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  Dr. Kara Stern, Smore Resident Educator

  A veteran educator, I've gone from teacher, to principal, to Ph.D., to ED @ www.mathforamerica.org, to head of school, and now Resident Educator at Smore. I geek out on pedagogy and my Libby app :)

  More posts by Dr. Kara Stern, Smore Resident Educator.

Dr. Kara Stern, Smore Resident Educator

Coming to class prepared is important, and part of what we do as teachers is coach students to arrive prepared: with a pencil, with a notebook, with a completed assignment, so that students are ready to learn. Readiness to learn, though, might have more to do with mindset than with pencils, which is why schools are finding that a few minutes of mindfulness at the start of the day or the class is increasing student achievement. Simply put, mindfulness is the practice of teaching students to calm their thoughts -- it is mental and emotional preparedness for learning.

Our goal is to simplify your life by creating grab n’ go templates filled with engaging resources for lessons and units. This template takes a dive into how to introduce mindfulness and yoga to your students.

Getting our minds prepared for learning

The first section of the template introduces mindfulness. First up, 5-minute activities for elementary students. If you prefer a deeper dive, we’ve got an article laying out the value proposition for mindfulness, how to get started, and how to pitch it to parents. Lastly, there’s a set of exercises for remote classrooms.

Focus the breathing; focus the mind

The next section offers some ways to incorporate yoga into your classroom. First off, some research about why yoga benefits learning. Beloved by many, YouTube yoga teacher Adriene has a practice just for the classroom. Check it out, or better yet, try it out! Then, have a listen to K-12 educator and yoga school founder Dr. Terry Harris describe how introducing yoga transformed his St. Louis, MO school district. Eager to learn more, we interviewed Dr. Harris for Snack-Size PD, our YouTube show for over-Zoomed educators. We end with a meditative practice for teachers. Breathe. You got this.