An Amazing Journey

It's been a great beginning to a great school year.  Why? One word...Mindfulness. From the first day of school every day, my Firsties and I meet twice a day to discuss how we can be mindful, at the beginning of our day and right after recess.  I know some are going to think its just another passing phase in education.  It's not...its about life.  My goal as a teacher is to teach life skills. Reading is a life skill...math is a life skill.  Understanding yourself, knowing how to focus and be aware of yourself, remain calm and treat others with respect and dignity is a life skill.  And it's an amazing life skill to see when a 6 year old puts it into action.

As I said my class begins each day with a Mindfulness Meeting.  We gather sitting in a large circle facing each other.  Yes, I get down on the floor and sit as a member of our Family. We being our meeting with focusing on our breathing.  I purchased this very inexpensive chime from Amazon which I ring to begin the meeting.  Our meeting takes no longer than 10 minutes.

The purpose of the chime is for the class to spend the time the chime rings focusing on their breathing and to focus.  I talk about letting go of all of the distractions we bring to our classroom so we can focus on being aware of our learning and being in the moment of our learning.  There is a great video, "Just Breathe", that explains focusing on breathing and our emotions.  And its done by Kindergartners, so it's kid friendly.  It's done by Mindful.org. ( The Firsties loved it!)

We then either read a short book teaching a mindfulness lesson...some great ones are Charlotte and the Quiet Place and Mindful Monkey, Quite Panda.  The list is truly endless! We may just take some time and talk or we may complete a lesson out of Mind Up.   Just a hint...we take a whole week to complete one lesson.
 

It's a wonderful series of lessons developed by the Hawn Foundation. There a two editions, PreK-2 and grades 3-5.

So what's the gain of this time?  My Firsties discuss problems among themselves...no intervening from me.  None.  I have stood back and watched.  They work it out.  If someone is overly upset it's not uncommon to hear "Take 3 breathes so you can calm down first".  Learning time is focused.  The Firsties recognize that they are in charge of their learning.  They are making the decisions of how they are learning...its a self directed classroom.  I truly just facilitate.  I have the opportunity to step back and focus on teaching.  And we're a Family. We care about and treat each other like a family.

I was recently asked by one of my building's Learning Coaches what my end of the year goal was for this group.  She stumped me.  What did I want for this group ultimately?  My answer to her this week was I want my students, my school family, to be able to actively engage themselves in their lives and to empower themselves with the knowledge that they make those choices. I know if she reads this, I've extended and changed my answer a bit....that's what being Mindful is about...reflecting, being aware and having a growth mindset.  I'm growing every bit as much as my Firsties.  It's an amazing journey to be on with them.