5 Ways Montessori Teaches Mindfulness

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5 WAYS MONTESSORI TEACHES MINDFULNESS

• Mindfulness is a growing area of study with
  important implications for children as they grow
  up. In this blog post, well explore five ways
  Montessori teaches mindfulness.
• What is Mindfulness?
• Mindfulness is a state of active, open attention
  to the present. When youre mindful, you observe
  your thoughts and feelings from a distance
  without judgment. Instead of letting life pass
  you by, mindfulness means living in the moment
  and awakening to experience.
• In Montessori education, mindfulness takes two
  forms
• Attending to objective reality (e.g., observing
  objects around us)
• Attending to subjective reality (e.g., observing
  our inner world).
• Both types of attention help children develop
  their self-awareness, ability to focus, and
  empathy for others.

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• 1. Sensory Experiences
• One of the main goals of the Montessori Method is
  to provide sensory experiences every day. The
  aim is to help children develop their senses to
  learn more effectively and engage in their
  environment. Here are examples that can be used
  in and out of the classroom
• Touch Exploring textured items in different
  sizes, so they are easy for children to hold.
• Smell Provide flowers, herbs, spices, and
  essential oils for smelling during class time.
• Taste Use chocolate chips, jellybeans,
  raisinsanything edible your child will enjoy
  eating!
• Deep Concentration
• Montessori teachers encourage children to
  practice deep concentration. Deep concentration
  is focusing on one thing for longer than they
  think they can without getting distracted. This
  essential skill helps students pay attention in
  class, stay engaged with their studies, and
  remember what they learn. The prepared Montessori
  environment is meticulously designed to foster
  calm and concentration. The classroom is
  uncluttered, beautiful, clean, orderly, and
  inviting, with sensorial
• materials to enhance each childs deep awareness
  of their senses.
• Walking Meditation
• Walking meditation is used in many different
  cultures and religions, so its easy to
  understand why it can be an effective mindfulness
  tool. The idea is that they focus on their
  breathing and walk slowly and deliberately. They
  are also aware of their surroundings, which
  helps keep their mind in the present moment. In
  addition to these benefits, walking meditation
  promotes physical fitness as well!
• Yoga
• As part of the Cypress Creek Frisco
  MontessoriHome enrichment program, our
  Montessori educators encourage students to
  practice yoga. Our teachers
• demonstrate simple lessons with slow, intentional
  step-by-step movements using soft voices and
  minimal words. This helps children develop
  mindfulness from the focus
• and concentration originated while working with
  the didactic materials created by Montessori.
• Age-Appropriate Essential Oils
• A popular method of using essential oils is to
  put them in a diffuser that emits the scent into
  the air. Using an age-appropriate essential oil
  has been shown to help young children focus and
  become less distracted by their surroundings,
  making it easier for them to learn new concepts.
  Some beneficial focus-inducing oils include
  lavender, peppermint, and lemoneach of which
  has different effects depending on their use.

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Why Cypress Creek Frisco Montessori? Cypress
Creek Frisco Montessori supports the holistic
development of your child mental, physical,
emotional, and social. Mindfulness is integrated
into our curriculum because its focus on
improving a childs well-being partners
seamlessly with the Montessori philosophy of
preparing children for life. Cypress Creek Frisco
Montessori can help your child be more mindful
of their world and how they experience it.
Contact us today to schedule a tour of our
facility!