A while back, I got the message that Calm.com was giving away a number of their premium subscriptions to educators for them to use in school. I quick got myself on their list, shot out a bunch of tweets/Facebook messages (yes, I’m old), and emails to my teacher friends for them to get signed up too!

#teacherslovefreestuff

About a week had past, and I was getting bummed out because I’d not gotten a reply back, when my email *ding* got my attention. Calm emailed me, welcoming me to the Calm family!

#breathyoungPatawon

First, I love Calm. I’ve loved Calm for a long time, using their music and free features for myself and in class. They’ve got several great music selections available for people to listen to and enjoy. With their email, I have access to their full selection of mindfulness, meditation, and stretching videos and sound files. I’ve also gotten a teacher subscription to Headspace, another mindfulness program out there, with their goal of helping teachers find their center.

Between the two, we’ve been practicing in class, about 5 minutes per day, just focusing on our breathing, being mindful of those around us, and trying to find “the calm in the chaos” (one of the messages from Calm).

The reason I’m writing today, I’m not always able to get our mindfulness, and today, one of the students asked, “Mr. J., are we going to meditate today?”

#ummmmwhat

This made my day. Seriously.

Now, I’m not going to claim huge successes. Heck, I’m not going to claim minor success, but I will say that question helped me to keep going. I keep looking for more resources, but I have to temper my desire to continue to push forward with the fact our class time is shorter than last year, and I’m stretched pretty tight trying to get everything in. Both sites have brief mindful and meditation files, which I’ll use through out the year.

I will continue to plan on a mindful break, to find that center for my students. After each session, students are more focused, more engaged, and less likely to be obnoxious. Sure, we’ve got a few who give me that “seriously” look, but we’ll continue onward. I watched a CBS Sunday morning segment about a British school where each classroom dove into breathing exercise and mindfulness. They experienced an 80% drop in their office referrals.

Now, this is one school, but in my classroom, if we can find our center, our breath, and and be under control, this will be a great start.

And finding the calm in the chaos is something ALL our students can practice!