Students at MMA participate in weekly Solo Time. For 20 minutes on Wednesday’s Advisory time, students are guided to engage in a personal interest that doesn’t have anything to do with school work; reading a book of choice, drawing, writing, crochet, meditating, doing a puzzle or something similar by themselves, are some of the activities that students enjoy participating in. This is valuable time and not easy for all students to enjoy, but one that helps us meet our goal of educating the WHOLE child and one we believe strongly in facilitating.
In our fast-paced lives full of technology, activity and obligation, we are left with little “down time” for mindfulness. We believe the students who struggle with this concept are specifically those students that need this time the most and we strive to teach them to be okay, being alone.
Adolescents don’t instinctively know how to grow into healthy adults. They need help managing the stresses and pressures in their lives. Right now, teachers participating in the CMStep Montessori Adolescent certification program are taking a Mindfulness course in order to better guide students in understanding and benefiting from the practice of mindfulness.
Mindfulness is defined by Dictionary.com as
a mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique.
Encourage your student to bring something from home to quietly participate in during this time, if they are struggling with the practice. Just like Yoga, sports or schoolwork, we need practice in order to become better (and none of us enjoy doing things we’re not good at).
The benefits are summarized below
Here are a few videos for your information.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFZ6C2XhJAc&list=PLvCw27rSdIYdiJ2R1hKLLx6Xb1DDpOf0q
Resources
http://mindfulnessforteens.com
http://www.michaelolaf.net/mindfulness.pdf