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Classroom Bedtime A Special Message for PIAC and School Council Members
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Mindful Parents and Kids

Recommended Approach

In its fullest format the Mindful Parents & Kids Belly Buddy program is a robust mindfulness and brain science learning and meditation training course for students in Grades 1 - 6.  However, it is recommended that you repeat the program with students more than once, and that the first trip through the program focuses on the basic program format, as it is outlined on each lesson page of the website.  This means that you will NOT attempt to integrate any of the additional (optional) activities.  This will allow you to get started immediately regardless of whether you have any previous experience with mindfulness and meditation, and will place the focus on helping students to develop their familiarity with mindfulness routines and practices, without overwhelming them with too much information up-front.  

Once you have completed your first trip through the program, begin again.  You should immediately notice how much smoother the program feels the second time through now that the students are experienced with their mindful body posture and routines.  At this point it is recommended that you introduce the journaling, ‘Deep Dive Learning’, etc., where appropriate.

If your own experience with mindfulness and meditation is limited, this approach will allow you to learn with your students as they move through the program.  If you wish to deepen your knowledge as you move through the program, some recommended first steps include:

  • Review the ‘Background’ information included in the detailed Lesson Plan

  • Review the Deep Dive Learning Q & A in the Grades 4 - 6 Additional Activities section 

  • Listen to the Parents’ Program Lesson

  • Practice the meditations designed for Parents available on the website

  • If you are a Grade 1 - 3 teacher, listen to the Grade 4 - 6 Belly Buddy Lesson & Meditation

 

Belly Buddies

A Belly Buddy is a commonly used mindful meditation aid for children.   Typically the Belly Buddy is a plush toy placed on the belly and used by the child as an anchor to help focus the attention on the action of breathing in the belly.  Unlike other Belly Buddy exercises this program expands on the traditional use of the Belly Buddy and ties the animal themed Belly Buddy to a brain science lesson.  The benefits of the Belly Buddy to the Mindful Parents & Kids program are:

  • An engaging crafting activity that builds program anticipation & offers an opportunity for creative expression

  • Enhances brain science messaging

  • Visual prompt for Bedtime & Parent Program

  • Attentional anchor used during meditation

A plush toy is the most common format for the Belly Buddy; however, the Mindful Parents & Kids program facilitators have also made Belly Buddies with students out of beach stones and pom-poms.  This program recommends  the use of a toilet paper roll animal craft for the bedtime program because of the accessibility and functionality of this item. For the classroom version of the program it is recommended that teachers have their students draw the animals or colour a colouring sheet of the animal. Helpful links have been provided.

The Classroom audio recordings coach the students to place the Belly Buddy craft (sketch or colouring sheet) in front of them on their desk.  When the students participate at home in the Bedtime program, the Belly Buddy is used in the traditional way and participants are encouraged to place the crafted toilet paper roll animal Belly Buddy on the belly.

 

What Is A Mindful Body?

You will note in each one of the Lessons and Meditations the instructor asks the participants to “please be still and quiet in your mindful body.”  A mindfulness practice  can be done in one of four postures:  sitting, standing, lying down and walking.  

During the Mindful Parents & Kids Belly Buddy Bedtime Program, participants are instructed to lie on their backs on a bed in a quiet and still mindful body.  In the Classroom Program, students can either lie down on their backs on the floor (if the classroom environment permits) or they can sit on a chair, preferably with all students facing in the direction of the teacher.  

If sitting on a chair, the ultimate goal is that students are sitting in a comfortable, alert position - an upright position of focus and relaxation, never stiff or tense.  Letting students know that quietly shifting the body in order to maintain one’s comfort is absolutely recommended.

Students often wonder what they should do with their hands during meditation.  Students can be instructed to experiment with different hand positions to determine their preference.  A few options are:

  • Simply resting their hands in their lap.  

  • Placing one or both hands on the belly to help anchor attention on the sensation of breath in the belly.  

  • Placing one or both hands on the chest to determine if this position offers an advantage over the belly as a breathing anchor.  

  • Experimenting with one hand positioned in front of the nose, as a helpful strategy to keep the attention on the sensation of the breath in and out of the body.  

  • Students can alternate between hand positions from one meditation to the next to determine a favourite.

 

Establishing the Meditation Environment

Creating an environment that is conducive to meditation is no small task when it comes to a busy classroom that is housed in an active school environment.  Here are a few guidelines:

  • “Meditation in Progress, Please Do Not Disturb” sign: It is recommended that your class creates a “Meditation in Progress, Please Do Not Disturb” sign and post this sign outside the classroom door to alert outside students and teachers to NOT knock, deliver technology/supplies or enter the classroom at this time. 

