Mindfulness Newsletter
August 2017-- #mindfulAISD
Welcome Back!!
I'm doing monthly newsletters this year in an effort to not bombard your inbox every week, and to also allow for more intentional work with campuses. If you'd like more regular updates, please follow me on Twitter: @mrbutler629. I post regularly and will have tips and highlight mindfulness happening across the district. If you post, feel free to use the hashtag #mindfulAISD to keep everyone connected.
Starting Mindfulness Day 1
Define Mindfulness
Right here, Right now:
Paying attention on purpose
Responding, as opposed to reacting
Being kind to yourself
Teach About the Brain
Teach your students about neuroplasticity and how mindfulness can help strengthen the brain. Use this poster to teach about 3 parts of the brain affected by mindfulness. You can find this poster as a FREE download on Teachers Pay Teachers.
Take 3 Deep Breaths
Focused, intentional breaths takes time to learn. Start small with 3 collective breaths. You can use this link for animated GIFS to help guide you and your students' breathing.
Communicate with Parents/Families
Communicating with parents & families is incredibly important at the start of the year, especially about mindfulness. This link contains a letter about mindfulness that you can share with families. The letter has a brief description of mindfulness and a blurb from Dr. Cruz supporting mindfulness in schools.
The letter is available in English, Spanish, Arabic, Farsi/Dari & Burmese. (shout out to our amazing Refugee Support Team for the translations)
Videos to Help Explain Mindfulness--Secondary
Videos to Help Explain Mindfulness--Elementary
Mindfulness in 2017-2018
Mindfulness Specialist Role
Elementary
- Supporting PK-2 Suspension Ban, especially at Title 1 campuses.
- Creation of Mindfulness Rooms/Spaces.
- Connecting schools with community members to facilitate mindfulness for teachers/students.
- Working with teachers on how to lead mindfulness on their campus.
Secondary
- Working with student-athletes at Lanier, Austin, LBJ & middle schools TBD (pilot program).
- Mindful PALS program at Reagan, Ann Richards & McCallum (pilot program).
- Connecting schools with community members to facilitate mindfulness for teachers/students.
- Working with teachers on how to lead mindfulness on their campus.
- Creation of Mindfulness Rooms/Spaces.
As always, please email me at james.butler@austinisd.org if you have any wonderings.
Additional Resources
Previous Newsletters
Mindful Classrooms: The Educator Guide
Mindful AISD YouTube Playlist
Calm--FREE for educators!
FREE Calm.com Lifetime Subscription for Teachers (PreK-12)
Calm also has an app for phones.
**There are free sections on calm.com and the app, so feel free to share with your students' families.
Multilingual Mindfulness
Click here for mindfulness activities in Spanish, Arabic, Farsi/Dari, Burmese, Swahili & Kinyarwanda. Huge thank you to the amazing AISD Refugee Family Support Team for the translations.
Zen Den YouTube Playlist
Click here for the "Zen Den" YouTube playlist, so I wanted to share it with y'all. There are 18 videos on the list, 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. Visit the site and sign up for a FREE account!
There is also an informational page that explains the connection between Mind Yeti and Second Step.
GoNoodle
GoNoodle 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.
**Share gonoodle.com with your students' families so they can sign up for a FREE account to use at home.
De-Escalation Strategies Poster
This can be an addition to your classroom, Peace Area, hallways, Mindfulness Room, etc.
Mindful Life Project
Guided Mindfulness Activities in Spanish & English--Great for Secondary
Mindful Life Project is an incredible organization based out of Richmond, CA. They teach mindfulness, yoga, expressive arts, and hip-hop/performing arts to elementary and middle school students in underserved communities.
They also have a free app titled "Mindful Life Project."