Parent and Teacher Resources
Mindfulness and Education
Mindful Schools website
The Mindful Schools curriculum has been used to teach mindfulness to over 30,000 children across the country. Their website offers curriculum training, both in-person and online, and a 6-week online mindfulness course for adults. In addition, the website provides research results, book recommendations, talks, and mindfulness audio exercises among other resources.
MindUp Curriculum
The MindUP Curriculum is available from Scholastic, Inc for both Grades 3-5 and Grades 6-8. In addition to many age-appropriate mindfulness exercises and activities, the curriculum incorporates the latest findings in neuroscience to teach students both how the brain functions and why mindfulness can be so beneficial.
Information on the curriculum can be found at
http://teacher.scholastic.com/products/mindup/
Information on the MindUP program for schools can be found at
http://www.thehawnfoundation.org/mindup
Susan Kaiser Greenland and InnerKids
Susan Kaiser Greenland has been a leader and innovator in teaching mindfulness to school-aged children. Her InnerKids program has brought mindfulness to public schools throughout the Los Angeles area.
Her book, The Mindful Child, is a great resource for mindfulness activities you can do with your child at home.
Here is an excellent 20 min. TEDx talk by Susan Kaiser Greenland discussing teaching mindfulness to children.
Mindful Teaching
Mindful Teaching and Teaching Mindfulness: A Guide for Anyone Who Teaches Anything
by Deborah Schoeberlein and Suki Sheth, 2009
Neuroscience, Psychology, and Mindfulness
The Whole-Brain Child: 12 Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child’s Developing Mind by Daniel J. Siegel, M.D., and Tina Payne Bryson, Ph.D., 2011. Delacorte Press, New York.
Daniel Siegel’s 20 minute TEDx talk, Mindfulness and Neural Integration: Relationships and Reflection in the Cultivation of Well-Being, includes a discussion of the three R’s Siegel recommends we teach our kids: Reflection, Relationships, and Resilience. Added bonus: the hand model of the brain is demonstrated.
The Emotional Life of Your Brain: How Its Unique Patterns Affect the Way You Think, Feel, and Live – and How You Can Change Them by Richard J. Davidson, Ph.D. with Sharon Begley., 2012. Hudson Street Press, New York.
Mindful Parenting
While mindfulness is undoubtedly a valuable tool for children, it can be priceless for parents. Learn and practice mindfulness as part of your parenting strategy to be more fully present in your children’s lives, reduce family stress and conflict, and just enjoy every precious moment more.
Everyday Blessings: The Inner Work of Mindful Parenting
by Myla and Jon Kabat-Zinn
Check out The Community of Mindful Parents, a local (Seattle) group with programs for parents of young children (to age 8). Their website has a growing list of resources on mindful parenting relevant to parents of all age children.
Jon Kabat-Zinn and Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction
Jon Kabat-Zinn is the founding director of the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care and Society at the University of Massachusetts in Boston and a pioneer in the use of mindfulness in stress reduction and pain management. His Center has helped bring mindfulness into the mainstream of modern health care. Kabat-Zinn has published many articles, books and audio guides on mindfulness.
A good place to start is:
Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness
Other recent books on mindfulness
Mindfulness is being taught and used increasingly in business settings to improve productivity and worker satisfaction. One of the pioneers has been Google. Their program is described in this book.
Research Evidence
Katherine Weare, who is associated with the .b Mindfulness in Schools Project in the UK produced a nice summary of current research evidence for the impact of mindfulness on children and young people in April 2012.