Mindfulness Activities in the Classroom

     According to mindful.org, "mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we are doing, and not overly react or overwhelmed by what's going on around us." Since the pandemic struck, many students have been in poor mental states. Not being able to attend school and interact with friends posed many challenges to the mental well-being of students. Practicing mindfulness in the classroom has many benefits to both students and educators. When we are mindful, we diminish stress, enrich performance, increase insight and awareness through observing our own mind, and increase our attention to others well-being.

     Research shows that stressed teachers impact students stress levels and that stress on the students greatly impacts their learning outcomes. Students are able to better their learning in positive classroom environments. One of the best ways to get there are through mindfulness techniques that eases stress and allows both educators and students to be present. Practicing these techniques is shown help educators by reducing stress and burn out, allows educators to have a greater efficacy in doing their jobs, allows for more emotionally supportive classrooms, and better overall organization in classrooms. Mindfulness benefits students by enhancing their attention and learning skills, improving behavior in school, enhances empathy and perspective, and increases emotional regulation, and reduces anxiety and depression.

Here are some ways we can practice mindfulness with our students in a classroom setting.

                                    

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