps.

4. Texture bag. Place several small, interestingly shaped or textured objects in a bag. Have each child reach in and touch an object, one at a time, and describe what they are touching. Make sure they don't take the object out of the bag, forcing them to use only their sense of touch to explore the object.

5. Blindfolded taste tests. Use a blindfold for each child and have them experience eating a small food, like a raisin or a cranberry, as if it was their first time eating it.

If you want to know about more games you can play with children to teach them about mindfulness, check out the book Mindful Games: Sharing Mindfulness and Meditation with Children, Teens, and Families by Susan Kaiser Greenland.

2 Mindfulness Training Classes For Children with Anxiety

Mindfulness practice can be an especially important component of a child's life if they suffer from anxiety. Learning about mindfulness and how to engage in mindfulness can help a child realize that worrying is normal, and there are useful coping methods when we are worrying too much.

Aside from the Mindful Schools program mentioned earlier, there are classes and programs designed especially for children, and even a few that are structured for children with anxiety.

Child Mind Institute focus on education, care and science, and offers various programs. Programs are customised to your needs, so contact them via their website to book for a workshop.

There is also a popular course called "MonkeyMind and Me: A Mindfulness Course for Children." Children learn how to meditate and practice mindfulness over eight one hour sessions held over eight weeks.

The lessons are delivered through stories about MonkeyMind, a friendly puppet who has trouble with self-regulation ("MonkeyMind and Me", 2017). The course includes lessons, opportunities to practice, design of a homemade project, and a graduation ceremony.

The structure of these lessons and exercises transforms teaching mindfulness into an experience everyone might enjoy-and benefit from.

The Basics: Teaching Essential Mindfulness Practices and Skills

Before you delve into the classroom, review these basic skills and you may have better success with students and clients learning mindfulness.

Mindful Breathing

Mindful breathing is a staple of practicing mindfulness. It is the foundation of many other exercises. To help kids learn how to engage in mindful breathing, you can use a video like the one below:

This video guides children through a breathing meditation by instructing them to imagine a sailboat that rises and falls as they breathe; with each inhale and exhale, the boat moves gently on top of the water.

They also get an opportunity to visualize their breath with a color and focus on the experience of their breath moving through their nostrils. Lastly, the video ends with the exercise of the children imagining (with their eyes closed) that they used to be a fish and paying attention to how it would feel to breathe through their lungs for the first time.

Body Scan

The body scan is a key practice in mindfulness, and an easy one to teach to children.

Have your kids lie down on their back on a comfortable surface and close their eyes;

Then tell them to squeeze every muscle in their body as tight as they can.

Tell them to squish their toes and feet, squeeze their hands into fists, and make their legs and arms as hard as stone;

After a few seconds, have them release all their muscles and relax for a few minutes;

Encourage them to think about how their body is feeling throughout the activity (Roman, 2015).

This simple exercise gets kids to be more aware of their bodies and helps them find a way to be present in the moment.

Heartbeat Exercise

Paying attention to one's heartbeat has a role in many mindfulness exercises and activities. To begin, tell your kids to jump up and down in place or do jumping jacks for one minute.

When they have finished, have them sit down and put a hand over their heart. Instruct them to close their eyes and pay attention only to their heartbeat and, perhaps, their breath as well (Roman, 2015).

This exercise teaches children to notice their heartbeat, and use it as a tool to help their focus. These skills will come in handy as they start engaging in more advanced mindfulness activities.

Mindfulness Meditation for Very Young Children

You might be thinking that these tips and exercises are great for elementary or middle school students, but less realistic for young children. This section focuses on children who are toddlers through kindergarten graduates.

One mother explained laid out her five strategies for teaching young children mindfulness-starting with her three-year-old child learning mindfulness.

Her strategies are:

Teach kids to recognize and identify their own emotions. Children need to associate the word or term for an emotion with the actual experience of feeling that emotion. Encourage them to think about how each emotion feels in their body. Does anger feel like they've got steam coming out of their ears? Does love make them feel like their heart is going to burst open?

Validate their emotions. Children often respond with frustration or sadness when told that their pain, however trivial it seems to us, is "not a big deal." When teaching mindfulness, let kids feel their feelings without fear of judgment. Focus instead on teaching them tools to listen to their emotions.

Teach kids mindful breathing strategies. As we noted above, mindful breathing is a building block in all mindfulness practices. Children benefit from focusing on their breathing when confronted with emotions that are hard to manage.

