Mindfulness Videos

 This week instead of more and more information...which is helpful...but we all need a break, I want to share some mindfulness videos.

If you are like me, you get annoyed with how many hours your children can spend watching YouTube. And in my house it isn't a single video I would enjoy. Today I want to share with you some YouTube videos that can help calm and relax your children, and you too. I love mindfulness apps, videos, etc. 

I have a few YouTube channels that are great to utilize for mindfulness with students and adults of all ages.

One is called Fablefy

Fablefy is full of wonderful mindful meditations to follow. I am including a direct link below to an easy to follow mindfulness.

Balloon Breathing

The next channel is Mind Yeti

Mind Yeti has nice, short, and cute mindfulness activities you can follow while looking at some cute yetis. 

Gratitude Mind Yeti

A new one I discovered this week is Wonder Grove Kids

This resource has more than mindfulness. It has lessons posted weekly that could help with a variety of topics for students. Below is a link to a breathing lesson.

Breathe and Relax

Rocket Kids is another great way to provide lessons for your children. This channel helps with social emotional learning.

Know Your Emotions is a great episode to help your student recognize and identify feelings.

Emotionally Intelligent

 

Scientists have found that our IQ is mostly inflexible. EQ (or our emotional intelligence) is flexible. We can use growing EQ to fill in where we aren't strong with IQ.

Emotional Intelligence is reading and reacting to social and emotional cues. EI is social skills and empathy. 

Studies have found that when a student is emotionally engaged they are more likely to be engaged in a topic, even a topic they do not enjoy.

At school we often utilize Inner Explorer to help with Social Emotional Learning and Mindfulness. You can use it too.

Inner Explorer was recently given a grant to provide a FREE app for families. Inner Explorer @ Home is the App for Inner Explorer on the go. You can also connect with teachers for a link to the full program we use.

I have been working on studying more and more SEL, positive psychology, and well-being. These are passions of mine, for myself, the staff, and your students. I know the personal benefits of a daily gratitude list. I feel more at peace, calmer, happier, and ready to meet the challenges of the day. Metta Loving-kindness meditation mindfulness helps me focus my mind and heart on the positives for all, even with those I am not getting along well. 

Emotional Intelligence teaches children a language to utilize to identify emotions in themselves and others. We previously reviewed the Mood Meter. Use it at home to help talk about feelings and emotions. Studies show that the simple act of naming an emotion can calm an emotion and help focus the brain. 

Another great way to disrupt an overwhelming emotion is with deep belly breaths. Try it your self. Breathe in deep through your nose to your belly. Hold it in as long as comfortably possible. Slow release the breath through your mouth. Engage in this activity 6-9 times. Your brain will turn off the Amygdala and turn on the Prefrontal Cortex. You will go from emotion driven to logic oriented. 

HALT

Last week while listening to a podcast I was reminded of an acronym that helps with checking in. It is something that I do nearly daily with students.

 H.A.L.T.  

When you are over whelmed and you don't know why... H.A.L.T. 

Hungry

Angry

Lonely

Tired

These are the questions that I find are my go-to with students engaging in an early morning struggle. Here at school we can help feed a hungry student. We can help identify the source of anger and build skills to improve how it might be handled. We can also help students connect with each other and build relationships when they are feelings lonely.

Tired. 

This last one is a challenge and we can help but that means a student misses out on learning opportunities if we provide time and space for sleep. 

School-aged children are reported to need 9-11 hours of sleep. The younger the student the more sleep they need. One study out of Michigan State University found that those who are sleep deprived more likely to make mistakes and do poorly in school. Often times when we hear "sleep deprived" we imagine someone getting 1-2 hours of sleep at night. This is not the case. Studies show that when we lose about two hours of recommended hours of sleep we are sleep deprived. That means sleep deprivation will set in for a child who needs 11 hours of sleep but only gets 9.

Below is a chart that can help you gage a good bedtime for students. 

An example from the chart is a 7 year old who needs to wake up by 6:30am would benefit from being in bed by 7:30pm. 

Starting a sleep routine as we come back after spring break may help your student make great strides towards a better end to the school year. 

Express yourself with I-Statements

 

Often times our students are upset and find themselves expressing their emotions in negative ways. When a student is upset with a teacher redirecting them, they may challenge the adult. In times such as this I talk with students about challenging the choice not the person. There is a respectful way for our students to express confusion or even dissatisfaction with a consequence provided by an adult.

This week a couple of young men spent time working on I-Statements to help better express themselves.

I-Statements can help students (and adults) learn how to express a feeling regarding a situation. An I-statement is an expression of feelings rather than a statement of blame, accusations, or defiant disrespect.

One of the young men shared that his teacher will punish him for talking and not address anyone else who is talking. I explored with him how he talked to his teacher regarding this situation. He reported that he made a defensive and accusatory statement such as; "why are you calling me out, I wasn't even talking it was someone else?"

I took time to help this student reframe his frustration into an I-statement. We worked on saying "I feel upset when you call me out for talking because I feel like I am the only one addressed for talking." 

After using an I-statement the discussion can be opened up to needs of the student and needs of the teacher. 

Using I-Statements expresses a feeling and does not challenge. 

Helping our students express feelings when they are frustrated can help build communication skills, relationships, and a better understanding of themselves. Using an I-Statement means that students have to first take time to identify how they are feeling and why. This is building emotional intelligence.  

I encourage you to take some time and practice I-Statements at home. Help your student learn to express a feeling not point blame. Start using I-Statements with your students, be the example and show them how to communicate with respect and love. The more we lead by example the more our students are willing to try.

