Mindfulness in the Classroom

Interested in taking one of my courses for teachers or having me work in your school or district? Contact me to discuss the full range of my current offerings.

Upcoming Offerings:

A Mindful Pause/Mindfulness in the Classroom

Location/Dates/Time: In-person at The Education Collaborative (TEC) in Walpole, MA Saturday, October 14th 8:30-1:30PM & Livestream Saturday, October 28th 8:30-1:30PM and Saturday, November 4th 8:30-1:30PM

Click here to register.

Graduate Credit: At the first class, participants can choose to apply for one graduate through Worcester State University for an additional fee of $125.

Description: This course will offer participants the time and space to take stock of their own mental, physical, and emotional well-being. Participants will be introduced to the basic principles of mindfulness and some simple techniques to use with their students and for their own practice. Educators and school-based professionals alike will come away from this course with strategies they can call on to help smooth the way and ease a bit of suffering in both their personal and professional lives.

Course Objectives include:

• Establishing or reestablishing a daily meditation and/or mindfulness practice.

• Understanding how to teach simple breathing and mindfulness exercises.

• Articulating the connections between mindfulness and social emotional learning.

• Applying mindfulness to daily activities.

• Reflecting on one’s own strengths and areas of opportunity as they relate to mindful behavior

  Past Offerings:

• Yoga and Mindfulness in the Classroom (bi-monthly) Deerfield Elementary School-all classrooms, Westwood, MA 2018-2019 School Year

• Yoga and Mindfulness in the Classroom Greenwood School, all classrooms, Wakefield, MA Winter 2019

• Mindfulness in the Classroom Meditation for Everyone Teacher Training Stil Studio, Dedham, MA Winter 2017, 2018, 2019

• Mindfulness in the Classroom: Advanced Teaching Concepts (12 hours) EDCO Collaborative Summer 2019 & Fall 2018

• Mindfulness in the Classroom (12 hours) EDCO Collaborative Summers 2016-2019, Fall 2016, & Fall 2015

• A Mindful Approach (15 hours) The Education Cooperative Summer 2019 & Winter/Spring 2018

• Mindfulness in the Classroom (15 hours) Wellesley Public Schools Summer/Fall 2018, Winter/Spring 2018, Summer/Fall 2017

Where do I start?

Start very small, with action that is sustainable over time. 2­-3 minutes daily is better than one 20 minute weekly session. There are tiny pockets of time throughout each school day when you can encourage or remind students to return to their breath. 

What’s a good book to read to my class?

Elementary:

Mindful Monkey, Happy Panda Written by Lauren Alderfer, Illustrated by Kerry Lee MacLean

Someday Written by Eileen Spinelli, Illustrated by Rosie Winstead

What Does It Mean To Be Present? Written by Rana DiOrio, Illustrated by Eliza Wheeler

**For a complete list of my favorite mindfulness resources, download my MINDFULNESS IN THE CLASSROOM RESOURCES**

Do I need to meditate in order to teach my students how to be mindful?

It will certainly help! As teachers, we lead by example. If you have your own (formal or informal) mindfulness practice, you will be able to speak to its benefits much more authentically. If your students witness you taking a few calming breaths in the midst of the chaos that envelopes most school days, they are more likely to try it themselves. You never know when something you say or do is going to stick with a child, or be the thing that he or she remembers about you or shares with his or her family that night.