Mindfulness in

Education

Teaching students the skills to focus,

pay attention, calm down,
be present and breathe

Joree Rosenblatt, MA Mindfulness Tools for Living www.joreerose.com

 Introduction to Mindfulness

What is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness, which is a practice of embodiment, offers tools to cultivate greater

awareness, attention and intention, thus allowing you to live your life in the present
moment, with greater balance, peace and joy. Being mindful increases your mind-body
connection, which not only heightens awareness of your thoughts, feelings and emotions,
but allows you to view them in a non-judgmental way and to compassionately attend to
whatever is arising in the moment. The foundation of a mindfulness practice is
developing a connection to your breath; each inhale and exhale naturally roots you to the
present moment, aids in getting out of your thinking mind and into your feeling body, and
inherently draws you back into the here and now.

Principles of Mindfulness (Physiological)

Formal Practice:

Sitting meditation or walking mediation

Informal Practice:

Mindfulness of daily activities embodying presence in all that you do:

eating, driving, chores, parenting, communicating, personal grooming, exercising,
work, relationships, etc

Mindset in Cultivating a Mindfulness Practice (Psychological)

Awareness Intention Being in the present moment
Gratitude Compassion Empathy
Allowing Acceptance Friendliness to Self
Non-judgmental Letting go Attending to whatever arises

Patience Trust Acceptance

Mindful Breathing
In a comfortable, upright position, embodying awakefulness and integrity, notice where in
your body you are feeling yourself breathing. You may notice your shoulders rising up and
down, your abdomen expanding and contracting, or the air passing from your nostrils.
Simply breathe naturally and focus your minds attention on breathing in and breathing out.
If your mind begins to wander, dont judge where it has gone, gently invite it back to
reconnect with your breath. Breathing in, breathing out. Notice how it feels in your body to
slow down and connect with your body and your breath. You can do mindful breathing
wherever you are, whenever you need no one even has to know what your are doing.

Joree Rosenblatt, MA Mindfulness Tools for Living www.joreerose.com

 Mindfulness Practice for Use with Children
in an Educational or Therapeutic Setting

Mindfulness for Kids

Mindfulness is the practice of being aware of what is happening inside of us and what is
happening around us. When we are mindful, we are paying attention to what is happening right
now. The intention is to try to not be focused on the past (of what already happened) and to try
not to worry or stress out about the future (or what we fear is going to happen) because we dont
have any control over those things. We can only be in control of this moment, right now. We
practice just being here (wherever we are!), and being aware of everything that is part of our
current experience, with acceptance rather than with any judgments.

The basis of a mindfulness practice is being aware of our breath, and the amazing power it has to
calm us down, soothe us, and help us get through whatever difficult moments we may be facing.
When practicing stillness, it is to notice how it feels to slow down, feel our breath in our body,
and allow whatever thoughts and emotions we have to just exist, without trying to change them.
If we are stressed, overwhelmed, nervous, anxious, scared, sad, angry, mad any of these
emotions - then we can practice taking deep breaths to calm down our mind and our body,
which will help us decide how to respond, and not react to whatever we are dealing with.

In a mindfulness practice we are also aware of many other things. We notice: how our body
feels; the messages that our body is trying to tell us; how our 5 senses (seeing, hearing, tasting,
touch and smell) all play a part in what is happening right now; whether or not we are judging
ourselves or other people; how to focus on what we are grateful for; how to develop empathy and
compassion for ourselves and others; how to be aware of our thoughts; and what emotions we are
feeling and recognizing that feeling our emotions is part of being human.

Mindfulness in Education

Teaching mindfulness to students not only creates a positive learning environment, but has also
been scientifically proven to have significant benefits in many areas, including overall executive
functioning, academics, social and emotional growth, behavioral and interpersonal relations. A
mindfulness practice:

Increases Decreases

~ focus, attention and test taking abilites ~ hyperactivity

~ emotional regulation; self-soothing ~ anxiety
~ compassion and empathy ~ depression
~ self-esteem ~ bullying

Joree Rosenblatt, MA Mindfulness Tools for Living www.joreerose.com

Tips for Creating a Mindful Classroom
~ Transition with a moment of mindful breathing
(i.e. coming in from recess, in between lessons, before with a test)
~ Ring a calming bell, or a singing bowl, to bring classs attention to the present moment
~ Demonstrate a mindful atmosphere by role modeling how to respond, and not to react
~ Take a mindful minute to S.T.O.P.
Slow down, Take a breath, Observe what is arising and Proceed with skill and intention
~ Remind students to use mindful breathing to quiet their brains, when they are feeling
overwhelmed, anxious and stressed, so they can be in the optimal zone for learning
~ Establish environment for cultivating compassion, empathy and gratitude
~ Create a moody jar* to keep in the classroom, which offers a tool for settling emotions
*Exercise adapted from Moody Cow Meditates, by Kerry Lee MacLean

