Simple Ways to Promote Mindfulness in the Classroom Presenters: Jodi Hickenlooper, LPC Anita Wilson Mel Hensman

 Learning to Belly Breathe  Place one hand on your belly and one on your upper chest.  Breathe in slowly through your nose and allow your lungs to fill downward.  Pretend you have a balloon in your belly and you are blowing it up with your breath  Relaxation Breathing  Breathe in through your nose to the count of 4 pause and out through your mouth to the count of 8.  Repeat 3-4 times. Basic Breathing Techniques

Why? o Kids are busy and have a lot on their minds! o Many kids have difficulties focusing in class. o Many kids don’t have the tools to calm themselves down.

Paying attention to something, in a particular way, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally. -Jon Kabat-Zinn What is Mindfulness?

What it’s Not Spiritual or Religious Formal sitting meditation Hypnosis

Benefits to Students Increase: Emotional regulation Ability to orient attention Working memory and planning & organization Self esteem Sense of calmness, relaxation, and self-acceptance

Decrease: Test anxiety ADHD behaviors- specifically hyperactivity and impulsivity Negative affect/ emotions Anxiety Depression Conduct and anger management problems

How we did it. Mindful Brain Breaks …

The Counselor  Gather Information  Can easily fit into ASCA Model  Present to building administrator  Put it out to staff  Voluntary program

 Meet with interested staff / training  Have your own mindful practice  Pre and Post Survey’s  Information to parents  Verbiage is important Counselor Cont.

We are pleased to inform you that Caldwell High School is continuing a voluntary program to include activities and techniques into the classroom to improve student’s academic, social and emotion well- being. Your student’s teacher has volunteered to be a part of this program. A couple of times per week your student will have the opportunity to participate in a mindful brain break activity. These will be brief activities (2-5 minutes) and our hope is they will enhance the learning environment. Activities may include things like: deep breathing, muscle relaxation, stress reduction and test preparation. Information for Parents

The Administrator Tips for approaching your administrator. Why it’s important to them and how to get support.

The Teacher Tips for approaching teachers. Tips for teachers. Dealing with resistant students. Classroom Activity Video

The Participants 4 th Quarter School Year 7 Teachers 16 Class periods 300+ Students 76% 9 th grade 13% 10 th grade 11% 11 th grade 54% Female 41% Male 5% Did not report

The Results o Ability to focus in class. o Ability to find what I need for class. o Remembering what they need for class. o Calming themselves down when they are nervous about a test. o Knowing ways to relax when stressed. o Feeling good about themselves. Students Reported Improvements in:

The Results 80% of students said they would like to do it again next year.

Student Comments It helped me relax and feel calm. It gave me a break. I even used it in other classes. Sometimes I feel sleepy. Worried about missing class time. I liked the muscle tensing. It helps me focus on what I need focused on. Helps me remember better when I learn difficult things.

Teacher Comments I noticed that the class was quieter with more time on task Behavior was more calm on days we did the breathing It was very easy to implement and any time used to do the breathing exercises was unnoticeable because there were less distractions during the class. I realized that my focus level is directly related to my students focus level It calmed the kids after lunch and helped us all start from the same point.

Moving Forward o Challenges o Staff o Students o Where do we go from here?

Questions?

Resources Learning to breathe: A mindfulness curriculum for adolescents to cultivate emotion regulation, attention, and performance. ~Patricia C. Broderick, PhD Mindfulness skills for kids & teens: A workbook for clinicians & clients with 154 tools, techniques, activities & worksheets ~Debra Burdick, LCSWR, BCN Brainstorm: The power and purpose of the teenage brain ~Dan Siegel. MD

Resources Research Info for teachers Generally awesome stuff Free apps

Contact Information Jodi Hickenlooper Licensed Professional Counselor Anita Wilson Caldwell High School Principal Mel Hensman CHS Teacher of the Year