Tag: schools

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.

“Start with Hello” week Feb. 5-9 hopes to reduce isolation among kids

Families who lost loved ones at Sandy Hook hope to end the loneliness and isolation that lead to such acts.

Young people in the U.S. are increasingly feeling isolated, from their families, friends, schools, society, and perhaps themselves. The worst result could be that they harm themselves or others.

The issue will be in sharp focus in Rhode Island and across the country between February 5-9 during “Start with Hello Week”. The nonprofit Sandy Hook Promise is encouraging schools and youth organizations from across the country to design and take part in activities that week that aim to build connectedness and combat social isolation. Visit the Sandy Hook Promise website to sign the promise and look at year-round programs.

Learning First Alliance/Rhode Island is promoting Start with Hello Week in the state. Visit LFA/RI’s website for what it’s doing; go to its Facebook page for a new one-minute video and quick updates.