Mindful Moments Blog

A Parent's Guide: Meditate With Toddlers And Teens To Improve Emotional Intelligence And Resilience

by Ashley Patek

Even though today’s kids exhibit elevated levels of restlessness, stress, and anxiety, only 1.6% of children in the U.S. meditate. Here are the benefits of meditation on the developing brain and how parents can practice meditation with kids at every age.

Teacher using PeaceMakers cards during circle time

Mindful Moments Blog

Teaching Academics and Social-Emotional Skills in the Montessori Classroom

by Ashley Patek

Emily Canibano, a Montessori teacher with a classroom of 16 students ranging in age from 1.2 to 5.5 years, was looking for a way to teach social-emotional skills in her classroom, both in feeling emotions and in the safe expression of them.

Children sharing feelings with SnuggleBuddies during classroom morning meeting

Mindful Moments Blog

Morning Meetings and Connecting a Classroom

by Ashley Patek

A the school counselor shares how her school transformed its classroom culture by using SnuggleBuddies plush toys to teach students about their emotions.

Mindful Moments Blog

Helping Kids Process Their Emotions Free From Shame

by Alex Petrou

If you’ve ever caught yourself wanting to tell an emotional child to just stop, (so basically, if you are a human being) here are three things to keep in mind that will help you help kids process their emotions free from shame.

Mindful Moments Blog

School Program Uses PeaceMakers to Aide Social-Emotional Skill Building

by Alex Petrou

Fit Abilities Yoga program in the Ferguson MO School District are empowering students by using Generation Mindful's PeaceMakers mantra cards.

Mindful Moments Blog

Helping Traumatized Children Learn – Trauma-Informed Schools Act of 2019

by Ashley Patek

The Trauma-Informed Schools Act of 2019 helps to define trauma-informed practices within schools with goals to decrease school-to-prison pipeline and create a safe learning environment.

Mindful Moments Blog

The Trauma-Aware Classroom: We All Need Compassion

by Guest Author

I am a teacher. In order to associate with the trauma of my students, I become aware of my own trauma.

Mindful Moments Blog

Behavior Charts for Kids: Do They Work?

by Traci Esposito

Behavior charts track behavior, but do they work in actually reforming it? Parents and educators can use this instead to nurture children's social-emotional skills and guide behaviors. Read more.

black female teacher with black female student practicing emotions sad and happy

Mindful Moments Blog

Building Strong Foundations: Insight from an Early Childhood Professional

by Ashley Martin

Rosemarie Lawton is the Director of Professional Development at The Child Care Council of Orange County and longtime GENM advocate. Her company works diligently with families and childcare providers, with their primary purpose being to coordinate, assist, strengthen, and expand child care in Orange County for all children.

Supportive classroom environments help kids succeed in school and life

Mindful Moments Blog

A Positive Classroom Environment Helps Kids Succeed In School and Life

by Alex Petrou

Students who have stronger relationships with their teachers invest more time in academics, earn better grades, report being more satisfied, and behave in more prosocial ways as they transition from childhood into adolescence.

Mindful Moments Blog

Children Don't Have Standardized Minds. Let's Quit Testing Them As If They Do.

by Ashley Patek

Our kids who are daydreaming or squirming in their seats or not listening or who show poor impulse control are being told that they are not behaving in ways that conform to the classroom. But perhaps their brain is not built for the standardized classroom. What if school looked like this instead?

