All kids benefit from practicing mindfulness. Who wouldn't love the kids and young adults we work with to become more focused, calm, in control, and self-aware? Mindfulness is a technique that can help teach and strengthen those abilities over time. By practicing mindfulness, people can learn to bec

Mindful Monday is a great way to start the school week. If you are looking for a way to bring some mindfulness into your classroom, you are going to love this Mindful Monday activity.

Mindful listening is a great way to introduce young children to the practice of mindfulness. Discover several fun ways to teach this concept to kids -- with lots of helpful resources!

Practicing mindfulness is a great way to calm your child and make them attentive. Here're 10 simple and quick mindfulness exercises your child will enjoy.

Understanding Mindfulness Mindfulness is the practice of learning to be present in the moment. By learning to focus on the moment, kids and young adults are actually practicing self-regulation skills. This helps learners check in with how they are feeling, what they are thinking, and what they ne

This is a short story about a little boy’s interaction with his father that explores how a child may perceive their parents’ actions towards them. It’s a psychological exploration into parenting and early childhood development to see the impact the brain’s reward and pleasure centers may have on the

Wow! I just ran across this on Pinterest and then found it on TPT. It's a bulletin board that teaches kids and teens about the growth mindset. This should be actively referred to ALL year to keep it in the forefront of students' minds. Be sure to teach the concept of neuroplasticity along with it and I can guarantee you will have a positive lifelong impact on your students! I've purchased it from Mrs. Moore's TPT store. Here's a direct link to the product. When I made mine I ended up using a tri-fold presentation board. I also made the words a little bit bigger and drew the brain myself on poster board. Here is my finished product... The colorful statements on the right are attached with velcro so students can work together to determine which growth mindset statements best overcome each fixed mindset statement. I'm such a geek. Kids/teens need to know that they are in charge of their actions/thinking/reactions/learning etc. I was not explicitly taught this life changing concept until college. Let's begin teaching our students NOW.

Mindfulness is becoming an increasingly popular topic in education. Learn more about how mindfulness promotes learning in this guest blog post!

Effective classroom management, or how a teacher organizes, motivates and controls her class, creates an environment that fosters learning. In a preschool classroom, patience is the key to a successful classroom management plan.

These Mindfulness activities for teens and kids will help parents raise focused kids who can focus on the present and regulate their emotions.

Teaching kids about germs is so important in preschool and in elementary classrooms. Using books and a fun activity with glitter, students learn the importance of washing hands with soap. Have you read this book?

Learn the 7 ways I use mindfulness in the classroom and how it has transformed my classroom management and student behavior.

These Mindfulness activities for teens and kids will help parents raise focused kids who can focus on the present and regulate their emotions.

I can't get enough of self-portraits, and I feel they are a great tool for students to create original art. The first one pictured I had students take their photos on a copier--great details, the others we took photos with a flashlight in a dark room. My Middle School students used the gridded method of drawing to produce these awesome works.

FIVE STEPS TO TEACHING MINDFULNESS IN THE HIGH SCHOOL CLASSROOM Parents and teachers are always telling kids to focus, but they don't teach them how. Focusing on the Breath is a basic mindfulness practice you can incorporate easily and daily into the classroom. I start every class with this 2-minute exercise. The process is started at the beginning of the school year and repetitive reinforcement allows the practice to thrive through the end of the year. I have done this exercise with my classroom students in grades 9-12. There are many mindful techniques, but I am going to share with you my classroom meditation practice. The deep breaths taken before and after the period of silence help students relax and release some stress from their day. This is beneficial to them, and their success throughout the school day. Being in high school is STRESSFUL!!! I have a 5 step process to help teach Focusing Exercises. ***Please take time to practice, yourself, before you start with your students. Take a few minutes each day to become silent and listen to your breath. This way you can explain to the students what they will experience. It's not a quieting of the mind. Thoughts will come. It's acknowledging the thought and distractions, but still being able to redirect and focus on the breath. WARNING: Not every student will be a willing participant. Some students may feel uncomfortable or self-conscious doing the exercise. I instruct those students that they have to stand, and they can't disturb other students who are participating. These students will usually just look around the room. Some will eventually start participating, while others will never do it the entire year. It's OK. Just make sure they are respectful of others. Step 1: Starting the Process Start by asking the students what they do to practice focusing. After some brainstorming, tell them you can teach them a technique that will help them. Step 2: The Stance I do a standing meditation. Many people prefer sitting, but I find high school students are more likely to use that time to take a little nap. It's hard to fall asleep standing up. Ask for a volunteer who can help you demonstrate at the front of the class. Ask all the students to stand up. Have students take their hands out of their pockets, stand tall, and place their feet hip-distance apart. Remind students not to lock their knees! You don't want anyone to pass out. Step 3: The Breaths Have students place their hands on their stomachs. Tell them to take a deep breath in through their nose and focus on their stomach expanding. This should be done by the count of 5. Hold the breath for 2 seconds. Exhale through the mouth. Encourage students to push all the air out of their bodies. Exhale longer than inhaling. Step 4: The Silence Tell students to close their eyes or fix their eyes on a point in front of them on the floor. DO NOT FORCE STUDENTS TO CLOSE THEIR EYES IF THEY DON"T WANT TO !!! Not everyone is comfortable closing their eyes with other people around. The exercise will do just as well with a student staring at the floor in front of them. While eyes are closed or focused, instruct students to focus on their breaths. A technique they can use to remind them to focus is to silently say, "I breathe in... I breathe out..." on the in and out breaths. Their mind will wander, but when they catch their mind wandering, they should refocus and return to listening to their breath. Set a timer and practice for two minutes. While breathing in and out, tell the students they should: Bring awareness to the feeling of the whole inhale. Note what it feels like when the lungs are full right before the exhale. Bring awareness to the physical experience of the whole exhale. Note what it feels like when the breath is empty before the inhale. Step 5: Reflection To end the exercise, have the students take 3 deep breaths like they did before they started, wiggle their fingers, and open their eyes. Remind students that the more they practice listening to their breath in silence, the longer they will be able to do it. The first time they may have only been able to do it 2 or 3 times for 3 or 4 seconds each time. That's OK. Each time they will get better and better. Over the years I have observed that most students actively want to participate, once they start seeing the benefits. Plus, this isn't the only mindfulness technique that I practice in the classroom. This is the one that I practice consistently and most often. Set Students Up to Be Leaders After 6 weeks, I ask the class for volunteers to lead the class in meditation. There are usually 1 or 2 students who volunteer in every class. In the beginning, I ask the students to show me what I would do. I gently correct them if they make a mistake, and use positive encouragement when they do well. It is also helpful to reward them for assisting in leading the class. I give out small candies, stickers, or pencils in the beginning. It is now March. By the time the bell rings I always have a few students who are already standing in the front of the room, waiting to lead the meditation. If you are interested in other ways to incorporate Mindful activities into the classroom, click the link to purchase my One-Minute Mindfulness Activity Cards. The cards include 28 other activities that I use in the classroom. Visit my Teachers Pay Teachers or Etsy store. If you use the focusing activity in the classroom, please let me know in the comments.

