Patricia A. Jennings - Mindfulness in the PreK-5 Classroom: Helping Students Stress Less and Learn More (SEL SOLUTIONS SERIES) (Social and Emotional Learning Solutions)

Mindfulness in the
Prek5 Classroom

Helping Students
Stress Less and Learn More

PATRICIA A. JENNINGS

W. W. Norton & Company

Independent Publishers Since 1923

New York London

NORTON BOOKS IN EDUCATION

Note to Readers: Models and/or techniques described in this volume are illustrative or are included for general informational purposes only; neither the publisher nor the author(s) can guarantee the efficacy or appropriateness of any particular recommendation in every circumstance.

Copyright 2019 by Patricia A. Jennings

All rights reserved

First Edition

For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to
Permissions, W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110

For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact
W. W. Norton Special Sales at specialsales@wwnorton.com or 800-233-4830

Cover design by Lauren Graessle

Cover art @ Steve Debenport / Getty Images

Book design by Molly Heron

Production manager: Katelyn MacKenzie

The Library of Congress has cataloged the printed edition as follows:

Names: Jennings, Patricia A., author.

Title: Mindfulness in the preK-5 classroom : helping students

stress less and learn more / Patricia A. Jennings.

Description: First edition. | New York : W.W. Norton & Company, 2019. |

Series: The social and emotional learning solutions series | Series:

Norton books in education | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers:

LCCN 2018057903 | ISBN 9780393713978 (pbk.)

Subjects: LCSH: Reflective teaching. | Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. |

Stress management for children.

Classification: LCC LB1025.3 .J434 2019 | DDC 371.14/4dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018057903

ISBN 9780393713985 (ebk.)

W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 500 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10110

www.wwnorton.com

W. W. Norton & Company Ltd., 15 Carlisle Street, London W1D 3BS

To Isaac,
You have taught me so much! I love you!

Advance Praise

Tish Jennings is a pioneer in bringing mindfulness into the realm of elementary school education. This book is a treasure trove of practices and tips for classroom teachers in nurturing an optimal, interconnected, and fully embodied learning environment. If implemented, the teachers stand to benefit from this approach in parallel withand at least as much astheir students.

Jon Kabat-Zinn, Professor of Medicine emeritus, University of Massachusetts Medical School, author of Meditation Is Not What You Think: Mindfulness and Why It Is So Important

Dr. Jenningss book is a must-read for anyone who teaches young children. By incorporating mindfulness into the classroom, teachers can create an environment that is conducive to social emotional learning and supportive of the whole child. There is absolutely no downside to teaching children to self-regulate, manage stress, and demonstrate compassion for themselves and others. It may be the most important thing they learn at school! Mindfulness in the PreK5 Classroom is filled with ideas to help busy teachers make mindfulness practices a part of every school day.

Paige Lindblom, M.Ed., Preschool Teacher, City of Charlottesville Schools, Charlottesville, Virginia

I urge all readers of Mindfulness in the PreK5 Classroom to incorporate the instructional scripts for guided practice and the many other gifts of this book into your classroom, school, or community setting. You will feel inspired, empowered, and amply resourced with knowledge, tools, and strategies to lead mindfulness with children.

Judith Nuss, SEL Consultant, Former Director of Social and Emotional Learning, Harrisburg (PA) School District

Contents

THE NORTON SERIES
ON SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING SOLUTIONS PATRICIA A. JENNINGS, SERIES EDITOR

Mindfulness in the Secondary Classroom: A Guide for
Teaching Adolescents
Patricia C. Broderick

SEL Every Day: Integrating Social and Emotional Learning
with Instruction in Secondary Classrooms
Meena Srinivasan

Assessing Students Social and Emotional Learning:
A Guide to Meaningful Measurement
Clark McKown

Mindfulness in the PreK5 Classroom:
Helping Students Stress Less and Learn More
Patricia A. Jennings

Preventing Bullying in Schools:
A Social and Emotional Learning Approach to Early Intervention
Catherine P. Bradshaw and Tracy Evian Waasdorp

About the Author

PATRICIA A. JENNINGS is an Associate Professor of Education in the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia. A regular mindfulness practitioner for over 45 years, she has spent most of her life exploring how mindfulness can enhance teaching and learning. After 22 years as a classroom teacher, school director, and teacher educator, Dr. Jennings received her doctorate in human development from the University of California, Davis and studied health psychology at the University of California, San Francisco. Now an internationally recognized leader in the fields of social and emotional learning and mindfulness in education, her current research focuses on mindfulness- and compassion-based approaches to improving the social and emotional classroom context and student learning. Dr. Jennings was awarded the Cathy Kerr Award for Courageous and Compassionate Science by the Mind & Life Institute in 2018 and was also recognized by Mindful Magazine as one of Ten Mindfulness Researchers You Should Know. She is the author of Mindfulness for Teachers: Simple Skills for Peace and Productivity in the Classroom and The Trauma-Sensitive Classroom: Building Resilience with Compassionate Teaching.

When I began my student teaching in 1979, I had the amazing opportunity to work with a gifted teacher and marriage and family counselor named Donna Schempp. She chose me as her intern because of my meditation experience and she gave me free reign to try various practices and approaches with our students. I also learned so much from her about the social and emotional dynamics of the classroom. A deep bow of gratitude to her for her patience with me and her wisdom. Years later I had the wonderful pleasure to work with another gifted teacher Alexis Harris. She has been an amazing co-author in the development of Thrive! The Compassionate Schools Curriculum and I have learned so much working with her.

My sincere thanks to my teachers His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Jon Kabat-Zinn, Roshi Joan Halifax, Tsoknyi Rinpoche, Matheu Ricard, Sharon Salzberg and Tara Brach. Their teaching helped me deepen my practice and give words to my experiences in the classroom.

I began teaching children mindful awareness practices as a Montessori preschool student teacher in 1979. Having practiced myself for many years, I believed that children could engage in simple practices that would help them calm down and pay attention. In fact, I had chosen the Montessori method because I saw the potential for the learning activities themselves to become contemplative practices. I discovered that even very young children love to practice stillness, listening, and compassion.

In a sense, they are more tuned into the present moment than the adults around them. When the adults settle into a mindful and compassionate presence, children show a powerful attraction to joining this state. I found that it was relatively easy to scaffold this state for my students by modeling and holding space for them to engage with me. This required patience because children cant learn if they arent given space to fail. Sitting quietly for just a few minutes is a challenge, but with time my students became accustomed to the routine of practicing at the beginning of class and during transitions. They also learned to apply the same mindful awareness to the other activities of the classroom. I was impressed at how they displayed deep powers of concentration while engaging in a simple activity, such as a puzzle, when it was demonstrated to them with slow, deliberate movements from a mindful teacher.