Planting Seeds: Practicing Mindfulness With Children

Author: Thich Nhat Hanh & The Plum Village Community
Illustrated by: Wietske Vriezen

I read this book for the Mindfulness Module in my digital course, Calming the Classroom Chaos and there was not enough room in the module to include all of the amazing learnings stuffed into this book! There are amazing practices meant not just for your students, but also for you as their teacher AND as a human who manages so much in a day.

Okay… What is mindfulness? First off, that’s a great question! Thanks for asking! Mindfulness is the act of being aware and present in the moment. You can mindfully breathe, mindfully walk, mindfully read, mindfully cut vegetables, mindfully work, and basically mindfully do anything. You just need some support and practice in getting there.

You will absolutely learn a LOT about practicing mindfulness with students, with yourself, and at home. In all honestly, this is my first mindfulness-focused book I’ve ever read, so I can’t say that it’s beginner-friendly or a more advanced text for teachers. I believe this is book offers a LOT of starting points for teachers.

Shameless course plug here: I took what I’ve already known works in my elementary classrooms and mixed or added it to some of the information I got from this book to create my Mindfulness module. This module is meant to be the most basic and straightforward support to someone just starting out.

Honestly, I believe that many students need mindfulness breaks AS MUCH as they need movement breaks. This book helps you find balance and understand how mindfulness can benefit the children you work with. There are SO MANY things I want to try out in the fall, I’m going to have to go back and skim through everything here.

If you’re interested in purchasing this book, CLICK HERE to buy it cheaper on AbeBooks!