Children & Mindfulness: part of the school day?

Educators are increasingly recognizing the need for social and emotional awareness

Given the increased challenges that children face these days, more and more educators around the nation are recognizing that social/emotional programming must be part of a school’s DNA.

Rhode Island is part of that trend, NBC 10 News reporter Barbara Morse Silva explained recently. She described the curriculum at Charles Fortes Elementary Elementary School in Providence, where children are engaged in “mindfulness exercises”.

“During half hour sessions, which take place two days a week, they are instructed to stay in the moment, breathe and feel,” Silva reported.

“Feel calm and comfortable and kind of just let everything go for a few minutes,” said Shannon Smith, a school integrative specialist for the Center for Resilience in Providence. “And just notice what’s happening around them.”

Read Silva’s account, including comments by students, teachers, and The Center for Resilience, which works with many schools, teachers, and community members.