4 Books to Practice Mindfulness in the Classroom
Mindfulness is a meditation and relaxation technique that helps many children control their emotions. In this article, we’ll show you four books to practice mindfulness in the classroom. In addition, we’ll explain why it’s so important for children.
Mindfulness encourages students to grow. This results in a greater capacity for concentration. It also helps improve their emotional balance. This technique helps children control their nerves and impulses that make them act irrationally.
For this, it’s important to make them aware of their surroundings and teach them ways to calm themselves down. Children who know how to relax can control their energy levels and act calmly.
Nowadays, we know that relaxation helps develop several abilities. Some of them are attention, observation, imagination, perception, memory and concentration. In addition, it helps prevent stress, anxiety, and emotional issues
So, it’s important to equip children with the tools to handle all of these distractions. This allows them to face situations in the future in a healthy and productive way.
“Every step on the road to happiness requires the practice of attention until it becomes part of your daily life.”
—Henepola Gunaratana—
4 books to practice mindfulness in the classroom
The following four books are a great way to introduce mindfulness to children in the classroom:
1. The Wizard of Thoughts (Original Spanish title: Un mago de los pensamientos) by Pepa Horno Goicoechea
The first of the four books to practice mindfulness in the classroom is a beautiful and fun fable. It’s about a child who has lots of ideas in his head.
He has so many thoughts inside that he doesn’t know what to do with them. Therefore, the main character feels scared. He doesn’t know how to control himself.
Finally, the child meets a person who helps him handle situations correctly. Consequently, he learns how to manage these situations better and to calm down.
This book aims to emphasize the importance of helping children learn to control their thoughts. This also helps them learn to enjoy silence.
2. Starbright – Meditations for Children, by Maureen Garth
This book has an attractive, warm and personal style. Through four stories, it shows children how to relax. It also helps them concentrate and develop their intellectual and artistic skills. In addition, it allows them to enjoy a quiet night’s sleep.
The author was motivated by the desire to help her three-year-old daughter fall asleep at night. She offers a series of meditation exercises to reinforce the little girl’s safety and confidence.
It’s a book that includes the topic of meditation. It also has simple visualization techniques to help children sleep and calm down alone. In addition, it also helps develop their imagination and creativity.
3. A Quiet Forest (Original Spanish title: Un bosque tranquilo), by Patricia Díaz Caneja
Our third proposal is a very funny story. In fact, it’s ideal for both children and adults, and an interesting resource for educators.
This book is a very useful tool for children to learn the importance of attention in our daily lives. In addition, at the end of the book there are activities that you can try with your children.
The exercises, tips and hobbies will help children pay attention to the book. They’ll love reading it because it’s easy and enjoyable.
4. Sitting Still Like a Frog, by Eline Snel
Finally, here is the fourth and final book: Sitting Still Like a Frog. This book includes a CD. It has 11 guided and brief meditations that children can practice daily.
Children should get carried away and perform the simple exercises in the book. You only need to breathe and oxygenate the brain to be attentive to what’s happening in the present.
The results of these exercises have benefits for the children who practice them. In fact, they sleep better. In addition, they’re more focused and feel more secure.
The books to practice mindfulness in the classroom are a perfect choice to help them relax. Teachers and schools are the ones who need to find the right ones.
All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.
- Díaz Canela, P.(2015). Un bosque tranquilo. Librería argentina (uni yoga).
- Garth, M. (2018). Luz de estrellas. Meditación para niños. Planeta.
- Horno Goigoechea, P. y Sada, M. (2015). El mago de los pensamientos. Fineo.
- Snel, E. (2013). Tranquilos y atentos como una rana. Kairós.