The author of the blog laid out three techniques she has put to use with her children:

1. Noticing the breath: this involves simply paying attention to what breathing actually feels like.
2. Five-finger starfish meditation: this breathing technique has kids holding up one hand in a starfish position (fingers spread wide) while they gently trace up and down each finger with the other hand, focusing on regular breathing at the same time.
3. Counting the breath: this technique is what it sounds like: have your children pause and count their breaths. One breath in is "1", the next breath out is "2," etc. You can have them count to 10 if they're very young, or slightly higher depending on their abilities.

Lead them in a guided meditation. Use a script or an exercise or app like the ones described above for this meditation.

Practice what you preach. As we mentioned earlier, it is so important to actually "do as you say." Kids are intuitive and human nature encourages mimicry, two advantages we can harness when trying to teach (Beach, "Baby Buddhas.")

Guide your kids every step of the way, but make sure you are taking those steps yourself as well. It will make everyone's practice richer.

The Benefits Of Mindfulness In Schools (K12) + Videos

Childhood and adolescence are important developmental stages that will construct the groundwork for mental health in the adult developmental stage.

In recent literature, mindfulness-based school programs have demonstrated a range of social, cognitive, and emotional benefits for elementary and middle-school students.

Cognitive Benefits

Executive function is a set of mental skills that constitutes attention, switching focus, planning, organizing, and remembering details.

Research in education suggests that mindfulness practice can lead to improvements in executive function in children.

For instance, in the study of Flook et al., (2010) conducted on 3 rd graders, students who went through an 8-week mindfulness program showed improvements in behavioral regulation, metacognition, and focus compared to the control group who did not have the mindfulness program.

In another study, students who had a 24-week mindfulness training scored higher in attentional measures in their elementary school (Napoli et al., 2004). Additionally, a study on preschoolers emphasized that children who went through a mindfulness curriculum for 12 weeks earned higher marks on academic performance measures. They also showed greater improvements in areas that predict future success (Flook et al., 2015).

Social Benefits

A social skill is any skill that we use to interact and communicate with others.

Deficits and excesses in social behavior can affect learning, understanding, and classroom climate. Recent research on lower-income and ethnic minority elementary school children highlighted how a 5-week mindfulness curriculum can lead to better participation in activities, as well as nurture a classroom culture of mutual respect and care in 9th-grade students (Black et al., 2013).

Emotional Benefits

Emotional health, which is a positive sense of wellbeing, is an important component of child and adolescent development. Emotional problems such as anxiety, stress, and depression can affect self-esteem, performance, and social interactions.

Mindfulness practice may facilitate the ability to manage stress, and also lead to deeper wellbeing in students.

According to one study by Schonert-Reichl and his colleagues (2010), mindfulness practice leads to higher scores on self-report measures of optimism and positive emotions in elementary school students.

Moreover, in a study conducted by Wall (2005), self-reported findings showed preteens feeling calmer, with an enhanced experience of well-being-and improved sleep-after a 5-week modified mindfulness-based stress reduction program.

Videos on Mindfulness in Schools

These four videos can help students open their minds to the benefits of mindfulness. We recommend pairing any of these segments with a discussion.

Questions for after the selected clip can include, "Has anyone practiced mindfulness, and how has it gone for you?" or "What do you think is the reason most people do not practice mindfulness, and how can we start changing this?"

A Take-Home Message

Research confirms that mindfulness can improve mental health by aiding wellbeing, attention, self-regulation, and social competency. It just needs to be practiced-and encouraged.

Mindfulness-based programs in schools can have a life-long impact on the psychological, social, and cognitive wellbeing of children and teens. Even at home or with clients, how can you incorporate mindfulness into your teachings and own schedule?

Do you have kids or work with kids on a regular basis? Try these tips and activities out, and let us know how they worked in the comments section below.

Good luck, and remember this old saying:

Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Don't forget to download our three Mindfulness Exercises for free.

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25 Fun Mindfulness Activities for Children & Teens (+Tips!)

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Here's a list of fun mindfulness activities and exercises for kids that will teach them about mindfulness in a playful way. Enjoy!

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Sanjay Gupta MD: Teaching mindfulness in schools

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Actress Goldie Hawn is bringing her MindUP program to schools around the world. CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta reports.