It doesnt matter what you are teaching kids,

if they dont know how to pay attention.
~ Joree Rosenblatt

Joree Rosenblatt, MA Mindfulness Tools for Living www.joreerose.com

 Suggested Readings for
Mindfulness in Education

Squirmy Learns to be Mindful

By Joree Rosenblatt

Mindful Teaching and Teaching Mindfulness

By Deborah Schoeberlein

The Mindful Child

By Susan Kaiser Greenland

Moody Cow Meditates

By Kerry Lee MacLean

Moody Cow Learns Compassion

By Kerry Lee MacLean

Wherever You Go, There You Are

By Jon Kabat-Zinn

Everyday Blessings
By Jon Kabat-Zinn

Mindful Nation
By Tim Ryan

Mindsight
By Daniel Siegel

Brainstorm
By Daniel Siegel

Buddhas Brain
By Rick Hanson

Just One Thing

By Rick Hanson

Hardwiring Happiness
By Rick Hanson

Mindful Movements
By Thich Nat Hanh
 What are the kids saying about Mindfulness?

Mindfulness is about being in still body. If your teacher asks you to be in a mindful body, you
know how to slow down and just be stillif you want to.
~ Emily, age 5

Mindfulness is not worrying what is happening next, but being aware of what is happening right
now.
~ William, age 7

I imagine if we fall down, get hurt and start bleedingif we freak out, then whats going to happen is
our heart is going to beat faster, which will make our blood flow more, and our boo-boo is probably
going to bleed more. But I imagine if we can practice our breathing, calm ourselves downthen our
heart rate is going to slow down, which will make our blood flow less, and were probably not going to
bleed as much.
~ Jon, age 10

I used Mindfulness when I couldnt fall asleep last night. I just lied in my bed, and practiced my
breathing and listened to the sounds outside my window. I was able to fall asleep easier.
~ Emma, age 9

I used mindful test taking for my really hard math test I had yesterday, and I know I did better on my
test because of it.
~ Sophia, age 12

I practiced mindfulness before my play that I was in. I was nervous, and I just practiced my breathing
and I wasnt as nervous when I got on stage.
~ Sydney, age 9

Thank you for teaching us about Mindfulness. I use the moody jar a lot. It really helps me calm
down.
~ Natalia, age 9

Mindfulness is my favorite subject in school!

~ Charlie, age 10

[after doing a body scan] I noticed that my fingers dont hurt anymore. I realized that when I focused
on the pain, it hurt worse, but when I focused on other parts of my body, the pain went away. (Her
fingers were taped up due to an injury.)
~ Olivia, age 11

My sadness train has left the station.

~ Grayson, age 7

I was worrying about having a hard conversation with a friend. I was going to have to tell her
something she wasnt going to like. Now, after practicing mindfulness, I am not so worried about it.
~ Sophia, age 9

Joree Rosenblatt, MA Mindfulness Tools for Living www.joreerose.com

 Joree Rosenblatt Bio

Joree Rosenblatt is an author, educator and speaker.

She is excited to announce the brand new release of
Squirmy Learns to be Mindful, a mindfulness book for
kids. After having worked for 4 years teaching
mindfulness in classroom settings for grades Pre-K
8th grade, Joree was inspired to write a book that
would benefit kids, parents, and educators in how to
implement a mindfulness practice.

Joree also has a Masters in Counseling Psychology and is the founder of Mindfulness Tools
for Living, a company dedicated to bringing mindful awareness and tools to students, adults,
parents, educators and corporate businesses. She has done extensive professional training in
mindfulness, and has cultivated a deep personal practice. Joree speaks at numerous conferences
on the cultivation and implementation of mindfulness into all aspects of life, and writes for
several websites, including Huffington Post, Dot Complicated and Expert Beacon. Joree teaches
her original mindfulness curriculum onsite in educational settings, leads faculty and staff
development trainings, as well as runs Mindful Parenting programs onsite at schools and in the
community.

Joree is also the author of Take a Mindful Minute, a booklet designed for parents and kids to
develop a joint practice in mindfulness. This beautifully designed booklet, featuring original
photography by Joree, offers tools for parents to develop their own place of peace and balance,
allowing them the ability to respond and not react, respect their childs sovereign nature, and find
moments to empathically and compassionately connect with their child. For kids, this booklet
offers tools to develop a connection to their breath, which will help them develop awareness,
gratitude, compassion and authenticity. For a free download of Take a Mindful Minute, please
visit www.joreerose.com.

When you sign in to download the booklet, you will also be put on the mailing list to receive the
free monthly newsletter, Mindfulness Tools for Living, featuring mindfulness tools, answers to
frequently asked questions, tips on mindful parenting, as well as links to all my current articles
being published and announcements of my upcoming events.

If Joree can be a resource in mindfulness, or you would like to work with Joree in person or via
Skype, dont hesitate to contact her at joree@joreerose.com.

Joree Rosenblatt, MA Mindfulness Tools for Living www.joreerose.com