Mindfulness for Students

A Curriculum for Grades 3-8

Wendy Fuchs

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9780429997181
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

What if you walked into your classroom to find a room full of students who were working cooperatively with one another, focusing on the day's lesson, and able to regulate their own thoughts and feelings? Learn how to teach mindfulness strategies to your elementary and middle school students to provide a foundation for social-emotional well-being and academic engagement. Based on research and designed to complement any school setting, no matter how busy, the practices in this book will create the groundwork for a positive and productive learning environment. The curriculum covers these five key mindfulness practices:

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• Breath awareness

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• Body awareness

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• Focusing on gratitude

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• Kindness toward self and others

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• Open awareness

Each chapter includes a detailed lesson plan with suggested wording, as well as support materials (e.g., journal templates, activity sheets, and infographics). These tools, as well as audio recordings of the practices, are also available on our website as free eResources for classroom use (www.routledge.com/9781138586550).

Chapter 1

Mynd Time: A Mindfulness Curriculum Grades 3–8

Definition of Mindfulness

There are a variety of definitions and descriptions of mindfulness circulating in the media. Terms such as “awareness” and “being present” are used to describe mindfulness. The Mynd Time curriculum uses Jon Kabat-Zinn’s definition of mindfulness which is “paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally” (Kabat-Zinn, 1994). There has been a strong emphasis on paying attention in the present moment, but less emphasis on the part of the definition that also talks about doing so in a nonjudgmental way. Paying attention, or bringing awareness to someone or something is part of the process, but it is just as important for students to learn self-compassion, patience, and kindness toward oneself and others.

One major misconception about mindfulness is that it is a relaxation exercise. In many cases, the actual formal practices can induce a sense of calm or relaxation, but that is actually not the main goal. The purpose of formal mindfulness practices is to increase our capacity to be present with whatever is happening in the present moment, whether it is good or bad. If we are able to notice and truly experience our thoughts, feelings and habitual responses, we are in a better position to think and act more skillfully than if we are reactive and unaware. Indeed, sitting still and focusing on our breath or bodily sensations can be quite calming; the real purpose of these practices is to tap into a sense of being “okay” regardless of what is happening in our lives.

Origin of Mynd Time

The name “Mynd Time” is a play on words that combines the words “my” and “mind” It is a friendly prompt to take time to understand “my” “mind” as a way to support our own well-being. Mynd Time offers a simple set of strategies that are easy to learn, practice, and implement in most elementary and middle school classrooms. Many of the concepts and practices in this program align with the foundational components of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program, originally created by Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD, in 1979 at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center. For nearly four decades, MBSR has been studied and shown to be beneficial to an increasingly large number of individuals facing a wide range of life challenges (i.e., chronic pain, depression, anxiety, and addiction). MBSR is a standardized eight-week program for adults that teaches individuals how to use mindfulness practices to bring awareness to their thoughts, feelings, habits and physical bodies as a path to improve their ability to regulate and respond to all aspects of life, including daily stressors, routine activities, and interpersonal relationships. Mynd Time mirrors the foundational concepts of the MBSR program in a reduced, modified format for children in Grades 3–8.

Mynd Time is the culminating product of many years of implementing mindfulness practices in schools and other settings. The field-testing of these practices occurred in elementary and junior high settings, as well as summer camps for young children. Each time the lessons and practices were taught, improvements and modifications were made to the content, scripts, and support materials. This curriculum originated with a sincere wish for educators and students to find joy and ease in their lives through these practices.

Mynd Time focuses on five formal mindfulness practices as a solid foundation for increasing general awareness and self-acceptance. Unlike many books and programs on mindfulness for children that provide numerous classroom activities and lessons on specific aspects of social-emotional learning, Mynd Time intentionally provides only a few practices that serve as the groundwork for other social-emotional learning. Additionally, Mynd Time is appropriate both for educators who are new to mindfulness practices and those educators who have extensive mindfulness or meditation experience. Finally, the Mynd Time lessons include systematic instructions and clear, concise teacher language to support educators as they become more familiar with teaching the mindfulness concepts and practices. The most important underlying concept of the mindfulness practices in Mynd Time is one of self-empowerment; the idea that we are all capable of learning how to regulate our internal and external responses to the people and events in our lives. The skill of self-regulation is at the heart of our ability to find joy and peace within ourselves, regardless of external circumstances.

Intended Audience for Mynd Time

The mindfulness lessons in this book are appropriate for students in Grades 3–8. While many public and private school teachers will find benefit in integrating these practices into their daily instructional routines, other school personnel such as school psychologists, school social workers, administrators, and other specialists may find benefit in teaching these lessons and practices to students in smaller group settings or even one-on-one. Additionally, people in other settings with students in Grades 3–8 (i.e., afterschool programs, detention centers, group homes) can also teach these lessons and practices successfully.

Rationale for Implementing Mynd Time

Teachers are no strangers to the everyday stressors of current public school teaching demands. There is an increased focus on accountability in the form of student assessment, teacher evaluations, changing national standards, and challenging student behavior that often interfere with classroom instruction, not to mention the culture and climate of the entire school. The intent of this mindfulness curriculum is to provide classroom teachers and other school professionals with a foundation in using mindfulness strategies to support their own well-being and the well-being of the students in their classrooms.

Childhood and adult stress is at an all-time high. The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) conducted the 2017 Educator Quality of Work Life Survey of nearly 5000 educators (AFT, 2017). The survey revealed that educators find their work “always” or “often” stressful 61% of the time, twice as high as workers in the general population. Educators report the following job-related sources of stress: constantly changing expectations, the stressful workload, the condition of the buildings where they work, shortage of resources (e.g., time, equipment, staff), the feeling of having to be ‘always on,’ and insufficient time to collaborate with colleagues (AFT, 2017). Educators also reported having “poor mental health for 11 or more days per month at twice the rate of the general U.S. workforce” (AFT, 2017). It is interesting to note that the majority of the sources of stress occur outside the classroom and do not come from students.

In addition to teacher stress, children in today’s schools are experiencing elevated levels of stress and anxiety related to past trauma, excessive time spent on social media, etc. Mindfulness practices have extensive evidence that supports a promising, positive effect on psychological and physical symptoms associated with anxiety, depression, and overall health, as well as improved attitudes about school and increased academic achievement (Durlak et al., 2011; Greenberg et al., 2003; Zins, Weissberg, Wang, & Walberg, 2004). Incorporating mindfulness lessons and practices in the daily routine will not only help students feel more calm and focused, but will also support an overall positive learning environment. Students who feel better about themselves and feel capable of regulating their own internal and external responses will be contributing members of a positive learning community within the classroom.

Time is a precious and limited resource dur...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Series Information
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• About the Author
• eResources
• Chapter 1 Mynd Time: A Mindfulness Curriculum Grades 3–8
• Chapter 2 Introduction to Stress and the Brain
• Chapter 3 Breath Awareness
• Chapter 4 Body Awareness
• Chapter 5 Focus on Gratitude
• Chapter 6 Kindness Toward Self and Others
• Chapter 7 Open Awareness
• Epilogue
• References