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Mindfulness in Schools: Richard Burnett at TEDxWhitechapel

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Stop. Breathe. Pay attention. "Our mental health and well-being are profoundly affected by where and how we place our attention". In this enlightening talk, Richard guides through a short mindfulness meditation, and shares his experience of teaching mindfulness in schools.

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Mindfulness in Education, Learning from the Inside Out: Amy Burke at TEDxAmsterdamED 2013

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Brock University Student Health Services

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A video from YoungMinds in Schools about the use of mindfulness in the classroom. Schools in Tottenham have introduced Mindfulness practice to their pupils following training from YoungMinds in Schools. Teachers find that the approach helps pupils to relax and to be able to focus better on educational tasks.

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Relaxation For Children - Music for Learning, Quiet, Positive, Harmony - PURE RELAX

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Lesson 1

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by Erin Sharaf of Mindfulness + Magic

Emerging research on gratitude shows many benefits for teachers and students. Positive outcomes include:

Fewer emotional and physical symptoms

Stronger relationships and communities

Happier (by up to 25%)

More alert, enthusiastic, attentive

Promotes altruistic behavior and self-esteem

Less importance on material goods

More positive attitudes towards school & life

Here are a few ways you can start sharing gratitude practices with your class.

Each participant is invited to say something they are grateful for. Gratitude shared is gratitude magnified so this is really something that can help shift the collective mood in a positive direction.

This can work well if you have participants who might be shy about sharing personal information in front of the group. Invite everyone to write down something they are grateful for on a small piece of paper. Place the piece of paper in a jar without signing a name to it. Pass the jar around and have each student pick out a piece of paper and read it aloud.

Invite each student to write a letter to someone describing all the ways they are thankful for that person and why. This is a powerful exercise in and of itself, but if they'd like to, they can go and read the letter to the person they wrote about. This experience will be unforgettable for all involved and the positive benefits can be long lasting.

Each student can have his/her own small book or pieces of paper or it can even be done electronically. Invite them to write down 3-5 new things each day that they're thankful for. To make the exercise more potent, students can write down why they're grateful for each thing. Keep it up for at least 2 weeks.

This can be done in different ways:

In a circle, each person can be invited to say something they're grateful for about the person to their right.

Or you can put each person's name into the gratitude jar, pass it around and invite each person to pick a name and say something they're thankful for about that person.

The sky's the limit on this one. Have fun!

You could have the kids make cut-outs of their traced hands on construction paper.

They could write something they're grateful for on the hand, or on each of the fingers, and make all the hands into a big gratitude tree.

You could invite them to draw or color a visual representation of what they're grateful for.

You could have this be a recurring activity and give them themes like "family" or "nature."

7. Model Gratitude

Modeling can perhaps be the most important teaching tool. If it's a beautiful day give voice to that! If a student helps out another, publicly say Thank You. Kids are more likely to value gratitude and explore it if they see that it's a meaningful personal practice for you.

8. Explain Your Gratitude

Make "Thank You" into a full sentence including how you benefitted from the gesture, and encourage your students to do the same. For example: "Thank you for sharing your lunch with me as I might have been hungry otherwise." This has more power than a simple "thank you."

We are often our own worst critics, and this unfortunate habit can start at a young age. Students might not be comfortable sharing publicly, but you can invite them to close their eyes (if comfortable doing so) and take a few moments to appreciate some of their own qualities and capabilities. If they have trouble, you can invite them to imagine what a loved one or dear friend might appreciate about them.

Gratitude Prompts :

My day is better because...

The best part of my day was/is

Can you think of a time when a friend (or parent, teacher, or coach) noticed something you needed (e.g., lunch), or remembered something you care about (e.g., collecting coins) and then provided you with those things? How did you know they helped you on purpose? How did you feel after they helped you?

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9 Simple but Powerful Gratitude Practices to Share with Your Students - Mindful Teachers

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by Erin Sharaf of Mindfulness + Magic Emerging research on gratitude shows many benefits for teachers and students. Positive outcomes include: Fewer emotional and physical symptoms Stronger relationships and communities Happier (by up to 25%) More alert, enthusiastic, attentive Promotes altruistic behavior and self-esteem Less importance on material goods More positive attitudes towards school & life Here are a few ways you can start sharing gratitude practices with your class.

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Kid President’s 25 Reasons To Be Thankful!

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Kid President’s 25 Reasons To Be Thankful!

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Kid President’s 25 Reasons To Be Thankful!

