Sonal Kavia

1. Mindful, Heartfelt Learning and Teaching: Children Awakening to their Awareness of Themselves, Eachother and their Environment Sonal Kavia

2. Map • Breathe - Slowing down, Listening, Breathing, Becoming Aware • Lovingkindness and Relationship • Mindfulness and Wellbeing • Listening and Creativity – Reggio Approach • Play and Possibilities

3. Happiness is Contagious “When I was in grade school, they told me to write down what I want to be when I grew up. I wrote down happy. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment. I told them they didn’t understand life.” -author unknown

4. Loving Kindness and Relationship • Definition: motivation to show a gentle feeling towards another; the quality of being warmhearted and considerate and humane and sympathetic • How can the spirit of lovingkindness live in your classroom or your work with children? How can it be the model for the children? • Gratitude and consciously choosing to see the good

5. The bud stands for all things, even for those things that do not flower, for everything flowers, from within, of self-blessing; though sometimes it is not necessary to reteach a thing its loveliness, to put a hand on the brow of the flower, and retell it in words and in touch, it is lovely until it flowers again from within, of self-blessing -Galway Kinnell

6. Bringing it to the Classroom • Examples in the classroom: -memory bag -listening circle -group gatherings to ask big life questions and share wonders -thankful for our senses celebration walk (outside) -dance! move! sing! eat food together -share stories, of happiness and heartache -setting up place for quiet, personal conversation

7. Old Sufi Tradition • An old Sufi tradition advises us to speak only after our words have managed to pass through four gates. • At the first gate, we ask ourselves, “Are these words true?” If so, we let them pass on; if not, back they go. • At the second gate we ask; “Are they necessary?” • At the third gate we ask; “Are they beneficial?” and • At the fourth gate, we ask, “Are they kind?” If the answer to any of these is no, then what you are about to say should be left unsaid. (Yogichaya)

8. Mindfulness and Well-being • Mindful Schools - Jon Kabat-Zinn and Daniel Siegel work • Jon KabatZinn defines mindfulness… Adult definition – paying attention in a particular way, on purpose, in the present moment and non-judgmentally Child definition – paying attention to what is happening right now • Aspects of Well-being

9. Benefits of Mindfulness • A tool to help children pay attention • A tool to help children calm down and control their impulses • A tool to relieve students of stress to enable them to be present • A tool which fosters cooperation and unity in a school community • A tool to help teachers feel less stress and remain calm and focused

10. Brain Science • Two areas of the brain that are affected by a mindfulness practice are the hippocampus and the amygdala • Goal is to increase response time

11. Creativity and Listening: Living Possibilities in the Classroom • My Reggio Inspired Journey • Reggio Emilia approach is based on the following principles: • Image of the child • Role of the Teacher -Emergent/Generative Curriculum – Project Work • Collaboration • Environment as Third Teacher • Documentation • Representational Development • Hundred Languages Poem

12. CAUTION: Adults at Play • “What makes the desert beautiful,” said the Little Prince, “is that somewhere it hides a well…” • The Little Prince, translated by Katherine Wood • How do the children wonder about and explore materials? • Let’s Play!!

13. Slow down, Listen, Breathe, Be Aware • “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.” • From the Little Prince, written by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and translated by Katherine Woods.