- Calm and relax their bodies and minds
- Still and center themselves
- Use positive visualization and affirmations to boost their self-esteem
- Identify and manage their emotions effectively
- Improve their self-regulation and impulse control
- Increase their abilities to focus and concentrate
- Be mindful of their words and actions
- Extend kindness and compassion to themselves and others
Research shows the critical importance of instilling all of these skills and strategies in childhood. It promotes children’s positive mental health, self-regulation, and emotional well-being as they grow; and helps them to thrive and achieve success both inside and outside of school.
How Mindfulness is Taught in the Mindful Monkey Program™
Mindfulness is defined as a calm and peaceful mental state that is achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations.
There are many different components of mindfulness, but it is broken down into the following core skills in the Mindful Monkey Program™:
- The ability to relax and calm oneself
- The ability to still and center oneself
- The ability to focus one’s attention and awareness
These core skills are taught through the following mindfulness practices:
- Diaphragmatic Breathing (Belly Breathing)
- Progressive Muscle Relaxation
- Body Scan
- Guided Visualizations
- Mindful Breathing/Meditation
- Focused Concentration Activities
- Focused Sensory Activities
Mindful Monkey Program™ Overview
The teacher-friendly, ready-to-use Mindful Monkey Program™ consists of 30 lessons that are grouped into three units:
Unit #1: Calming and Relaxing Myself
Unit #2: Stilling and Centering Myself
Unit #3: Focusing and Training My Attention
The lessons are taught through the use of illustrated lesson cards and a Mindful Monkey puppet. Each lesson consists of the instruction of a particular skill, and then a guided practice of that skill. A set of storybooks, a guided meditation CD, a Mindful Monkey Big Book, and a curriculum binder filled with a large array of optional extension activities are also included in the program.