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This is a collection of gratitude quotes. If you want to get your thanks on, or flex your attitude of gratitude, these quotes should help you out.

With these gratitude quotes, you have a collection of wisdom at your fingertips. This collection includes words of wisdom from a variety of sources including Aesop, Cicero, Paige, Oprah, and more.

What Gratitude Quotes Teach Us

While the quote may vary, they teach us a few key things about gratitude. They teach us that appreciation is a deep need within us.

They teach us that a little thanks can go a long way. They also teach us that there is always something to be grateful for, or, on the flip side, that things can always be worse.

They teach us that gratitude can be tough to express, as we struggle to find the right words.

Perhaps the most important lesson of all, is that they teach us that gratitude is the key to our own joy and happiness. If you don't have enough joy or happiness in your life, just maybe, gratitude is the missing ingredient.

Top 10 Quotes on Gratitude

Here are my top ten favorite gratitude quotes:

1. "At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us." - Albert Schweitzer

2. "Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it." - William Arthur Ward

3. "Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others." - Cicero

4. "Gratitude is one of the least articulate of the emotions, especially when it is deep." - Felix Frankfurter

5. "Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful." - Buddha

6. "Gratitude is one of the sweet shortcuts to finding peace of mind and happiness inside. No matter what is going on outside of us, there's always something we could be grateful for." - Barry Neil Kaufman

7. "One regret dear world, that I am determined not to have when I am lying on my deathbed is that I did not kiss you enough." - Hafiz of Persia

8. "Silent gratitude isn't very much to anyone." - Gertrude Stein

9. "Wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving." - Kahlil Gibran

10. "What you focus on expands, and when you focus on the goodness in your life, you create more of it. Opportunities, relationships, even money flowed my way when I learned to be grateful no matter what happened in my life." - Oprah Winfrey

Best Quotes on Gratitude

Here is my collection of gratitude quotes organized A - Z:
"Act with kindness, but do not expect gratitude."
- Proverb
"A man's indebtedness is not virtue; his repayment is. Virtue begins when he dedicates himself actively to the job of gratitude."
- Ruth Benedict
"Ambition breaks the ties of blood, and forgets the obligations of gratitude."
- Sallust
"Appreciation can make a day, even change a life. Your willingness to put it into words is all that is necessary."
- Margaret Cousins
"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them."
- John F. Kennedy
"Develop an attitude of gratitude, and give thanks for everything that happens to you, knowing that every step forward is a step toward achieving something bigger and better than your current situation."
- Brian Tracy
"Don't pray when it rains if you don't pray when the sun shines."
- Satchell Paige
"Every professional athlete owes a debt of gratitude to the fans and management, and pays an installment every time he plays. He should never miss a payment."
- Bobby Hull
"Friendship based solely upon gratitude is like a photograph; with time it fades."
- Carmen Sylva
"Gratefulness is the key to a happy life that we hold in our hands, because if we are not grateful, then no matter how much we have we will not be happy - because we will always want to have something else or something more."
- David Steindl-Rast
"Gratitude bestows reverence, allowing us to encounter everyday epiphanies, those transcendent moments of awe that change forever how we experience life and the world."
- John Milton
"Gratitude changes the pangs of memory into a tranquil joy."
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer
"Gratitude helps you to grow and expand; gratitude brings joy and laughter into your life and into the lives of all those around you."
- Eileen Caddy
"Gratitude is a burden upon our imperfect nature, and we are but too willing to ease ourselves of it, or at least to lighten it as much as we can."
- Philip Stanhope
"Gratitude is a duty which ought to be paid, but which none have a right to expect."
- Jean-Jacques Rousseau
"Gratitude is one of those things that cannot be bought. It must be born with men, or else all the obligations in the world will not create it."
- Edward F. Halifax
"Gratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul."
- Henry Ward Beecher
"Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received. Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling. Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse."
- Henry Van Dyke
"Gratitude is the most exquisite form of courtesy."
- Jacques Maritain
"Gratitude is the sign of noble souls."
- Aesop
"Gratitude is when memory is stored in the heart and not in the mind."
- Lionel Hampton
"Gratitude isn't a burdening emotion."
- Loretta Young
"Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow."
- Melody Beattie
"Gratitude to gratitude always gives birth."
- Sophocles
"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend."
- Melody Beattie
"Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude."
- Denis Waitley
"Happiness is itself a kind of gratitude."
- Joseph Wood Krutch
"If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, 'thank you,' that would suffice."
- Meister Eckhart
"It's a sign of mediocrity when you demonstrate gratitude with moderation."
- Roberto Benigni
"Joy is a heart full and a mind purified by gratitude."
- Marietta McCarty
"Joy is the simplest form of gratitude."
- Karl Barth
"Kindness trumps greed: it asks for sharing. Kindness trumps fear: it calls forth gratefulness and love. Kindness trumps even stupidity, for with sharing and love, one learns."
- Marc Estrin
"Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom."
- Marcel Proust
"Maybe the only thing worse than having to give gratitude constantly is having to accept it."
- William Faulkner
"Next to ingratitude the most painful thing to bear is gratitude."
- Henry Ward Beecher
"No one who achieves success does so without acknowledging the help of others. The wise and confident acknowledge this help with gratitude."
- Alfred North Whitehead
"One can never pay in gratitude: one can only pay 'in kind' somewhere else in life."
- Anne Morrow Lindbergh
"One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feelings. The curriculum is so much necessary raw material, but warmth is the vital element for the growing plant and for the soul of the child."
- Carl Jung
"One of the surest evidences of friendship that one individual can display to another is telling him gently of a fault. If any other can excel it, it is listening to such a disclosure with gratitude, and amending the error."
- Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton
"Thankfulness is the beginning of gratitude. Gratitude is the completion of thankfulness. Thankfulness may consist merely of words. Gratitude is shown in acts."
- Henri Frederic Amiel
"The debt of gratitude we owe our mother and father goes forward, not backward. What we owe our parents is the bill presented to us by our children."
- Nancy Friday
"The deepest craving of human nature is the need to be appreciated."
- William James
"The essence of all beautiful art, all great art, is gratitude."
- Friedrich Nietzsche
"The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings."
- Eric Hoffer
"There is as much greatness of mind in acknowledging a good turn, as in doing it."
- Seneca
"To educate yourself for the feeling of gratitude means to take nothing for granted, but to always seek out and value the kind that will stand behind the action. Nothing that is done for you is a matter of course. Everything originates in a will for the good, which is directed at you. Train yourself never to put off the word or action for the expression of gratitude."
- Albert Schweitzer

