• Personal Practice -- Daily Mindful Routine
• Professional Learning -- Spring Semester Sections on HCP
• Staff/Campus Mindfulness -- New York Times Article Study w/ Research & Practices
  
• Classroom Implementation -- GoNoodle & Mindful Choices
• Books of the Month -- The Mamba Mentality and Alphabreaths
• Mindful Happenings in AISD -- Sadler Means Adult SEL Room, ALC Self-Care PD, Harris Bulletin Board
• Related Newsletters & Blog -- CP&I and SEL

For more regular mindfulness updates, please follow me on Twitter, @mrbutler629. I post regularly, providing tips and highlighting mindfulness happening across the district. Also, feel free to use #mindfulAISD when posting about mindfulness.

Photo: 12th & Chicon Mural in Austin, TX (Artist: Chris Rogers, Photographer: Paul Johnston)

Amala Foundation created this awesome graphic comparing "Daily Routine vs. Mindful Daily Routine." I'm definitely going to use this and I invite you to check it out and incorporate into your daily life to build a more mindful daily routine. Click below to download the PDF.

Reminder: Headspace and Stop Breathe Think offer FREE subscription services for educators.

The following Mindfulness Professional Learning opportunities still have space available. Sign up on HCP using the links below...

• Mindfulness & Unconscious Bias: April 2nd
• Mindfulness 101/201: March 3rd & March 5th
• Mindfulness 301: March 4th
• Mindfulness & Nature: April 22nd
• Mindfulness for Self-Care (Intro to Mindfulness): February 19th & April 15th
• Spring AISD Staff Mindfulness Retreat: Saturday, April 18th (info & HCP signup coming soon)

*Those in italics have Isolating Race PD from Cultural Proficiency & Inclusiveness as a prerequisite. The SEL Department will pay for subs when subs are necessary for attendance.

Cultivating Mindfulness for Educators Using Resources From The New York Times is an article full of resources that could be great to study together with colleagues at a meeting (faculty, PLC, department, etc.). There are research highlights and some simple practices included as well.

GoNoodle is loaded with amazing brain breaks, and they even feature quite a few videos that focus on mindfulness. Their FLOW channel has many activities and this link can even be shared with families for practice at home.

Alliance for Decision Education has a free mindfulness curriculum. Learn more and sign up for free access to the Mindful Choices program focusing on middle and high school. Below is from their website...

Included in the Mindful Choices Program:

• Mindful breathing exercises (in audio recordings and written scripts) to incorporate into the daily classroom routine
• Plans for mini-lessons that support deeper understanding of mindfulness-related concepts: self-awareness, empathy, attention to detail, strengthening self- control, and leaving one’s comfort zone
• Ideas for integrating mindful awareness practices into your classroom throughout the year

Suggestions to add to your classroom or school library if you don't already have them.

The Mamba Mentality: How I Play by Kobe Bryant

The late Kobe Bryant was always a proponent of mindfulness and incorporated it into his daily regimen during his career and few years post-retirement. From Amazon: The Mamba Mentality: How I Play is Kobe Bryant’s personal perspective of his life and career on the basketball court and his exceptional, insightful style of playing the game―a fitting legacy from the late Los Angeles Laker superstar.

Alphabreaths: The ABCs of Mindful Breathing by Christopher Willard & Daniel Rechtschaffen

From Amazon: In Alphabreaths, children will learn their ABCs and the basics of mindfulness through playful breathing exercises. Breaths like Mountain Breath and Redwood Breath will connect them with nature, while breaths like Heart Breath and Wish Breath will help them remember to fill their heart with gratitude and send good wishes to others.

Simple, playful, and with delightful illustrations, Alphabreaths is the perfect introduction to mindfulness and breath awareness.

Click on images below to open tweets/stories.

Check out this month's Cultural Proficiency & Inclusiveness Newsletter and Social Emotional Learning Newsletter & Blog

Free App Subscriptions, Research, Articles, Videos & More.

Every Mindfulness Newsletter from the last 3 school years.

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