“Teachers and parents often ask their students to pay attention, but may not teach them how to do so.” Do our kids really KNOW how to pay attention, or what parents mean when they say that? How can I help my kiddo know how to attend, how to concentrate? Mindfulness and meditation of course!! You cannot transmit wisdom and insight to another person. The seed is already there. A good…
Hope, Springtime and Jane Goodall
This week I started a three-week meditation series with the resounding theme of HOPE. Springtime is a natural season to renew our hope and optimism about present and future possibilities. It’s the message of the time of year–birth, renewal– from Imbolc in February to Ostara, Easter and Spring equinox in the months following. While we think of New Year as January 1st, in the dead of winter, Chinese, Tibetan and…
No Comments
Teaching morality and values in a secular way
Teaching morality and values without religion, in a secular way, is something I’ve had to really search for, and finding quality resources can be tricky. So I’m here to introduce you to two awesome books that my family loves: The Buddha at Bedtime Tales of Love and Wisdom for You to Read with Your Child to Enchant, Enlighten and Inspire and the Buddha’s Apprentice at Bedtime Tales of Compassion and…
No Comments
Mental Immunity and the Book of Joy
Why, exactly, am I promoting the practice of mindfulness and meditation? Why am I advocating introducing it to our kids? Yes, there’s research out there about brain benefits and development, handling stress. But there are so many reasons! And here’s maybe the best reason–JOY. Happiness. And a great deal of JOY can be found in: The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World How do we…
No Comments
Sitting Still Like a Frog
Mindfulness brings with it a message of self-love, self-esteem and a general sense of “I’m okay. It’s all okay.” Twenty Seconds. A study done in a UK school found the attention span of students was only twenty seconds long. I have read and heard statistics like this quite a bit while studying yoga therapy and acupuncture. So when my son was 3 ½ or so, Shambhala offered a class on…
No Comments
A Handful of Quiet
A small beautiful book, A Handful of Quiet: Happiness in Four Pebbles by Thich Nhat Hanh is another ‘quick-start’ mindfulness tool for your classroom and home. Paper-over-board covers with a spiral binding make it a durable, easy-to-use tool. (Thank you, Plum Blossom Books–you know the struggle to hold a book open and work with a child at the same time is real.) The book contains a script for you to…
No Comments
THE guide for mindful parenting
I consider THE book on mindfulness as a parenting style and family lifestyle to be Everyday Blessings: The Inner Work of Mindful Parenting by Myla and Jon Kabat-Zinn. Having purchased this book years ago, I read it in bits and pieces as time allowed. (One of my greatest luxuries since becoming a parent is the ability to read multiple chapters of a book in one sitting.) It is well worth…
1 Comment