"We are told that people stay in love because of chemistry, or because they remain intrigued with each other, because of many kindnesses, because of luck. But part of it has got to be forgiveness and gratefulness." - Ellen Goodman
"When you are grateful fear disappears and abundance appears."
- Tony Robbins
"You say grace before meals. All right. But I say grace before the concert and the opera, and grace before the play and pantomime, and grace before I open a book, and grace before sketching, painting, swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing and grace before I dip the pen in the ink."
- G. K. Chesterton

Please feel free to share your favorite quote, insight, or action on gratitude.

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Introduction: Circle Weaving

This is a fun project to learn weaving, for kids and adults alike. In this instructable, you will first learn how to make a paper circle loom. Then you will learn to weave on it, creating your own beautiful handwoven object. If you have yarn and some basic supplies, you should be set to go!

Step 1: Gather Materials

Materials:
Sturdy paper (e.g. cardstock, cardboard, or even a paper plate)

Yarn

Tape

Scissors

Pencil
Optional:
Compass

Ruler

Beads

Sewing needle

Step 2: Make Circle Loom

1. Use a compass to draw a circle on your paper. If you are using a paper plate, you can proceed to step 3.

2. Cut out the circle

3. Use a pencil to mark off every inch around the circle. There should be an odd number of markings. The odd number is essential for the alternating nature of weaving. If you have an even amount, try to either erase one mark or add another one. If necessary, adjust the spacing so that they are somewhat equal in spacing. These measurements do not have to be exact.

4. Cut into each pencil marking to make notches around the circle. The notches will be holding the yarn in place.

After these steps, you will have a paper circle loom.

Step 3: Warp

Time to start weaving. We will start with the warp. The warp is the set of lines held in tension around the loom. Below are the steps to setting up the warp. Each number corresponds to a photo.

1. (Back) Take your yarn and tape the beginning to the back of your loom. Insert the yarn into any notch on the edge of the loom.

2. (Front) Wrap the yarn over the front of the loom to the notch on the opposite side. Insert the yarn into that notch.

3. (Back) Continue wrapping the yarn across the back of the loom, inserting the yarn into the notch next to the one you used in step 1.

