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Austin ISD Mindfulness Newsletter

Resources for Support During the Coronavirus Pandemic

Austin ISD MindfulnessNewsletterResources for Support During the Coronavirus Pandemic

Mindful AISD--


Our personal practice has never been more important. It's so important that we are taking care of ourselves so that we can be our best for others in creative and supportive ways during this trying time. I highly recommend setting time each day, ideally around the same time each day to help with routine, to practice mindfulness. As I'm very honest about, depression and anxiety is something I regularly deal with and I've noticed it even more as we endure this trying time. I can honestly say that my daily mindfulness practice and daily exercise is helping me move through each day and helping greatly with my mental health.


Take good care of yourself, each other, wash your hands, and stay physically distant but remain socially connected. We got this y'all.

James


This newsletter will feature a collection of mindfulness resources including special offerings from mindfulness organizations for this time as we are living in physical separation from our students, colleagues, neighbors, etc. The resources will be split into three categories...


  • Learning at Home Support
  • Specifically for Educators
  • Free Mindfulness Resources to Use & Share


Physical & Mental Health Menu: This is a helpful tool that I've been using for the past few months and it's come in very handy during this stay at home period. You can schedule what you're planning to do for your physical and mental health for the week. It's been very helpful in holding me accountable and allowing me to make a plan for two extremely important aspects of life: physical & mental health. The document is in English and Spanish (translated by Guerrero-Thompson teachers...thanks y'all!).

Physical & Mental Health Menu

Physical & Mental Health Menu

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Below is a compilation of a few more resources in addition to what's in this newsletter.
Austin ISD Mindfulness Newsletter

Austin ISD Mindfulness Newsletter

Austin ISD Mindfulness Newsletter - Resources for Support During the Coronavirus Pandemic by James Butler | This newsletter was created with Smore, an online tool for creating beautiful newsletters for individual educators, schools and districts

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Please feel free to share this newsletter and/or resources from this newsletter with students, families, community members, etc. For more regular mindfulness updates, please follow me on Twitter, @mrbutler629.

SPECIFICALLY FOR EDUCATORS SPECIFICALLY FOR EDUCATORS

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Stop Breathe & Think

Free SBT Subscription for Educators

"You will have access to over 100 premium activities, with new activities added each month on our Stop, Breathe & Think All Ages and Kids apps."

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Headspace

Free Headspace Subscription for Educators

"Headspace offers free access to all K-12 teachers, school administrators and supporting staff in the US, UK, Canada and Australia."

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Liberate

Talks and Guided Meditations from Teachers of Color

"Our mission is to empower Black, Indigenous, and People of Color on their path of finding inner peace."

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This resource is from the "Mindfulness for Stress Relief" Zoom sessions held for AISD staff.

LEARNING AT HOME SUPPORT LEARNING AT HOME SUPPORT

Feel free to use these resources however you best see fit for your students and families. Understand that limited/no access to internet/devices is a very real situation for a lot of our families. I've provided printable resources that can be placed for pickup at school, but I also encourage other creative ways to ensure that access to mindfulness is equitable. The last thing we want is for only our students with internet/device access to be able to have these much needed strategies right now. Please reach out if you have any thoughts or questions. I'm happy to support in any way possible.
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SEL At-Home

SEL At-Home Site

"Intended to provide parents/caregivers and students access to SEL-related enrichment activities, resources, self-care and mindful practices and more. We've also included SEL-based practices for leaders, staff, and educators who are transitioning to a virtual work environment."

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Mind Yeti

Mind Yeti YouTube: English | Spanish
Mind Yeti Podcast: RSS Feed | Spotify | Stitcher

"Fifteen mindfulness sessions are available for anyone to use, no experience necessary! Designed for educators and families to do with children, or for older children to do on their own, Mind Yeti provides a great way for everyone to practice mindfulness during this difficult time."

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Austin ISD Learning At-Home

The Austin ISD At-Home Learning Site

"Students, teachers, and caregivers can access resources, learn how to navigate online tools, and stay informed about our Wednesday distribution of hands-on materials and school supplies."

