Schools

Fifth Graders 'Learn to Breathe,' Cut Down the Stress at Plymouth Meeting Friends

The students take in some 'mindfulness research,' and meditation.

Sixteen preteens sit silent and upright, eyes closed, arms and legs relaxed. The calm in the classroom is profound. A few minutes ago, this was a squirming, fidgeting roomful of children like any other. But these fifth graders at Plymouth Meeting Friends School are "learning to breathe," and in the process they are learning self-regulatory skills to last a lifetime, skills that are helping them focus on their schoolwork, control their emotions, and manage their anxieties over tests and other life challenges.

Learning to Breathe is a curriculum, developed by Dr. Patricia Broderick, for teaching stress relief through mindfulness meditation to middle-schoolers, and Plymouth Meeting Friends School has spent the past school year as part of a larger study of this curriculum. The study, conducted by the Friends Mindfulness Collaborative, in association with Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, is evaluating the benefits of mindfulness practice in the classroom, including its impact on self- control, mood, attention, and stress management.

Leann Stover Nyce, the fifth grade teacher at Plymouth Meeting Friends School, who has been teaching the Learning to Breathe curriculum this year, said the program has been a gift to her classroom.

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"So often, in our busy lives, stress and tension build up without us even knowing it, and it makes it difficult for our minds to settle and pay attention,” she said. “Inviting the students to become aware of their bodies, their breath, and what messages they are giving themselves is so valuable.”

The value of mindfulness meditation for stress relief, increasing wellbeing, and managing chronic pain among adults has been widely recognized in recent years. Based on the work of Jon Kabat- Zinn, and derived from a non-spiritual extension of Buddhist practice, mindfulness programs are springing up around the country in settings ranging from hospitals to yoga studios to workplaces. These programs teach participants how to use meditation to cultivate a state of relaxed, non-judgmental awareness.

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In the fifth-grade classroom at Plymouth Meeting Friends, Stover Nyce has led students through a series of activities designed to increase such awareness. The students have learned to meditate while focusing on their breath, to eat with mindful attention, and to observe their physical sensations, their thoughts, and their emotions. For homework, they have practiced using mindfulness during activities as varied as playing computer games, playing basketball, and writing e-mails. 

Says student Mason Plant, "What I liked was learning to breathe and keep calm during long periods of time, and learning to control my body."

One popular meditative activity in Stover Nyce's classroom is drawing "Zentangles." Assistant teacher Amanda Davis introduced the students to this art form rooted in mindfulness practice. During thirty silent minutes, each student fills a small square of paper with drawing. There are no rules and no mistakes, but the children must keep their attention fully on their work. The resulting artwork is displayed in the school hallway.

Mindfulness training has extended to sixth graders — including Head of School Sarah Sweeney-Denham’s sixth-grade daughter — as well as the entire faculty and staff of the school. An evening class on mindfulness in parenting drew an eager crowd of school parents.

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Information courtesy of Plymouth Meeting Friends School.


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