Fostering Mindfulness : Building Skills That Students Need to Manage Their Attention, Emotions, and Behavior in Classrooms and Beyond

An essential guide to mindfulness activities and strategies that help students cultivate the skills they need for self-regulation, stress management, and learning. Simple activities and practices throughout the book are designed to strengthen areas of the brain that allow students to better manage their attention, emotions, and behavior in the classroom and beyond. Child-friendly language is used to explain mindfulness, physiology, and brain science.

This practical book shows you how to incorporate mindfulness in your classroom practice in just minutes a day, and includes definitions, teaching tips, and activities for

• making mindful breathing a core foundational practice
• using the five senses as anchors for mindfulness
• helping students recognize, name, and manage their feelings
• exploring the connection between body and mind through movement
• incorporating practices that encourage students to focus their attention in the present moment
• creating and using a Peace Corner in the classroom that is devoted to self-regulation and self-care
• developing habits of mind that are central to resilience

This comprehensive resource offers step-by-step instructions, scripts, activity sheets, ready-to-use templates, and scientific insights. Based on extensive classroom experience, this highly readable book includes stories from teachers who successfully incorporate mindfulness in their classroom practice.

Ideal for new and experienced teachers, Fostering Mindfulness is committed to building skills that nurture attention, cognitive and emotional development, and overall well-being.