Brock Martin is a Mindful Movement Teacher at the National Child Research Center (NCRC) Preschool in Washington, D.C.
His goal is to make mindfulness a way of life for all and to make practices available and accessible to all children, faculty/ staff, parents, and the larger school community.
What was Brock’s route to teaching mindfulness?
- .begin
- dots
- School Mindfulness Lead
What does Brock do to support practice during and after the course?
I am teaching the dots curriculum. Over the course of 3 days I meet with 12 classes (170 children) twice a week for 25 minutes a class. The children range in age from 2 – 5 years old.
In order to support the children’s practice and honor their need to move, I integrate movement and story into embedding the practices. For instance we may put on our space suit utilizing the body tapping practice, take a rocket ship breath, move our bodies like Saturn’s rings – noticing what it feels like to move like a circle, and then use a cardboard tube as a telescope to describe where our attention is. I have found that movement offers children more opportunities to notice sensations in their body & or their breath, but also prepares them to sit and practice with more attention.
What supported Brock to introduce mindfulness in his setting?
I feel fortunate to have had the support early on from my school leaders and community members to introduce mindfulness in my setting. I remember sitting down with my Acting Head of School one day and sharing with her my desire to create a mindfulness program. I will never forget when she shared that “although it’s important to teach children how to balance on one foot, it’s maybe more important to help children find balance in themselves.” I knew then that I had the genuine support necessary to make a program come to fruition. Through the use of school grants, I was then able to take MiSP’s .begin, dots, and SML courses.
How is Brock embedding/integrating mindfulness in his education setting?
I am embedding mindfulness in my educational setting through weekly sessions with the children. It is my hope that some of the practices and language we use in class carries over into the classrooms and children’s homes. The classroom teachers also write an electronic newsletter that is sent to the parents every two weeks. Each newsletter highlights some of the things we are doing as well as a video or two showcasing the dots “have a go” practices. My hope is that the parents and children can practice at home together, further cementing their learning.
In the not so distant future, I will lead a taster session for the faculty/ staff in hopes of gaining interest in taking the 8-week .Foundations course.
What’s working well?
I have found that having opportunities to move with shake & freeze and kid friendly yoga poses complements and enhances the learning we do with the dots curriculum.
Being flexible with the session and having a non-striving mentality has also worked. By this I mean not forcing the learning and trying my best to not steer the children towards any particular outcome. It’s been amazing to see just how imaginative the children are when I loosen the reins and let go of control.
I have found that having an opportunity to teach the children twice a week has also worked really well. I know if the practices aren’t covered completely the first day, we can try again the following. Having another day to practice also gives me an opportunity to amend my approach or adjust my teaching to the needs of the child or group.
Another thing that really works with the children is using visuals. I use a flip chart that has a visual for every step of the way. This really helps with the visual learners and keeps me on track with the lesson. After a while, there comes a sense of familiarity with what comes next and that eases some of the discomfort with the unknown.
Any challenges Brock has overcome?
One of the biggest challenges is giving each child the time and space to be seen and heard while also keeping the attention of the children not actively participating. This is still a work in progress and every day looks different. I try my best to keep my lessons fluid – moving from movement to stillness/ inquiry and back again. I also find that it’s important to take time to reflect on a lesson to see what’s working and what needs to be adjusted.
Another challenge is where we practice. When the weather is warm enough, I have a beautiful space to practice outside. The only challenge with this is all of the distractions that are around us – children on the playground in the background, helicopters flying by, ambulances, sticks on the ground, and a squirrel or two passing by. Although it can at times be hard to hold the children’s attention, these “distractions” offer opportunities to notice what’s happening around us in real time. I also believe if the children are able to maintain their concentration on a chosen object during these distractions, they are strengthening their ability to focus.
How are the attitudes of mindfulness embedded in the day-to-day life and running of Brock’s school?
I feel fortunate to work with teachers that truly embody an “Attenborough attitude.” Our teachers are patient and intentional about stepping back and letting the children play – carefully observing their every movement with curiosity and responding to their interests or patterns of play. Because of this, there is a seamless transition from mindfulness sessions into the classroom and vice versa. We also have a Child Development Team that helps monitor each student’s growth and development and helps create and implement an all-school curriculum. In a way, we are all mindful of the growth and development of each child and do our best to support the strengths of each child and while also acknowledging and responding to any challenges that may be present. It takes everyone working together, utilizing similar tools and methods, to lift each other up.
What is Brock offering to the wider education community?
My goal is to hold space for the wider education community to learn more about mindfulness and how to bring it into their educational setting.
What advice would Brock give other educational settings?
My advice would be to take a chance on mindfulness. You owe it to yourself to learn ways to find peace in the present, you owe it to your staff so that they can too, and you owe it to your children – the ones we will depend on to change this world by personifying peace in the present.
Our huge thanks to Brock for all his hard work and for sharing this with us.