#mindfulAISD (11/14)
Mindfulness in the Austin Independent School District
Week of November 14th
#mindfulAISD HAPPENINGS
Using Books to Make Classroom Safe Place for ALL
We are #AISDproud teachers @CasisElementary using books to make our classroom a safe place for all students. #mindfulAISD @AustinISDSEL
Wrapping Our Kids in Picturebook Love
#hugsfromkidlit #weneeddiversebooks #WorldKindnessDay
Kudos to these teachers and all teachers across AISD who have been making a concerted effort to make sure ALL of our students feel safe, welcome, and loved.
Mindfulness & Skip Counting
1st grade @PillowPanthers in @ibAustin's class learning to skip count by 5's while relaxing, breathing & meditating! #AISDProud #mindfulAISD
I love the mindfulness integration into a math lesson!
517 AISD Staff on the Mindfulness Challenge!
Kudos to each and every one of you who signed up for the November Mindfulness Challenge! 517 AISD staff members signed up from all over the district including Board Members and Superintendent Dr. Cruz. Thanks to everyone for spreading the word. Sending love for a Mindful November. I'll send an email at the end of the month to follow up with those participating.
Want to Showcase Your Mindfulness Work?
RESOURCES
GIFs for Deep Breathing
The election has understandably created some very strong feelings. Practicing mindfulness helps us respond to those strong feelings, as oppose to react to them.
Below are two links with GIFs to display on a screen that help with intentional deep breathing, or belly breathing. These are great for teachers who might not want to lead a breathing exercise, or who might just want to participate in the deep breathing with their students. Click on the link, display and enjoy some deep breaths.
http://www.destressmonday.org/6-gifs-help-destress/
"Palm the Present Moment" Script (Best for HS students)
I attended a seminar led by mindfulness expert and author, Donald Altman, two weeks ago and he shared this script for us to use in AISD. It's recommended for HS students & adults.
PALM THE PRESENT MOMENT
by Donald Altman, M.A., LPC author, One-Minute Mindfulness and The Joy Compass
HANDOUT: Palm the Present Moment (from his book The Mindfulness Toolbox)
Instructions: Use this portable grounding meditation whenever you find yourself getting anxious, worried, feeling overwhelmed, lost in negative thoughts, or feeling uncertain about the future while transitioning from one place to another. Spend as much time as necessary to do this the first time. Once you’re familiar with how to Palm the Present Moment, you can shorten the process and do this in just one-minute, if desired.
"Sit in a comfortable chair and take a couple of nice, long, calming breaths. Now, just raise your hands up to the height of the heart center, with the palms facing one another—about a foot or so apart. Notice how much tension there is in just holding the arms and hands up in the air.
Next, ever so slowly, bring the hands closer until you feel even the slightest or subtle sensation of energy, pressure, heat, or warmth. Stop when you feel this, and just notice this for a few moments. Observe closely this sensation. Is the heat, warmth, energy, or pressure constant? Or, does it vary slightly moment to moment?
Now, gently move the palms closer until just the fingertips come together with the most feathery, lightest touch. Imagine that the molecules from the fingertips of your right hand are dancing with the molecules of the fingertips of your left hand. You might even think about what dance they are doing… the foxtrot, the samba, the tango, or the jitterbug!
Now, you continue to bring your palms together until they lightly touch. As you do this, notice how the fingers straighten out and how more heat builds up between the palms. With your palms together, this is a good time to reflect for a few moments on the body, which is a precious gift that we possess.
(Rest in silent appreciation for 5-10 seconds)
Let’s see what it’s like to tense, then relax the body. Keeping your palms touching, raise your elbows up to the side. Press with only ten percent of the total pressure you could exert. Now, press your hands together even harder—up to twenty percent of total pressure. (Stop pressing if you feel any pain. Press only as hard as you experience no pain or discomfort.)
Again, observe how far up your arm the tension goes. Does it extend to the wrists, the elbows, the shoulders, the shoulder blades, the back, the chest? Maybe you feel more heat building in the palms of your hands? Which muscles are tense? After about five seconds of this, let your shoulders and elbows relax and fall. Release all this tension. Notice how nice it is to let go of tightness and tension in the body.
Finally, very slowly open your palms, like flower blossoms opening to the morning sun. Sense the coolness in your palms as the heat dissipates. Finally, let the weight of gravity tug on your hands and arms, letting these gently fall like leaves from a tree, until they come to rest on your lap or legs. Take a nice, long inhale, and as you exhale, imagine all the remaining stress draining out with the exhale down your legs and out of the bottom of your feet—where it will flow into the Earth for recycling.
If you want, just sit for a few more moments in appreciation for the body that follows your commands and carries your consciousness so you can achieve your life goals."
Mindful Classrooms--Week 13
Photos/stories of Mindful Classrooms being used in class are always welcome and would be great for the newsletter! Email James Butler.
FREE FOR TEACHERS!
Calm
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.
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
Go to the CATEGORIES tab at the top of the page and look for "calming" and "stretching." They have a bunch of great videos to use for daily mindfulness time and/or mindfulness breaks. GoNoodle can be found in the AISD cloud and then you have access to GoNoodle Plus with ALL of the videos.
**Share gonoodle.com with your students' families so they can sign up for a FREE account to use at home.
Pokemon Poses (created by AISD 3rd graders)
List of Pokemon Poses created by AISD Students
Mrs. Garcia's 3rd graders at Cunningham created Pokemon Yoga Poses for Market Day last week and they wanted to share their creativity and hard work with y'all. Creating poses and incorporating mindful breathing with the poses is such a great way to make mindfulness fun and easily practiced by all. Nicely done!
Mindful Life Project
Guided Mindfulness Activities in English & Spanish--Great for Secondary
They also have a free app titled "Mindful Life Project."