  • Establish Enter/Exit Classroom Rules: Ensure the class has established guidelines for students entering and exiting the classroom during the Lesson & Meditation period (no washroom runs during 15 minute session, late arrivals wait outside until Audio Lesson & Meditation is complete 

  • Chatty & Disengaged Educators:  It is not uncommon when the classroom environment quiets and students become engaged for the adults in the room to mistakenly view this as an opportunity to chat with one another or prep for the next activity.  Chatty adults and disengaged educators will significantly affect the ability of the students to give their full attention to the Lesson and Meditation and diminish the quality of the meditation environment.

  • Establish a “Let’s Get Ready Signal”: Use the actions of turning off the lights and playing the Sound Check audio feature at the beginning of each Lesson as a signal to students to quiet and prepare for the session.  This preparation should include clearing the desk of any and all distractions (food, books, pens, pencils) - anything students might fidget with during the session.  If you anticipate that some students will be tempted to sneak their hands into their desks during the session, ask all students to push their chair slightly away from the front of the desk.  Position the Belly Buddy on the desk for each animal lesson & mediation session

  • Disruptive Students: Consider placing the few students who have proven to be disruptive to the process close to you during the practice or, if appropriate, lying on a yoga mat along the perimeter of the classroom (with the Belly Buddy on the belly) where you can keep a watchful eye on them.

 

Timing is Critical

When an individual decides to begin a mediation practice, identifying a time when he/she is least likely to be interrupted is important, and the same holds true when planning for your students’ mindfulness and meditation schedule. When planning for this important practice please consider the following:  

Avoid planning sessions:

  • Prior to lunch/snack time as student hunger and anticipation will significantly affect their ability to focus on the lesson, meditation and discussion

  • Just prior to dismissal times as students traditionally have more trouble focusing on the lessons and meditations at this time

  • When your class is most likely to be interrupted by school announcements

 

Managing Expectations

It takes a few weeks before students will fall more effortlessly into the process and routine.  Stress the importance of never judging their experience.  Just do their best.  Sometimes we are able to keep our focus on our meditation, but during other times we may quietly notice that it is quite difficult.  When students notice that they have been distracted by their own thinking or activity in the room, recognize with them that perhaps they could consider this an accomplishment, because they were able to note that their attention was pulled away.  Remind them to just do their best.  All meditators, regardless of the level of experience, have sessions that go well, and others that do not. 

 

Students with Developmental Disabilities 

Teachers are encouraged to proactively consider the suitability of the program for their students with developmental disabilities.  If listening to the Audio Lesson & Meditation in the classroom environment is deemed unsuitable for your students with disabilities, please consider this idea - recruit a Mindful Student Ambassador.

A Mindful Student Ambassador is a student volunteer who has listened to the program either at home or at school and who you have identified as possessing the necessary leadership skills to work one-on-one with the identified student. This might be an older student from another classroom.   The following are some recommended  activities a Mindful Student Ambassador could do with the student of interest.  These activities are preferably conducted outside of the student’s regular classroom environment while his/her classmates are listening to the audio lesson & meditation:

  • Listen to the Audio Lesson & Meditation in an environment that is free of the distraction of other students

  • Mix rice and beans on a large paper plate, ask the student to close his/her eyes, and use the fingers to separate the rice and beans into separate piles

  • Quietly colour a picture of the animal of the week

  • Create with the student a calming glitter jar.  Fill a clear recycled water bottle with glycerin oil and  1 - 2 teaspoons of glitter (preferably of different sizes and colours).  Use the jar as a helpful mediation aid.  Ask the student to shake the jar, which will act as a snow globe, and then set the jar on a solid surface and  together watch the glitter settle to the bottom of the jar.  Ask the student how this exercise feels in the mind and body.

  • Go for a Mindful Walk with the student and ask him/her to do the following: spot something he/she has never noticed before; look for specific colours on objects or in the environment, and then switch to a different colour and continue mindful exercise; look for certain letters or numbers on the school walls; notice feelings/sensations in the feet when walking slowly.

  • Perform a Bell Listening Exercise using a singing bowl bell.  Ask the student to close his/her eyes and sit quietly with his/her hands in his lap.  Gently ring the bell for the student and ask the student to raise his hand in the air when he can no longer hear any sound coming from the bell.  Repeat. Ask the student how this exercise feels in the mind and body.

 Please contact a Mindful Parents & Kids representative if you feel we can be of assistance.