Responses From Students and Teachers

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“This year learning mindfulness was so much fun. I learned a lot about character traits and what to do in bad time. I also was able to use these skills in real life.”

“When I was mad I used a lot of what we learned in mindfulness. It calmed me down and I thought of some character strengths I should have. “

“I was able to use mindfulness when a kid tried to fight me. I used my judgement and told myself fighting is not a good idea. I took a deep breath. He got in trouble and I did not. “

“I really liked learning about character strengths, especially when our classmates told each other what their strengths were. I did use my mindfulness knowledge outside of school my family. “

“I learned a lot about being mindful. How to take a deep breath and go to calm. This helps my body so u do not get so mad. “

“I learned I could hear the bell and use that to calm myself down. Or I could twiddle my thumps instead of getting mad. Mindfulness helped me learn to relax. “

“I really liked mindfulness practice. It was the first time I learned to calm myself down. “

"In mindfulness, I learned to stay calm to solve problems in an appropriate manner. I was able to use this when I got in an argument.”

“In mindfulness, I learned how to control myself and how that could make me a better leader with my peers. “

“Mindfulness has made me more aware of myself and how I talk with those around me . I was able to use it with my younger sister and not fight with her. “

“I am able to use mindfulness at home and school. I can calm myself down by taking deep breaths. “

“I was able to use self regulation in my sport activities.”

"I loved learning mindfulness especially about expanding our joy. How to share good news with others.”

"I am doing my balloon breathing and it helps"

"students used breathing exercises before  tests and when stressed.  The tools that Mrs. Smith presented changed their lives and the students felt comfort in utlizing the mindfulness tools."

Mrs Smith taught breathing techniques, body scanning, mindful listening, healthy thinking and meditations.  These skills were utilized every morning as well as before tests.  Students were more calm, centered and focused."

I was skeptical at first since 6 and 7 years-old have short attention spans.  But i was amazed after the first lesson.  The students were responsive to the directions and activities.  There was a sense of calm that continued for the rest of the day.  parents also provided positive feedback about how the children were using mindfulness at home."

"Matthew's Mindful Moment's program is invaluable.  Parents have shared stories with teachers regarding their children utilizing mindfulness techniques at home"

"Mrs. Smith came into the classroom and transformed my most needy students through her mindfulness program.  There are many mindfulness programs out there but they do not work without the framework developed around them.  Mrs. Smith also provided teacher follow up lessons that were very helpful."

"In our PreK classroom, we come back from lunch and have 30 minutes of quiet time and story reading on our rest mats before continuing with the rest of our day. On some days, we listen to quiet music to begin our rest time, and on other days we will use an age appropriate guided meditation. The guided meditation is called 'The Spaghetti Test' and was something we learned about during an in service Professional Development with a mindfulness specialist. The Spaghetti Test asks the listeners to pretend like they are hard pieces of spaghetti (before it's been cooked) followed by relaxing the muscles to be like soft spaghetti (after it's been cooked). The 'test' takes the listener through each body part, starting with 'hardening' and 'softening' the face, followed by the arms, belly, and finally, the legs"

"I have noticed SUCH a difference in the class after we do the guided meditation versus the music. On days when we do the guided meditation, students are able to sit still and listen to stories for much longer than on days when we simply listen to music. 
I notice that the quiet break from reminding kids to sit still ends up allowing ME to re-center as well. I am so grateful this tool was introduced to me! I will definitely continue to use it in the future."

"in the past few years we have has an increase of incoming kindergarten students with behavioral and emotional issues such as attention deficit disorder, depression, anxiety.  They need to be taught self regulation almost as much as academic skills.  The breathing exercises and mindfulness practice once a week for 8 weeks were incorporated into our classroom.  This program had a tremendous impact in improving focus, concentration and self regulation."