4. (Front) Flip back to the front of the loom. Wrap the yarn across the front and insert it into the notch next to the one used in step 2. Whenever you go across the loom, you are crossing to the other half of the circle, making X's.

5. (Front) Fifth photo shows progress after another warp wrap. :)

6. (Front) Continue wrapping the yarn over the front and back of the loom, until you get to the last notch.

7. (Front) After inserting the yarn into the last notch, bring the yarn over the front of the loom to the opposite notch. Although there are two pieces of yarn to that notch, it will later be treated as one.

8. (Back) Cut the yarn and tape the end to the back of the loom.

Step 4: Weft

After you have established the warp, it's time to work on the weft. This is the part that goes over and under the warp lines.

1. Thread your yarn.

2. Cut off an amount of yarn to use.

3. Tie a double knot to one of the lines created in the warp section. I chose to tie a knot around the notch with two pieces of yarn so that it would immediately look like one line. Tie the knot close to the center of the loom.

4. Take your yarn and go over and under each line of warp.

5. After weaving one circle, it may not look like much, but keep going!

6. After a few circles, you will notice that the pattern of over and under alternates with each circle repeat.

7. After a few rows, you will begin to see the nice effect of weaving.

Step 5: Add More Yarn or Change Colors

When you run out of yarn, you can add more of the same color or change to a different one.

1. Tie the end of the old yarn to the beginning of the new yarn with a double knot.

2. Cut off the amount of new yarn you need and thread the end of it onto a needle.

3. When you bump into yarn tails from the double knot you made previously, you can push the ends to the back of the work with the needle. Whenever you get to the tails, just work over it so that it stays hidden in the back.

4. Continue adding more yarn as you wish. When you're done weaving, you can either keep your work of art attached to the paper or you can remove it. If you choose to keep it on the loom, tie the end of the yarn to a warp line and tuck the tail behind the weaving to hide it. If you want to remove the work from the loop, continue reading the next step.

Step 6: Remove Weaving From the Loom

Cut the lines of yarn at the back of the loom. Cut close to the back center if you want to get long lengths for tying knots.

1. Take two adjacent pieces of yarn that you have cut and double knot them together.

2. Continue knotting two adjacent pieces of yarn until you have knotted all loose ends. Remember to double knot so they don't come undone later. If you trim the knotted ends, it could be a beautiful coaster or a dollhouse rug. You can also decorate the knotted ends.

Step 7: Decorate

Decorate with beads or any other embellishments you'd like. Attach a string to the top to hang if you wish. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed this instructable!

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Today in our mindfulness classes I showed the kids a Mind Jar. This mindfulness tool is basically a homemade snow globe, using glitter glue and water.

Shake the Mind Jar. Imagine the swirling glitter as the swirling thoughts in your mind.

Then watch the glitter slowly settle as you calm down and focus.

When the glitter settles at the bottom of the jar, the water is clear, like the clarity in our minds. Now we are calm and can focus again.

Mindfulness techniques can be used to help you calm down and focus: try mindful breathing, mindful listening, or simply mindfully looking at the glitter settling to the bottom of the jar.

The swirling thoughts can also represent the way our brain can feel when the amygdala has been triggered by stress or anger (take a look at the post, Your Brain on Mindfulness). Watching the glitter settle can help us create the space needed for our rational mind (e.g., the prefrontal cortex) to start working better again.

To make a Mind Jar - add 2 cups of hot water to about 2 tablespoons glitter glue in a pint-sized mason jar. Add an extra tablespoon or two of regular fine glitter. Shake until the glue is dissolved and there are no glitter clumps. Add food coloring if desired or leave it clear. I used a pint sized mason jar but peanut butter, jam jars or other containers work well too. You can also play around with the proportion of glitter glue to water if you'd like the glitter to settle more or less slowly. Alternatively, you can make a small mind jar using a spice jar.

I have seen the mind jar described on a number of sites on the web and made my recipe using some of these ideas:
http://www.herewearetogether.com/2011/06/27/another-mind-jar/ http://brainchildblog.com/family-tip-friday-settle-your-glitter/

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Today in our mindfulness classes I showed the kids a Mind Jar. This mindfulness tool is basically a homemade snow globe, using glitter glue and water. Shake the Mind Jar. Imagine the swirling glitter as the swirling thoughts in your mind. Then watch the glitter slowly settle as you calm down and focus.

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