Last year, after learning about the powerful impact meditation was having on middle school students in San Francisco, we decided to give it a try in our Health classes. Since we don’t have the time to implement the full Quiet Time program, we started with a modified version, doing five minutes at the beginning of each class. The feedback from the kids has been fantastic, and you can really notice a shift in the energy after they’re done.
This semester we wanted to try a more structured program, so we’ve recently started using Smiling Mind, a free online meditation resource from Australia.
What’s great about Smiling Mind is that it’s broken down by level and age range, and the students can create their own account so they can do the exercises at home.
With more and more coming out about meditation and kids, it’s great to have resources like this so readily available. The research is impressive, and this article from the SF Gate highlights even more positive ways that meditation is impacting kids, especially in some of the tougher areas. Truancy and suspension rates are down, test scores are up, and most importantly, these kids have a healthy coping skill that they can use for life…
“Remarkably, in the annual California Healthy Kids Survey, these middle school youngsters recorded the highest happiness levels in San Francisco.”
Happier middle school kids? I think that’s something we can all get behind.
For more on this exciting new trend in wellness, check out Why 2014 Will be the Year of Mindful Living.
