Mindfulness

As I was creating this post my 12 year old exclaimed, "Mom you  have nap time in third grade!" 

"No!" I replied,  "This is mindfulness."

         

        

        

During our last teacher professional development day we read and discussed an article about mindfulness.  One suggestion to improve mindfulness in the classroom was to have kids notice when they are distracted and then refocus. During this activity students focused on their breathing. Each time they thought about something other then their breathing they raised one hand.  As they raised a hand they then reminded themselves to focus on their breathing again.  It was amazing to watch all the kids raise and lower their hands.  In one minute almost everyone raised their hand at least once.  

As an educator I am always looking for new ways to help my students gain strategies for learning.  We all get distracted, yet we can  refocus when necessary. Once students notice that they are distracted it is much easier for them to refocus.  As we all know, when we are mindful we are more likely to learn new things, be more creative, and make fewer mistakes both socially and academically.