Let's work together to use I-Statements, build emotional intelligence, and increase positive communication. 

Character Strengths

 What animal do you connect with or feel represents you best?

What animal would you pick for your student? What animal would they pick for themselves?

Some call this our "Spirit Animal". 

Who is a hero in your life?

Who is a hero to your student?

When we begin to explore who we are and who our children are and are becoming it is good to take some time to really connect with ourselves and our children. 

Positive Psychologist, Martin Seligman has spent a good portion of his career focused on the character of people and how the positive aspects of character can help build a better well-being.

Dr. Seligman, with the help of others on his team, has created what is called the Virtues in Action survey which can help us evaluate our character and find our strengths. The VIA is free to take and can help you see where you are the strongest. There is also a survey for students, so they too can see their strengths.

Research suggests that if we use our top 5 strengths in our daily lives we will be happier and healthier. 

VIA Survey

I would encourage you to take the survey and then help your student take the survey as well. After you have taken the survey see what your top five strengths are and how they are alike or different from your student. Have a discussion of strengths and how you can better use them in school, work, and life.

This is a great mindfulness activity to learn to be aware of yourself and others. This helps put in you the present and prepare for the future. 

Gratitude Mindfulness

 Welcome to our look into gratitude.

Gratitude is a great mindfulness which can boost your mood and the moods of others. Studies show us that when we practice making a list of gratitude (3-5) we have high levels of happiness and lower levels of depression. When we then take time to share the gratitude with others, we boost their mood and again boost ours even more.

When I meet with students on Google Meet, I ask every morning for a gratitude. Sadly, what I often hear is "I don't have one." I want to ask "how can you not?" Instead I take time to share my gratitude, reflect on what might be important in life, and give ideas of gratitude.

Below is a lost of gratitude prompts:

Gratitude Prompts

1.     About yourself

2.     Something beautiful

3.     Military

4.     A song

5.     An accomplishment

6.     Something you’ve created

7.     A friend

8.     A smell

9.     A touch

10.  A taste

11.  A sight

12.  A sound

13.  What makes you smile

14.  Favorite season

15.  Something you like about Summer

16.  Something you like about Spring

17.  Something you like about Winter

18.  Something you like about Fall

19.  A holiday

20.  A time of day

21.  A country

22.  A state

23.  A city

24.  Any place

25.  About where you live

26.  A favorite food

27.  A favorite drink

28.  An ability

29.  A family member

30.  Any person

31.  Someone you look up to

32.  Someone you respect

33.  Someone who inspires you

34.  Something you look forward to

35.  A happy life lessons

36.  A difficult life lessons

37.  Something that challenges you

38.  A personality trait in yourself

39.  A personality trait in others

40.  Your heritage

41.  Item you use daily

42.  Most prized possession

43.  Hobbies

44.  Something about school/work

45.  Technology

46.  A movie

47.  A TV show

48.  A podcast/YouTube Channel

49.  A book

50.  What you do for fun

51.  Something that makes you laugh

52.  Something nice

53.  A part of nature

54.  A gift you’ve been able to give

55.  A gift you were given

56.  A hope

57.  A compliment

58.  A passion

59.  An animal

60.  A pet

61.  A family tradition

62.  Medicine

63.  Doctors

64.  Police

65.  Firefighters

66.  Fire Alarms—even in the cold

67.  Teachers

68.  Clothes

69.  Electricity

70.  Heat

71.  Air Conditioning

72.  Transportation

73.  Cleaning supplies (with a pandemic, who isn't thankful for this one!)

74.  Exercise

75.  Health

76.  Education

77.  Mindfulness—use mindful gratitude to be thankful for this practice which helps us be present, calmed, and focused

78.  Love

79.  Kindness

80.  Understanding

81.  Comfort

82.  Forgiveness

83.  Color

84.  Indoor plumbing

85.  Blankets 

86.  Giant Coloring Pages

87.  Sport you watch or play

88.  A value you hold

89.  Your faith/beliefs

90.  Favorite store

91.  Smiles (we had “what makes you smile” this one would be seeing others smile!)

92.  Hugs

93.  Kisses

94.  Free time

95.  Art

96.  Weekends

97.  Quiet moments

98.  Forgiveness

99.  Life

Maybe you have one I have missed. Feel free to share in the comments. Help us build a language of gratitude. 

Help your student take time each day to reflect on a gratitude. Make this a family time activity. Make it a wake up routine. Make it a bedtime routine. 

Each morning I write my gratitude list. Each evening before bed I write my list of "what went well today." I start and end my day with positive thinking.

I encourage you to try this and engage your whole family too!

SEL at home

 Were you ever given permission to feel?

This may sound like an odd question. This question implies that you live in a world where feelings are not alright to experience unless given the green light to go. Social Emotional Learning(SEL) teaches us that all emotions are valid, acceptable, and we are allowed to feel at any time. 

For many the first education on emotions is taught at home. Historically we have been taught feelings based on; gender, race, ethnicity, and culture. Many boys are taught to not show sadness or sensitivity. Many girls are taught to smile and not show anger. Research also shows us that boys of color are taught to not be loud and move slow, so as not to appear scary. 

The messages we are taught at home are the ones we carry with us throughout life.

Taking time to teach SEL skills at home will help to build confidence, understanding, and increase empathy.

SEL at home

The link above is a great video, introducing the idea of SEL at home and school and how it can work together.

When we allow space for feelings to be felt and accepted, we allow space for our students to feel supported, understood, and thus increase their drive and ability to learn.