Laura Zastrow
Mikayla Allen (left) and teacher Moira Farrell demonstrate a mindfulness pose for the Midvale kindergarten class.
Fourteen rambunctious kindergarteners march, single-file, into the Midvale Elementary School gymnasium. The Star Wars theme song drowns out their excited chatter.
After forming a circle they start going through what appears to be a choreographed routine of yoga exercises: downward dogs, full-body stretches, and arm swings likening the moves of a monkey and an elephant. They end with a deep breath, their hands at “heart center.”
The class then sits on the floor in a pose — crisscross-applesauce — common to both nursery schoolers and yogis.
Teacher Moira Farrell asks them about their weekends: “What did you do to stay active?”
“I had a soccer game,” one student says.
“I ran and ran and ran,” exclaims another with pride.
“I jumped on the bed!” another shouts, causing her peers to howl in laughter.
This isn’t your ordinary gym class. These kindergarteners are learning to understand and regulate their emotions through mindful movement.
The J.E.D.I. Minds program, short for “Just, Empathetic, Dutiful and Independent Minds,” is Farrell’s brainchild. As a physical education and positive behavior support teacher, Farrell uses games, breathing exercises and affirmations to expand her student’s emotional literacy — all through the lens of Star Wars.
“Kids love Star Wars and what’s better than a focused Jedi?” says Farrell. “They need this more than they need math and science at this age. Their brains aren’t ready because they don’t know how to focus.”
Since the start of the program earlier this year, Midvale kindergartners have learned more than 15 different breathing skills to calm themselves, mastered balancing poses to enhance focus and coordination, and begun to understand the role emotions play in controlling behavior.
While the class aims to teach children how to be calm, it also helps them blow off steam. Farrell includes a rousing game of tag in her lessons. It’s something she says her students need to break up the monotony of sitting at a desk all day.
“We always start with a tag game, something really fun for the kids when they’re in that high-energy, not-making-good-decisions back brain,” Farrell says. “We build pathways in our brain so that we can understand what’s happening around us and that’s how we know how to move. They’re learning literally through movement.”
In between activities, Farrell talks to her class about the skills a Jedi Master needs: determination, balance, strength and speed, focus, and a willingness to help others.
As students move up the ranks they receive colored bracelets corresponding to their level of mindfulness: youngling, Padawan, Knight and finally, Jedi Master.
Today, the students also complete a four-station circuit with obstacle courses, a breathing station and an emotions memory game. The class ends with a deep breathing exercise called belly buddies.
All of these activities aim to help students express emotions in healthy, productive ways.
“When people talk about their own brain they think a lot of emotions are bad — I can’t be sad, I can’t be angry. You can be, but let’s talk about [these feelings]. Do they need to control our life?” Farrell says. “Getting them to understand what the emotions are, and to read that on people’s bodies and empathize, is so important.”
While the Madison school district doesn’t include mindfulness in its standard curriculum, it’s becoming an increasingly popular tool as schools grapple with behavior problems and changes to the district’s behavior education plan.
“There are a lot of teachers that are really interested in it so they teach it, but there’s not a standard or benchmark for mindfulness,” says Farrell. That’s starting to change, she says, noting Breathe for Change, a Madison nonprofit that certifies teachers in mindfulness and yoga. “[That program] is a big reason why it’s starting to get more popular because people are getting trained. There’s this passion and movement, let’s do this because our kids need it.”
Mindfulness: The quality or state of being conscious or aware of something
Hippocampus: A horseshoe-shaped part of the brain responsible for processing long-term memory and emotional responses.
23,040: The average number of breaths a person takes per day.
120: |Minutes Farrell works with her JEDIs each week.
Camp Begin: A summer camp devoted to continuing the work Farrell is doing at Midvale elementary — www.campbegin.com
