As we move into the Fall, our energy wanes, and we're triggered more easily. Learning to be present in the moment, without judging it, boosts our resilience. It can allow us to feel accepting and clearheaded about our options for response. When we're fully present, we're more likely to find appropriate levity to moments of challenge and to relieve stress by finding humor in a situation.
Mindfulness teaches us to notice that our thoughts have their own existence: They come and go. When we practice mindfulness, we learn to watch those thoughts come and go, to see how our emotions cycle. We learn that we are not our thoughts or our emotions. Mindfulness connects us more directly to the present moment. Our perceptions are often distorted by bias, habits, fears, or wishful thinking. Mindfulness is what holds you back from sending that 10th-grade girl to the office because she rolls her eyes at your every time you ask her to put her phone away. It's what allows you to calmly state the rules and enforce the consequences rather than lurch into a cycle of irritation that just leaves you exhausted.
Teachers who practice mindfulness:
- Experience lower levels of stress and burnout.
- Report greater efficacy in their jobs.
- Have more emotionally supportive classrooms.
- Have more organized classrooms.
Try this breathing meditation from Elena Aguilar.
- adapted from Onward: Culivating Emotional Resilience in Educators, Aguilar 2018
Four Theatre Games that Make Learning a Blast
Click the link to explore four games that can be used in many subject areas to reinforce curriculum and help students deepen their understanding of the content through play
Here are some research-backed ways that theater games can impact your classroom:
- Connectedness
- Executive Function Skills
- Kinesthetic Learning
- Social Emotional Learning
- Artistry
Free Writing Lessons and Resources
This FREE creative writing and educational resource supports educators in teaching writing skills to K-12 students. It offers a variety of adaptable writing tools and lesson plans crafted by experienced educators, and encourages student engagement through storytelling and imaginative assignments.
Ms. Walters at Niner U making SEL activities outside to support students in a fun and creative way. Niner University Elementary is a trauma informed school and has embedded practices into instruction to support the needs of students.
The more hands the better! Teacher candidates working with math small groups in classrooms at Niner University Elementary. This provides Mrs. Reese an opportunity to support students' academic needs twice a week with groups of 3-4 students per teacher.
Mrs. Whisnant, a kindergarten teacher at Union Academy Charter School, is intentional about creating a culture of joy in her classroom. One way she consistently does this is by implementing management strategies where students can track their own successes and also celebrate others. The Student of the Day Reveal (consisting of students using letter clues to guess the classmate, then listening to an interview focusing on the named student, and ending with an artistic design using various shapes to draw the student). Students have so much fun with the activity, one that is designed to enhance literacy skills, appreciation for others, while providing the students with memories they will have for a lifetime.
