Mindfulness at Aurora
"We went for a bike ride in Redwood Regional Park this weekend, and when I caught up with Ben, I found him as he is in the photo, sitting on a railing and, in his words, "listening to the forest." So beautiful. Thank you so much for bringing mindfulness to Aurora. It feels very aligned with our commitment to mindful parenting, and it is really nice to make that particular home-school connection".
Warmly sent from Emily, Ben's mom
Drawing on the collective wisdom of thousands of years of experience, along with the newest pedagogical, psychological and medical research, Aurora has developed an all-school mindfulness program to help students self-regulate their emotions, restore self-calm and focus in class. Beginning with introducing "mindful moments" at our Tuesday morning all school assemblies, Aurora's teachers, staff and students have integrated a greater capacity for attention and awareness into the school day, while many parents extend these principles at home.
Mindfulness activities:
- Focus on your breath, and let your thoughts float by like clouds
- Set an intention for the day
- Choose kind thoughts, ripe like delicious fruit, instead of unwise, rotten ones
- Imagine your breath is an anchor to keep your mind calm
- Concentrate on your breath and allow yourself to be more present
- Modulate your breath to feel grounded when you feel overwhelmed: visualize diving under a big wave and letting it wash over you
- Breathe in peace, and breathe out love
- Practice allowing and honoring your feelings
Mindfulness in K-1
In the K-1 class, we are practicing mindfulness three times a week. The kids do shoulder rolls & stretching, followed by deep breathing for a couple of minutes. We are now up to 22 gentle bells in a row while attending to our breath! Then we have "Quiet Time:" a time to rest your mind, your body and your voice, which can be a challenge for many five and six-year-olds. We quietly play with Legos, draw, write, read, or just relax while we listen to gentle music. Most of the kids love this time and chose to use mindfulness outside of school as well.
Mindfulness in 2-3
In grades 2-3, teachers use mindfulness after lunch during quiet time, during math reviews, before classroom meetings, or right before writers' workshop. One teacher uses the following mindfulness exercise to help the class make the transition from recess to our Writing Workshop:
Let's come to our rug spots.
Let's close our eyes and take a deep breathe in.... and a calming breathe out.
Let's feel our eyelids close and our cheeks relaxed.
Let's relax our shoulders and feel our bodies anchoring against the rug.
Imagine that you are called off the rug and that you're working on your research reports.
Imagine that you are you're sitting at your tablespot reading your resource materials.
Know that if you get tired or if you get frustrated you can always return to your breath.
Take a deep breath in and a calming breath out.
Now you can open your eyes and let's begin.
This practice took up only three minutes of class time and produced students who were focused, calm, centered and ready to work.
Mindfulness in 4-5
"Research shows that mindfulness increases attention skills, reduces test anxiety, and improves emotional regulation."
Association for Mindfulness in Education
In the 4-5 classes, mindfulness exercises are used to help reduce stress. Students practice deep breathing as part of learning test-taking skills. Guided visualizations of being in the sun at the beach and hearing the waves and birds help relax our fifth grade students before taking the ISEE entrance exam required by some middle schools. Pre-adolescent children learn the valuable skill of calming yourself and becoming grounded when life feels overwhelming.
Some Mindful Resources
Books:
The Mindful Child, Susan K. Greenland
Everyday Blessings: The Inner Work of Mindful Parenting, Myla Kabat-Zinn and Jon Kabat-Zinn
Research Studies:
Mindfulness Training for Elementary School Students: The Attention Academy, Dr. Maria Napoli, Journal of Applied School Psychology, 2005
Treating Anxiety with Mindfulness: An Open Trial of Mindfulness Training for Anxious Children. Randye Semple, Ph.D. Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy, 2005
Websites:
www.mindfuleducation.org
www.springerlink.com
Mindfulness Training for Parents and Their Children With ADHD ...
www.mindfulnesstogether.net
Articles:
www.gestaltreview.com
www.dukehealth.org