Introducing mindfulness into the lives of our children and teenagers is perhaps the greatest gift we can offer. Mindfulness builds emotional intelligence, boosts happiness, increases curiosity and engagement, reduces anxiety and depression, soothes the pain of trauma, and helps kids (and adults) focus, learn, and make better choices. Join Dr. Christopher Willard in this one-day seminar on bringing mindfulness to children and teens in the classroom, clinic, and beyond. Dr. Willard will shave proven practices and share how to integrate these practices into your classroom and schools. You will examine the research behind mindfulness, including the latest from advances in the neurobiology of learning and emotions. You will learn how to harness the benefits of present-focused awareness for students, including at-risk youth and those with special needs. You will discover ways to incorporate mindfulness into a broad range of activities, such as movement, music, games, writing, art, and more, for attention spans from 30 seconds to 30 minutes.
This seminar runs from 8:15 am to 2:30 pm at the Holiday Inn Boston-Dedham Hotel & Conference Center.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Participants will be able to:
• Discover ways to explain mindfulness to children and get them to buy into mindfulness practice and its benefits
• Understand the neuroscience of mindfulness and the effects of mind-body interventions on the stress response
• Learn simple, short, effective mindfulness practices to use in the classroom, clinical setting, and various children's activities
• Explore new ways to engage children and teens and increase their attention spans
• Engage present-focused awareness to increase balance, calm, and resilience
• Examine ways to integrate mindfulness systemically into your school, classroom, or clinic
WHO SHOULD ATTEND
This seminar is geared toward all levels of educators and clinicians who are interested in mindfulness including K-12 educators, special educators, school psychologists, and occupational and physical therapists.
WORKSHOP LEADER
Christopher Willard, PsyD, is a psychologist, a teacher at Harvard Medical School, and an educational consultant specializing in mindfulness. He has been practicing meditation for 20 years and leads workshops nationally and internationally. Dr. Willard currently serves on the board of directors at the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy, and is the president of the Mindfulness in Education Network. He has presented at TEDx conferences and his thoughts have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, mindful.org, and elsewhere. He is the author of Raising Resilience (2017), Growing Up Mindful (2016), and Child's Mind (2010).
