I'm always stressing how important it is for adults to practice mindfulness if we're going to use it with students, so this is going to be a regular section that highlights opportunities to build your personal practice.
Mind Oasis is offering free weekly online 30-minute mindfulness sessions for teachers every Tuesday at 7:30pm. Click here for more information. They also created a flyer that you can hang in your workroom or teacher's lounge.
Also, two teachers from Brentwood Elementary (Shelly Hollander & Carmen Gray) teach some specialty classes at Meditation Bar. Check them out sometime if you'd like.
UPDATE: So much gratitude for those who've signed up already! Most of the classes are full already, but add your name to the waitlist just in case. Most, if not all, of these courses will be offered again in the spring. Also, please leave the courses that are specifically for librarians and counselors to just those who hold those positions as they are specific to their jobs. Thanks!
“Mindfulness in Schools” HCP course (feel free to print & post this flyer on campus).
All will be held at the Blanton Museum of Art in classrooms above the cafeteria. These classes are open to ALL AISD staff. Thanks to a generous donation from a community member, teacher & librarian subs will be paid for by the SEL Department. That generous donation ensures that 17 subs can be covered for each session, so sign up soon to reserve your spot. More classes will be offered in the Spring too!
Mindfulness Series
Section #: 88374--October 2nd, 8am-11am, Mindfulness 101 (beginner)
Section #: 88974--October 2nd, 1pm-4pm, Mindfulness 101 (beginner)
Section #: 88380--November 1st, 8am-11am, Mindfulness 201 (intermediate)
Section #: 88976--November 1st, 1-4pm, Mindfulness 201 (intermediate)
Section #: 88384--November 29th, 8-11am, Mindfulness 301 (advanced)
**There are NO prerequisites for 201 & 301. Choose which level you think you should attend based on your knowledge and expertise with mindfulness. For 301, it's preferred that you have at least one full year of practicing mindfulness in your classroom.
Integrating Mindfulness
Section #: 88387--October 25th, 8am-11am, Culturally Responsive Mindfulness
Section #: 88975--October 25th, 1pm-4pm, Culturally Responsive Mindfulness
Section #: 88385--November 29th, 1-4pm, Mindfulness & The Arts
Mindfulness for Librarians
Section #: 88379--October 3rd, 1-4pm, Mindfulness for Elementary Librarians
Section #: 88381--November 14th, 1-4pm, Mindfulness for Secondary Librarians
Mindfulness for Counselors
Section #: 88382--December 6th, 8-11am, Mindfulness for Elementary Counselors
Section #: 88383--December 6th, 1-4pm, Mindfulness for Secondary Counselors
Here is an article that focuses on connection at home. Small, informal practices of mindfulness such as truly listening can go a long way. Feel free to share this simple, yet powerful article with families.
As a reminder, you can always find family resources on bit.ly/mindfulfams.
This thought provoking article talks about some very important educational topics surrounding equity. Mindfulness isn't going to solve all of our problems in schools if we're not looking through a culturally responsive lens. We'll be diving deeper into this discussion in our Culturally Responsive Mindfulness PD. As always, I think these equity articles could make for good article reviews at team or PLC meetings.
Breath Friends Forever
"From the creators of the hugely successful Master of Mindfulness, this charming children’s book for readers ages 4 to 7 tells the story of Nessa and Leo’s friendship, and how mindfulness helps them deal with strong emotions such as fear, shyness, and anger."
I had the honor of writing the foreword for this book, but do not receive any compensation for book sales. It was a really cool honor though!
Self-Compassion for Teens
An exquisite collection of powerful practices that parents, teachers and therapists can all share with teens in their lives." -- Christopher Willard, PsyD, Author, Growing Up Mindful
Happy Teachers Change the World
Happy Teachers Change the World by Thich Nhat Hanh
"Fantastic book we used for a teacher book study. We need to remember that students and staff are under a lot of stress and pressure. The strategies in the book are practical and easy. The researchers apply their work in classrooms and the teacher practitioners implement...the feedback and reflection provided by the teachers and the researchers are honest and authentic."
Stop Breathe Think has released their FREE lifetime subscription for educations deal! I sent an email about it a few weeks ago, but I wanted to highlight it in this month's newsletter. Explore the site and sign up for the free subscriptions to their all ages AND kids app. They also have materials to guide you through use in the classroom.
Many famous athletes practice mindfulness to give themselves a mental edge over their competition. This blog post from Headspace provides some insight with their list of 4 reasons every athlete should practice mindfulness.
Mindful Classrooms: The Educator Guide
Those of you who are using Mindful Classrooms: The Educator Guide, I recommend Weeks 7-11 for October. As a friendly reminder, the book will be published by Free Spirit Publishing soon and I won't be able to give away free copies once that happens. AISD staff, sign up for a free electronic copy of the book while you can in the support form at the bottom of this newsletter.
Letter to Families
Here's a letter about mindfulness you can share with families. It provides a brief description of mindfulness and a message from Dr. Cruz supporting mindfulness in schools.
The letter is available in English, Spanish, Arabic, Farsi/Dari & Burmese.
Inner Explorer
Videos Explaining Mindfulness
#mindfulAISD YouTube Playlist
Calm--FREE for educators!
FREE Calm.com Lifetime Subscription for Teachers (PreK-12)
Multilingual Mindfulness
Want mindfulness activities in Spanish, Arabic, Farsi/Dari, Burmese, Swahili & Kinyarwanda? We've got them for you!
Zen Den YouTube Playlist
The "Zen Den" YouTube playlist offers 18 videos, ranging from 4-8 minutes in length.
Mind Yeti: Connecting Mindfulness w/ Explicit SEL Lessons
Mindyeti.com is a great resource that connects mindfulness with Second Step lessons, and it's FREE!
GoNoodle
GoNoodle is for the body and the mind.
Here is a link to a document that lists all the GoNoodle Mindfulness videos sorted by channel and with the length of each video.
De-Escalation Strategies Poster
This poster can be an addition to your classroom, Peace Area, hallways, Mindfulness Room, etc.
Mindful Life Project
Guided Mindfulness Activities in English & Spanish--Great for Secondary.
They also have a free app titled "Mindful Life Project."
