Mindful Moves for the Classroom

06/05/2017

Come join Mindful Moves' own Emily Hodos! She is a fun, dynamic presenter who provides great info to chew on & practical tools to leave with - whether you are interested in lifelong brain-body health (Saturday) or providing support to those with special needs (Sunday). Direct links to register at Tendril Kinetics Events. https://www.facebook.com/tendrilkinetics/

Learn about the the benefits of neuromovement for aging with physical and mental grace and vitality.

04/18/2017

In honor of the many educators taking a break this week, we are offering 20% off registration for Mindful Moves! for the Classroom May training. Discount runs now through Tues, April 25. Use discount code "vacation20" when you register. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mindful-moves-for-the-classroom-registration-31785604599

04/14/2017

"In order for children to learn, they must be able to pay attention. In order to pay attention, we must let them move! To do anything less, we cause harm. In fact, we’ve reached a tipping point, where we are restricting children’s movement and play experiences so much that we are witnessing the consequences from toddlers to adolescence on this new generation of children. It is alarming." Angela Hanscom, OT, Founder of TimberNook & author of Barefoot & Balanced.

The latest from pediatric occupational therapist Angela Hanscom.

04/06/2017

Movement in the elementary school classroom: "like Miracle-Gro for the brain."

Studies suggest that physical movement increases the capacity to learn by improving memory, concentration, and positive outlook.

Teachers, how do you incorporate movement into your daily schedule? Please share below!

https://www.edutopia.org/blog/move-body-grow-brain-donna-wilson

Donna Wilson and Marcus Conyers, brain-based teaching program developers and authors, suggest that exercise has physiological and developmental benefits for children's brains and offer ideas for putting a new spin on active learning.

04/06/2017

Enjoy these Spring FREE yoga printables for your early childhood or elementary classroom!

Happy spring yogis! Enjoy this 5 pose yoga sequence of things we see in Spring. The following poses are designed to encourage movement and creativity as we transition from Winter to Spring. It’s time to explore the outdoors and be more active throughout the day.

03/28/2017

This article supports the need to move, do attention practices such as mindfulness, and understand the brain in order to deal with emotions and remove blockages to learning. That is the magical intersection of the work Mindful Moves for the Classroom is doing.

A brain in pain cannot learn. "What can we do to create calm and safe brain states within ourselves and within the students who walk in with an activated fear response?

We first must understand that feelings are the language of the limbic system. When a student in stress becomes angry or shut down, he or she won't hear our words. Talking a student through any discipline procedure or thought reflection sheet in the heat of the moment is fruitless. Here are three ways to calm the stress response -- two of them through immediate action, and the third by a brief science lesson."
1) Movement
2) Focused Attention Practices
3) Understanding the Brain

Young people experiencing anxiety or depression are unable to learn. We can overcome this through physical movement, focused attention practices, and teaching them about how brains work.

03/22/2017

Mindful Moves for the Classroom is designed not only to support student learning and wellness but also to provide tools for professional longevity! A school full of moving, mindful people is a healthier, happier, stronger community! http://www.wnyc.org/story/teachers-are-stressed-and-that-should-stress-us-all/

When educators are buried under problems beyond their control, here's a solution: Get mindful.

03/14/2017

Emily, Lara, and Nicole recently spent three fun-filled, productive days in New York collaborating on upcoming MINDFUL MOVES! projects. These colorful sticky notes are just the tip of the iceberg! We are excited to share our collective understandings in our MINDFUL MOVES! for the Classroom trainings!

02/28/2017

We are proponents of social emotional learning as an integral part of the classroom. The evidence is becoming clearer in support of SEL in education.
"Various studies show that the more empathy a child displays, the less likely they are to engage in bullying, online and in real life. Empathic children and adolescents are more likely to engage in positive social behaviors, like sharing or helping others. They’re also less likely to be antisocial and exhibit uncontrolled aggressive behaviors. That’s a big reason why educators have been devoting more attention to empathy in recent years, integrating it more deeply into schools and curricula. And as Golestan illustrates, some of these efforts are focusing on early childhood education.

Indeed, research suggests the sooner we learn to empathize, the better off we are in the long run. People exposed to empathy earlier in life have greater and longer-lasting emotional benefits than those exposed to it later, or not at all. One recent study suggests that children who are taught social and emotional skills (as opposed to purely cognitive skills) in preschool and kindergarten have better social skills and fewer behavior problems in both kindergarten and first grade, compared with kids who don’t experience that holistic classroom setting."

One Berkeley preschool is baking empathy into its curriculum—and for good reason.

02/20/2017

This article gives some insight into the myriad ways mindfulness is improving students relationship to stress and academic performance.

"Mindfulness can be an effective strategy to help students deal with stress. In 2014, a Dutch study found that elementary school students who participated in 30-minute mindfulness sessions twice a week for six weeks exhibited lower levels of stress, higher levels of well-being, and better behavior than their peers.

Mindfulness can be especially helpful for children who experience stress resulting from community violence, poverty, substance use, and trauma. In a 2015 study, students from two low-income, urban middle schools participated in a mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program and experienced a range of mental and behavioral benefits, from lower levels of stress and depression to a more positive mood and better ability to cope with challenging situations."

The research shows that mindfulness reduces student stress and even improves academic outcomes.

02/12/2017

Nicole Torniero of Children First Wellness, Lara Hocheiser of Flow & Grow Kids Yoga, and Emily Hodos of Tendril Kinetics are excited to announce the launch of a collaboration - MINDFUL MOVES!™.

MINDFUL MOVES!™ is a new resource currently in development by a veteran public school educator, a children’s yoga and mindfulness consultant, and a sensorimotor development specialist. Together, Nicole, Lara, and Emily are on a shared mission of creating effective, easy-to-apply sensorimotor and mindfulness strategies and resources for a diverse range of people and places.

The first pilot project is MINDFUL MOVES!™ for the Classroom! - a practical mindfulness and sensorimotor resource for the primary classroom.

Please consider joining us and spreading the word about upcoming trainings:
April 8-9 in Easthampton, Mass (near Amherst) and May 20-21 in Natick, Mass! See the MINDFUL MOVES!™
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mindful-moves-for-the-classroom-registration-31780204447?aff=es2
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mindful-moves-for-the-classroom-registration-31785604599?aff=es2