Growth Mindset: The Power of Yet Growth mindset – a phrase that can easily be coined the education fad of 2015-2016. Although I do like to avoid most fads (bleached hair, suntanning oi…

Learn how to change a child's inflexible thinking with this collection of tips, books, and activities to develop a growth mindset for kids!

Teaching with the Habits of Mind can be done in many different ways. Here’s a guide with free lesson ideas, video clips, and templates.

Explore 16 insightful videos and activities to teach children theory of mind and perspective taking skills. Help kids enhance their empathy and understanding.

We ALL have beliefs about ourselves and the world around us. How we understand and react to that world depends on our mindset. Discovered by psychologist Dr. Carol Dweck, mindset refers to the way we look at our abilities and intelligence as qualities we can change and grow. Check out the

Bring mindfulness to your middle schooler with these helpful mindful ideas for middle school students. Learn 5 super simple ways.

10 Mixed-Media Artists to Inspire You and Your Students Media & Techniques % %

Creative energy and ideas bouncing around at the speed of light... Katherine Scott Maghini

These Mindfulness activities for teens and kids will help parents raise focused kids who can focus on the present and regulate their emotions.

Teaching growth mindset can be done with read-alouds! Rosie's Glasses is a great book for this. Get ideas for using this book to teach being positive.

Help your children to develop their abilities with this bumper pack of growth mindset resources! Create a love of learning in your classroom with our popular teaching materials, activity resources and printable display goodies!

Neuroplasticity is the science behind growth mindset. When kids understand neuroplasticity, their perception of their own abilities changes. It becomes much easier for them to understand growth mindset and embrace mistakes, obstacles, and challenges. In this article, we’ll provide helpful resources and activities to teach your children or students about their brains ability to grow and change.

Laying strong foundations for emotional intelligence.

Many teachers realize that teaching students about mindfulness and meditation is important. But, they aren’t sure how to go about it.

Change Your Mindset - Introducing a Growth Mindset in the Upper Grades

Looking for stress management activities for kids? In this activity, students will identify how their worries look and feel and what makes them worried. They will also identify different environments and people that trigger their worrying. Includes a digital version for use with Google Slides. This activity takes about 30 minutes to complete with a small or large group. The goal is for students to self reflect on their own expression of worries and to better understand what makes them worry. Includes: ►Activity description including instructions/walk-through of activity, objectives, materials, guiding questions, SEL competencies addressed, and ASCA standards. ►2 pages of My Worry Monster (one example already done, one blank) ►3 pages of Color my Worry (identifying what makes them worry) ►2 pages of People/Places that make me worry. ►Black & White versions included. ❓Where can I find the google classroom link? Google slides link and instructions are on page 18. ❓What formats are included? -Pdf version to print out. -Google Slides version. ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ⭐Recommended Resources⭐ ✨Check out the other My Monster Products ➜ ★ My Anger Monster ★ My Sadness Monster ★ Get rid of the Automatic Negative Thoughts ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── ✨Let's stay in touch ✨ ❤️Click here to follow my TPT store to be updated about new products which are 50% off the first 24 hours posted! Heart and Mind Teaching on Pinterest Heart and Mind Teaching on Facebook Heart and Mind Teaching on Instagram Heart and Mind Teaching Website and Newsletter (sign up for my newsletter to get access to my freebie library). ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Copyright 2020 © Heart and Mind Teaching. If you have questions please contact me: [email protected]

The age of adolescence is an important phase. This is the age where the individual is at the best level of enthusiasm and abilities to learn new concepts. But long exposure to sessions may make them exhausted mentally. This brings the need for brain breaks for the youngsters. Not

Book recommendation for summer professional development for teachers who have English Learners in their classes

Mindfulness is something I have always practiced with my kids from a young age. Here are my top tips for teaching mindfulness to your kids!