The Children's Co-operative:
The
children's co-op is a unique weekday morning program for children preschool and
kindergarten age and their parents. Children attend 2 to 5 days per week throughout the year, in a small group of up
to 12 children. During the children's active creative playtimes outside and in our classroom, parents
practice mindfulness meditation and loving-kindness practice in our
shrine room, in a 1/2 day retreat format that includes sessions of sitting and
walking meditation. Parents and children come together for "eating
meditation" in a warm twinkly quiet that parents and children enjoy. Each
family with children in the children's co-operative, has one parent come to
practice on-site, 1 or 2 mornings per month. In this way, parents' practice
provides a warm, loving, mindful atmosphere for the children.
Recent research indicates the benefits of parental mindfulness practice for children's development. In our program, while a teacher leads all group activities, parents bring the quality of their mindful presence to the children during quiet snack and lunch times. Parents' quiet presence creates an atmosphere in the morning class that encourages the development of positive qualities in children.
According Daniel J.Siegel of UCLA, author of The Developing Mind, over 600 studies have been done on the results of mindfulness practice. Recent research, supports the view that mindfulness practice leads to structural changes in the brain that support the development and enhancement of qualities of kindness, patience, compassion and attunement to others, increased executive function, better impulse control and longer attention span. Current neuroscience research supports the conclusion that when parents and teachers practice mindfulness, children, through their highly attuned mirror neuron systems, may neurologically mirror the adults in their environment. This leading to enhanced brain development and an increase in the positive qualities mentioned above. Recent neuroscience
research supports the benefits of parental mindful presence for children's development.
Our morning children's schedule includes: an hour of inside free play time with Waldorf inspired toys made of wood, silk, cotton, and other natural materials. The simple open ended materials inspire co-operative play and stimulate creative thinking. There is always baking, or painting, toy making sewing or some other handwork in the room that the children are free to join during play time according to their interest. Our second hour includes a Waldorf inspired circle with singing games woven into a story and story-yoga, yoga asanas woven into a story. Our circles end with a period of quiet relaxation, within the spirit of the story. For example, the children might be lying down being star's reflections shining on the water, then as open lotus flowers floating with the waters' movement, as the child's breath moves the imagined lotus up and down on the waves. Coming to sitting and becoming the lotuses, in the shared story together, the children practice a brief session of mindfulness of breathing, listening to bells, or medition on the elements.
The children participate in a blessing and ritual as we serve snack. In the ritual, each child has a chance to serve another. In this way we practice the joy of giving. Then we have a warm twinkly quiet time eating together. This is followed by an hour of outdoor play in the spaciousness of our garden. Children water and plant and climb trees and play in nature. Followed by hand washing and a story, puppet show or play. We tell stories from many cultures with Dharma themes of loving-kindness, compassion, wisdom and creative non-violent solutions to problems. Then we provide a healthy organic lunch before its time to go home or to stay for the afternoon class.
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