Sitting down to meditate the first few times can be intimidating. It’s natural for the brain to be moving a lot, jumping around, or to even be sleepy or lethargic. And while there’s no substitute for practice and perseverance, there are some ways to help the transition to being more mindful. And one of my favorites is FLOWER ESSENCES. As an herbalist, I love plants. Plants can be extremely helpful…
Nature study as a mindful activity, part 2
I love nature study, and I love mindfulness, and I love living books. Here’s a quick review of a book that will incorporate all three! It’s called The Global Forest. It’s format is in shorter chapters, so you can pick and choose easily what you might read aloud to the kiddos. A living book, beautifully written, the author Diana Beresford-Kroeger is not only a botanist and medical biochemist, she has…
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Nature study as a mindful activity, part 1 of 3
Nature is one of the best teachers of mindfulness. To be alone or quiet in nature is a reminder of that we are part of a whole that is much bigger than us. Nature nurtures us, makes us healthier, resets our nervous system. Cultures have always known this, but science is backing it up with studies showing the benefits of activities like “forest bathing.” Question: Have you ever gone out…
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Slow and steady wins the race: Mindful Movements
“My kids sit for too much of the day already…now I’m asking them to sit more to meditate?” “I’m scared to even try to get my kid to sit down…they have so much energy. How can I introduce mindfulness to them?” “Isn’t meditation a lot of sitting?” Lots of parents and homeschoolers have questions like these. Is the answer yes? Not necessarily! Here are a few books about incorporating mindfulness…
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Copywork with a mindful theme
Copywork: it’s one the concepts I love best about Charlotte Mason style education. I agree that having kids start writing on their own at too young an age doesn’t teach them good writing, and can enforce mistakes they are making. Charlotte Mason used Biblical scripture in her copywork, so I’m collecting sources of copywork that I find more suited to a secular education style. I wanted to begin a collection…
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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…
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A quick-start guide to mindfulness: dipping your toe in the water
A quick start guide—introducing your homeschool and/or kids to mindfulness. Mindfulness and meditation should be short and sweet at the beginning. In this blog I’ll give tips for timing and preparation, then two techniques to have the kids ‘play’ at breathing, along with modifications for different bodies and asthma or other breathing difficulties. Timing for a naturally calmer time of day will make the whole process easier. In the meditation…
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