Mindfulness
WHY NOW?
Our children’s world is a faster, more stressful, and distracted place than ever before. The research is clear that modern children and their teachers need new skills and awareness to deal with the current environment.
THE BENEFITS
At District 35, we are using mindfulness to support learning and readiness across all curricular areas. The practice helps to develop important cognitive skills related to learning. As we remain steadfast in our commitment to social-emotional learning, mindfulness also provides a foundational awareness and understanding of thoughts, emotions, and behaviors.
Scientifically Proven Benefits of Mindfulness include:
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Improvement of focus and attention span
- Increase of problem-solving abilities
- Stress control and improvement of the immune response
- Heightened compassion
- Increase of resilience
Mindfulness is not self-improvement or a method taught as a way to stay positive. It is a way to focus and be present in the moment.
A COMMON PRACTICE
Mindfulness can be found in the workplace (Google, Apple, Nike and Time Warner to name a few), in universities (Stanford, Harvard, Carnegie Mellon), and most recently in our schools. Collegiate and professional athletes, as well as Olympians, currently incorporate the practice of mindfulness with positive results.
TO LEARN MORE
Interested in learning more about the benefits of Mindfulness? Please see the book lists and supporting research shared on the right side. We are pleased to also partner with Erickson Institute as we gather pre and post-training surveys to consider the impact of this new experience for students and teachers. We will share updates with our Board and community at the end of the school year.
View a list of children's books which you will find in our District 35 libraries. Follow the links to each title and learn more about resources.
View the highlights of many studies that share the benefits of mindfulness for children and adults.