Mindfulness in schools starts with the adults. Here's some goodness for y'all. :)
When you’re feeling particularly low, it may be hard to imagine laughter, but there are several ways to incite the silly within. Doing so can put you in a more positive frame of mind, which will set you up to better tackle whatever’s on your plate."
Additionally, here's a compilation of mindfulness related self-care resources.
Opportunities to learn and/or expand your mindfulness knowledge...
Breathe For Change has 3 scholarships available for Austin ISD staff who would like to participate in their 200 hour Mindfulness for Teachers training this June 3-22 at Lanier HS. The discounted rate is $1,000 which is nearly 1/3 of the original cost. I've heard wonderful things from AISD teachers who have participated. If interested, when you apply, mention that you work in AISD and would like one of the AISD Scholarships.
Attention Reagan Vertical Team Staff: TEA is offering a free Dynamic Mindfulness Foundations Training on Saturday, May 18th 9am-4pm at St. David's Episcopal Church downtown. If you work in the Reagan Vertical Team and are interested, apply for the mindfulness training here. Email Katie Casstevens if you have any questions about this training.
Sharing mindfulness with families is extremely important for buy-in and weaving into campus climate & culture...
I found this resource The Breathing Butterfly which is geared towards elementary aged students, but it has practices and videos in multiple languages (Spanish, Vietnamese, Arabic, English, & more) so I wanted to share with y'all so you can share with families.
As a reminder, you can always find family resources on bit.ly/mindfulfams.
Equity is an important issue in Austin ISD and want mindfulness in AISD to be shared through a culturally proficient and inclusive lens...
I'm excited to share about summer professional learning from the office of Cultural Proficiency & Inclusiveness. I'm definitely going to be attending at least one of these awesome sessions. The flyer is in the PDF link below and here is a description of the learning opportunities:
"The office of Cultural Proficiency & Inclusiveness will be offering five summer professional learning sessions that help educators, staff, and community members engage in critical self-reflection around personal identity, implicit bias, and the power that our words and actions have over others.
Participants will build an understanding of:
- race and its impacts on students and staff
- messages we internalize from our environment
- deficit/asset language
- culturally responsive restorative practices
- creating a sense of belonging for families
- building an anti-racist educator's lens
- taking action in our daily professional practice
Isolating Race is the foundational prerequisite course. Staff may register for the additional four courses upon completion of the Isolating Race course. All of the CP&I sessions count towards exchange days and GT updates. Space is limited, so sign up through the HCP today!"
I Can Do Hard Things
I Can Do Hard Things: Mindful Affirmations for Kids by Gabi Garcia
What we tell ourselves matters! This is just as true for kids as it is for adults.
Help your child tap into their inner strength and find the encouragement they need to navigate their daily environments.
Mindful affirmations can help your child tune out the streams of messages they get about how they should be in the world.
I can choose kindness. I can practice peace. I can share my gifts with the world.
I Can Do Hard Things is a perfect addition to your home or school library. Parents and educators can find free resources to accompany this book at http://bit.ly/gabigarciabooks.
(Available in Spanish as Yo Puedo Hacer Cosas Dificiles: Afirmaciones Concientes Para Niños).
I Am Here Now
Mindfulness is the simple and powerful practice of training your attention. It's simple in that it's just about paying attention to what's happening here and now, and powerful because it can keep you from getting lost in thoughts about the future or past, which often generate more stress on top of the real pressures of everyday life.
While learning to live in the moment, the joyful mindfulness exercises, meditations, coloring pages, and habit-breakers in this beautifully designed and illustrated book will challenge your powers of observation, investigation, and cultivation while bringing new awareness to your senses, thoughts, and emotions.
I Am Here Now inspires readers to explore the world with greater curiosity and find moments of mindfulness in everyday life, while unleashing your creativity along the way.
The Mindful Way Through Depression
The Mindful Way Through Depression by Mark Williams, John Teasdale, Zindel Segal, and Jon Kabat-Zinn
**I chose this one specifically because May is Mental Health Awareness month and mindfulness has helped me tremendously with my battle with depression. Just trying to do my part to end the stigma around talking about mental health.
If you’ve ever struggled with depression, take heart. Mindfulness, a simple yet powerful way of paying attention to your most difficult emotions and life experiences, can help you break the cycle of chronic unhappiness once and for all.
In The Mindful Way through Depression, four uniquely qualified experts explain why our usual attempts to “think” our way out of a bad mood or just “snap out of it” lead us deeper into the downward spiral. Through insightful lessons drawn from both Eastern meditative traditions and cognitive therapy, they demonstrate how to sidestep the mental habits that lead to despair, including rumination and self-blame, so you can face life’s challenges with greater resilience. Jon Kabat-Zinn gently and encouragingly narrates the accompanying CD of guided meditations, making this a complete package for anyone seeking to regain a sense of hope and well-being.
I Love Technology (imagine Kip from Napoleon Dynamite singing), but how can we be more mindful with our tech usage?
Another golden nugget from Destress Monday: Taking a technology break, even a temporary one, will recharge your brain and get rid of a lot of mental clutter. You don’t need to switch to a completely off-the-grid lifestyle, but you do owe it to yourself to unplug and give your brain a rest. Here are a few tips for unplugging.
From a Mindful Schools article: We live in inspiring times – we’re seeing professional athletes come out of the closet as meditators and motivate young athletes to develop not only their physical performance, but their “inner game” as well. I started teaching mindfulness as a performance enhancement technique for teen athletes and have seen a real change in their way of being, as athletes.
Mindful Classrooms: The Educator Guide
Thanks to everyone who requested a PDF of Mindful Classrooms: The Educator Guide. It's humbling and a huge honor to know that a book I wrote is being utilized in AISD and beyond. I'm happy to share that I was able to donate 844 copies of the book to AISD staff! The book has been published by Free Spirit Publishing. Thanks for all your support, y'all!
Inner Explorer
So much gratitude to LG for the $20,000 grant to provide Inner Explorer community licenses to 20 AISD campuses through the 2018-2019 school year!! Inner Explorer is a web-based mindfulness program that's very easy to use for all ages. Elementary content is in Spanish as well. They even have a community component where families can have an account along with the school. For more info and sample practices, click here.
Stop Breathe Think--Free Lifetime Subscription
Calm--Free Lifetime Subscription
FREE Calm.com Lifetime Subscription for Teachers (PreK-12). Fill out the form at the link above for a FREE subscription to their site & app.
#mindfulAISD YouTube Playlist
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.
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."
Videos Explaining Mindfulness
Contact
SEL Mindfulness Specialist
2014 Austin ISD Teacher of the Year
Twitter: @mrbutler629