Mindful Moments Blog

Culturally Responsive Social-Emotional Learning

by Suzanne Tucker

In her work as a school counselor with young children and tweens/teens, Dusha Cecil wishes her district had used Generation Mindful social and emotional learning (SEL) materials years ago, to develop the language and “permission to feel” for a diverse population of students starting in preschool when they were ages three and four. In this video, Ms. Cecil shares her experience of using GEN:M tools for early emotional education in the classroom setting: Among other experiences, Ms. Cecil shares her experience of working with young students, and the many black male teens she supports in therapy that struggle to be sensitive or express their feelings. Using Generation Mindful tools to "have these conversations and create safe spaces for children makes them feel safe at school, makes them want to learn from their teachers, makes them want to do better, and encourages them to start envisioning their future." She has tremendous hope for GEN:M tools to lessen the school-to-prison pipeline by giving children of color, particularly boys, a voice and the permission and space they need to express their feelings starting in preschool. Colby Heckendorn, the former principal of Patrick Henry Downtown Academy in the City of St. Louis, and the Executive Director & Co-Founder of Atlas Public Schools oversaw the implementation of GEN:M products and curriculum with his diverse staff of early childhood and elementary educators and students at Patrick Henry Downtown Academy. In his letter of support for Generation Mindful, Heckendorn shared how his diverse team of 11 K to 5th-grade educators felt the tools seamlessly embedded SEL into their everyday classroom activities. "Generation Mindful provides amazing programs and tools that can help educators seamlessly embed SEL into their everyday practices. I have seen first hand how easy it was for our teachers to utilize these resources and have been astonished by our results." - Colby Heckendorn, Executive Director & Co-Founder Atlas Public Schools Diversity, equity, inclusion, and amplifying voices of color are priorities for Generation Mindful. There is a connection between punishment-based discipline, lost class time, and the many inequitable early childhood education suspensions happening on a daily basis that fuel the school-to-prison pipeline. GEN:M tools educate rather than punish children who are still learning to regulate, strengthening social-emotional skills for a lifetime of health and well-being. They are inclusive, easy to use, and foster a supportive classroom climate for caring teachers to establish trusting relationships where students can feel emotionally safe, motivated, challenged, and have a sense of belonging. The tools complement the Collaborative and Proactive Solutions Model developed by Dr. Ross Greene - driven by the belief that “kids do well if they can.” When maladaptive behaviors occur, educators use time-ins to identify and build lagging skills rather than punitive methods such as time-outs, or being sent out of the classroom. To learn more about using GEN:M tools to support social and emotional learning (SEL) in the classroom with the opportunity to bridge the learning into the home, visit here. Classroom Time-In ToolKit® Bundle 0 Reviews $149.00 $238.00 Save $89.00 GENM's social-emotional learning (SEL) tools take a positive, relationship-based approach to nurturing emotional intelligence in the classroom. Our ... View Product trauma-informed restorative discipline inclusion emotional intelligence classroom management

letter blocks that spell out S P D for sensory processing disorder

Mindful Moments Blog

Understanding Sensory Processing Disorder and How It Can Impact a Child’s Social and Emotional Development

by Ashley Martin

SPD is a neurological condition that affects how an individual processes and responds to sensory information from the environment. Sensory inputs encompass various experiences, including touch, taste, smell, sight, sound, and movement. SPD can significantly affect a child’s social and emotional development. Early childhood educators play a pivotal role in recognizing, understanding, and supporting children with SPD.

Preschool children learning to fold origami paper

Mindful Moments Blog

Applying The Five Developmental Domains of Learning to the Early Childhood Classroom: Teaching to the Whole Child

by Ashley Martin

Developmental domains contribute uniquely to a child's overall well-being and success. By addressing these domains, educators create a solid foundation for students to build their knowledge, skills, and abilities.

Boy in glasses laying on his tummy in front of a red bookcase

Mindful Moments Blog

Study Finds That Emotional Intelligence Moves the Needle on Academic Success

by Ashley Patek

A new study describes emotional intelligence as an important part of academic success from kindergarten into college.

Mindful Moments Blog

6 Tips for Using Yoga to Support Social-Emotional Inclusion

by Ashley Patek

Sierra has struggled to cultivate language for how her disability impacts her own social-emotional development and how it impacts her experiences at school. This struggle has been a barrier to Sierra’s ability to create positive relationships with her classmates.

Mindful Moments Blog

Video Released of Six-Year-Old Girl Being Arrested

by Ashley Patek

Warning: the content of this video is potentially upsetting. We share it with the intent to empower determination as we advocate for change, protecting the most vulnerable in our society from injustice. The funneling of students out of school and into the streets and the juvenile correction system perpetuates a cycle known as the “school-to-prison pipeline.” According to the American Bar Association (ABA), far too many students that eventually become incarcerated start this journey with a referral from the classroom to the courtroom. Not only do parents and educators need training in the science and the practical applications of positive discipline, but police officers do as well. There is no reason for a six-year-old child to be put in handcuffs and hauled off to prison for fingerprinting and mugshots for acting our in school. This is only one component of how the school to prison pipeline that currently exists in our education system is built. Read more on the school to prison pipeline and a new bill to diminish willful defiance suspensions. ____________ Generation Mindful creates tools, toys, and programs that nurture emotional intelligence through play and positive discipline. Join to learn more about positive discipline and receive joy in your inbox each week.

Mindful Moments Blog

What Teachers Are Thinking and Feeling About Returning To School This Year

by Ashley Patek

With fall approaching, parents and educators are looking to the next school year and wondering what’s best for everyone involved.

Mindful Moments Blog

Preschooler Teaches Her Younger Sister About Emotions While Learning To Manage Her Own

by Ashley Patek

The last thing Kelly wanted was another gimmick for a tired, worn-out parent. She was overwhelmed and out of ideas on how to manage her daughters' meltdowns. But then something amazing happened ... her oldest daughter taught her youngest daughter how to use a feelings chart.

Mindful Moments Blog

Helping Your Child With The Tough Transition Back To School

by Ashley Patek

Children bring so many different emotions to the first week of school: excitement and anticipation, fear and wonder. The change may lead to increased meltdowns and/or regressions. Make the transition less overwhelming with these 5 tools.

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