“What happens when a school embeds mindful movement into the school day for both staff and students?” Our vision over the past few years has been to create model schools by collaborating with key administrators and staff to adapt movemindfully practices for their unique student and staff needs.
We are astounded by Garden City and Oak View – two Osseo elementary schools in Minnesota – that have partnered with us through Statewide Health Improvement Partnership (SHIP) funding, along with additional funding, for the past few years.
Oak View principal, Ryan Gibbs, shared this reflection at the close of this school year:
What we have learned from Oak View and Garden City is that truly embedding mindful movement building-wide requires a multifaceted approach. Ryan Gibbs identified four key areas — and examples from both schools show how this was accomplished:
Brain and Attention: We know that students’ brains are changing due to technology which can have a direct impact on attention. In order to help students focus with sustained attention during the day, schools like Oak View and Garden City embed mindful movement into the day to support student learning. Educators at Garden City integrate slides with regulating breathing and movement into their classroom plans so that teachers and students have the opportunity to reset and refocus throughout the day. Once these skills are learned, students can pick the move , breath, or rest break they need based on how they are feeling.
Emotional Readiness: We have had a particularly challenging school year in Minnesota due to tough events like the Annunciation school shooting and the community impact of Operation Metro Surge. When students and staff experience stress, anxiety, and overwhelm, learning and teaching is challenging. Understanding how the brain and body react to stress along with ways you can use breathing and movement to reset or take a break, can make the school day more manageable. Oak View students learned mind-body tools this year during all school assemblies to manage anxiety, stress, and big feelings. They could then access these tools as needed.
Body Readiness: Trying to teach students when they are dysregulated isn’t effective. Preparing teachers to set students up for success not only improves student time on task, it also decreases staff stress! Using regulating breathing and movement before learning makes lessons easier for both students and teachers. Oak View educators created videos with mind-body practices led by students to remind everyone to use these mind-body skills before lessons.
Staff Wellness: Including staff in this equation is key. When staff feel supported and are given tangible ways to manage stress, they are more regulated and energized. Oak View staff committed to starting meetings with mindful movement throughout the year and scheduled staff wellness check-ins during Operation Metro Surge. Starting with adults creates the buy-in needed for them to share these important skills with students.
– Impact Statement, MoveMindfully at Oak View
If your school is ready to explore what this could look like, we’d love to connect. We still have availability for professional development during opening week and the beginning of the school year. Reach out to info@move-mindfully.com