Live and Learn New Mexico!

(This is the second post in a series about mindfulness in the classroom. In the first post, we talked about how incorporating mindfulness practices into the school day can help our kids deal with an ever-anxious world. That post can be found at  http://liveandlearnnm.blogspot.com/2018/04/being-mindful-in-classroom.html.) In today's modern, high-tech world, we are watching our kids becoming more and more stressed out about life in general, and we are realizing that it is affecting their overall health. Our children dread going to school and it breaks our hearts. Learning should be a natural, enjoyable endeavor, not a stressful one. It shouldn't be about standardized tests, getting into college and later getting the really good job that we all know college doesn't guarantee. We don't want them to feel as anxious about school as many of us did. I was anxious in kindergarten! I'm in my fifties now and only recently became aware of the concept of mindfulness. I'v...

Let's face it, these days we live in fear. We are an anxious lot. Our kids are growing up afraid of all the bad things that could happen in their lives, to the point that many are afraid of going to school. I never imagined a world where this could be so but it is. What do we do about it? We could strengthen our defenses against violence that might enter the classroom. We could install security equipment, train school personnel, ask military vets to maintain a presence. Or we could work toward a more peaceful solution, one that isn't difficult either. Let's put mindfulness in the classroom. Practicing mindfulness builds bonds and creates a feeling of connectedness. Simply put, it is paying attention to ourselves, others, and the world around us. We are all part of this planet and have challenges to overcome. Mindfulness is based on simple concepts, according to Calm Classroom (https://calmclassroom.com): Self awareness: if we understand how our emotions and though...