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Pure Edge K-12 Mindfulness Resources

Pure Edge K-12 Mindfulness English/Spanish Resources

"We know that this has been a very stressful time for you and your team. As schools are closing and resources are being gathered, we wanted to send some videos and items in this dropbox link so that you could easily access and add them to your own district platforms in lieu of guiding them to our website."


Check out their site for even more great resources.

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Tips To Teach Your Child At Home

Tips To Teach Your Child At Home--2Ward Equity Blog

"Our students, families and community need us to operate as an organization that takes advantage of this opportunity to recreate how we engage in learning. For the first time since No Child Left Behind we have no state mandated standardized tests to weigh down our staff. We have the opportunity to approach our work with love, compassion, empathy and equity."


Click here for PDF of the tips.

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Printable Mindfulness Resources for Families

Printable Mindfulness Resources for Families

From Austin ISD, Mindfulness activities in English, Spanish, Arabic, Farsi/Dari, Burmese, Swahili & Kinyarwanda! This folder will continue to be updated. Recommendations welcome!

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Mindful Moments, Mindfulness for Stress Relief & More

This Mindful AISD YouTube Playlist consists of over 40 videos and growing. I'm leading "Today's Mindful Moment" video each day on Twitter and posting here on YouTube as well.

FREE MINDFULNESS RESOURCES TO USE & SHARE FREE MINDFULNESS RESOURCES TO USE & SHARE

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Self-Care Newsletter from Kocurek Counselor, Angela Vera

Amazing Compilation of Self-Care Resources

"I want to make sure all of you are taking care of yourselves during this time and decided to compile a few resources and things you may find helpful."
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Stop Breathe Think -- Calm Coronavirus Anxiety

Free Collection of Practices

"There’s a new category within our app, called Calm Coronavirus Anxiety, to help you feel more safe, centered and connected. We’ve carefully curated a selection of our premium tracks to support you during this time."
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Headspace -- Weathering the Storm

Free Collection of Practices

"There are a lot of unknowns in the world right now. But one thing is certain — Headspace is here for you. To help support you through this time of crisis, we’re offering some meditations you can listen to anytime."
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Sounds True

Resilience in Challenging Times

"In response to the growing uncertainty and heightened stress during this unprecedented time, we have created this special digital care package to help you navigate the coming days with mindfulness, compassion, and presence."

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Mindful Music Moments w/ ArtsWave

10 Weeks of Mindful Music Moments

"ArtsWave is working with Mindful Music Moments to provide 10 weeks of daily doses of guided meditation set to music from the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and the Cincinnati Opera."
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Mindfulness Exercises

2,000+ Free Mindfulness Exercises

"From the official partner with the mindfulness program developed at Google. Free Mindfulness Exercises, Meditations & Courses. Browse our collection of free mindfulness trainings, meditation scripts and mindfulness worksheets."

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UCSD Center for Mindfulness

Daily Mindfulness & Compassion Sessions

"Due to the current situation with the coronavirus (COVID-19) evolving rapidly across the United States, our Center, The Sanford Institute, and the Compassion Institute will work together to provide daily streams and recordings of mindfulness and compassion sessions to provide resources and online support to those affected."

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Mindfulness Newsletter Archives

Mindful AISD Newsletters

Every newsletter from the last 4 years. So many resources!

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Mind Oasis

Daily Live-Streaming Group Practices

"Life is really stressful at the moment. We have the antidote - daily live-streaming group meditation sessions. Community Meditation makes starting and maintaining a practice fun and easy. Enroll today - a friendly guide is waiting for you!"

Newsletter Signup & Additional Support Newsletter Signup & Additional Support

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James Butler, M.Ed.

Austin ISD SEL Mindfulness Specialist

2014 Austin ISD Teacher of the Year

Author of Mindful Classrooms: Daily 5-Minute Practices to Support Social-Emotional Learning

Email: james.butler@austinisd.org
Twitter: @mrbutler629

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