Smiling Mind

Marysville Primary School run a comprehensive Smiling Mind Program as part of our student wellbeing program.  We teach mindfulness to support our vision to support young people to develop the skills needed for good mental health throughout their lifetime. Mindfulness is the practice of focusing attention on the experience of the current moment, with an attitude of non-judgements acceptance and curiosity.

 

The modern world is becoming faster, more stressful and distracted and children are particularly susceptible to these influences. It is growing more and more evident that the modern child and teacher needs new skills and awareness to deal with such an environment. 

 

Mindfulness in schools in an excellent way to help teachers and students learn these skills and manage rising mental health and disengagement issues students face today.

 

Mindfulness has been found to improve emotional regulation, mental health, attention, memory and learning. It can be thought of as being like gym for the mind.

 

Mindfulness is introduced to our youngest students through to our senior students. All children practice mindfulness daily and have a focussed Smiling Mind session each week.

 

Mindfulness supports readiness to learn in three ways:

  1. It improves attention, and improved attention means children are more able to focus. They are more capable to taking on new information without being distracted by internal reactions or preconceived perspectives.
  2. It improves working memory, cognitive flexibility, reasoning, planning, goal directed behaviour and self-regulation – essential skills for learning new information.
  3. Mindfulness can reduce emotional reactivity and behavioural issues.


Mindfulness is also a vital component of social and emotional learning (SEL). It supports each of the five areas under which SEL fall: self-awareness, self-management, relationship skills, responsibility and decision making.

 

Some of the topics within the Smiling Mind curriculum include:

 

Awareness

Optimism

Strengths

Recognising Emotions 

Making Decisions  

Empathy 

Gratitude

Self-Compassion

Setting Goals

Managing Emotions

Resilience

Growth Mindset

 

 

                                                                         

                                                                            

                                                                          

                                                   

                                                            

                                                                              


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