Mindfulness means being awake. It means knowing what you are doing.
– Jon Kabat-Zinn

According to an article in the Hechinger Report, children as young as three are being taught how to understand their brains.

“What if improving children’s mental health — and life outcomes – could be done by teaching kids how their brains work?” asks article author Jackie Mader.

“That’s a key idea behind the approach of teachers at Momentous School in Dallas, a private elementary school that serves 225 students, most of whom come from low-income families. Each day, educators present lessons on neuroscience and mindfulness, from the youngest learners all the way up to fifth graders.

“Preschoolers in the school’s 3-year-old classroom learn about the brain by singing ‘The Brain Song’ to the tune of ‘Bingo’ (‘I have a brain in my head/And it’s for thinking’). They practice mindfulness by lying down with stuffed animals on their stomachs and watching them move up and down as they breathe.”

On a related note, but with a slightly different focus, Ruth Wilson, in an article that’s the foundation for an Exchange Reflections, “Relaxation and Self-efficacy in Children,” writes about how children perceive relaxation differently from adults, often associating it with sensory-rich experiences like nature and play.

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