What is Mindfulness?

​Hello Newcastle Parents and Teachers,
The staff at Newcastle recently had a “Mindfulness” PD hosted by Nami Kusunose, our PBSES Coach, and I thought it would be helpful for staff and parents alike to have some resources on this topic.  Mindfulness is such an umbrella term for so many skills – paying attention, identifying emotions, managing emotions and stress, perspective-taking, anticipating consequences, improving relationships, etc.  Students, parents, teachers, and basically anyone can benefit from these skills immensely in order to be successful in life.  The key is practicing on a regular basis so that it can become second nature.  In the stimulating hustle-bustle of modern life, it takes real intention to slow down and pay attention to what is going on inside.  The scientific reasons to practice mindfulness are illustrated briefly here, in this 2 minute animated video.  An instructor talks about why she brings mindfulness to shelters in this informative TED talk.  And I always love this video, that features children talking about what mindfulness means to them.
Some great kid-friendly books on mindfulness:

• What Does it Mean to be Present? by Rana DiOrio
• Mind Bubbles by Heather Krantz
• My Magic Breath by Nick Ortner and Alison Taylor