Claire’s Montessori is pleased to announce that starting in the fall of 2018 the school will be including a Wellbeing Curriculum for all students, Empowered Wellbeing For Success®.

This curriculum offers 4 different wellbeing techniques which are scientifically proven to develop focus, clarity, concentration, creativity and positive social, emotional and academic outcomes in students.

The techniques are specifically designed for students in school settings and include: yoga, specialized breathing techniques, mindfulness activities, affirmations and visualization techniques. We are thrilled that included in this Wellbeing Program our faculty have the opportunity for Professional Development as well as they will have access to personal Wellbeing empowerment techniques too.

Here are some snap shots of research as regards students using these techniques.

Research:

Breathing Techniques and Students

• Studies of the impact of deep belly breathing have been done on everyone from stressed out medical students, to hardened criminals sitting in maximum security prisons, to kids with ADD and ADHD. The results are generally the same. Not only does it increase focus and attention, it improves pro-social behavior, enhances daily happiness, and increases levels of calm while decreasing stress and anxiety. From a neurological or physiological perspective, deep belly breathing slows the heart rate, lowers blood pressure, and sharpens the minds ability to focus and learn by slowing down the amygdala and supporting the higher brain function taking place in the frontal lobes.
  https://themindfulclassroom.wordpress.com/category/deep-breathing/

Yoga and Students

• Studies also show that exercise facilitates children’s executive function (i.e., processes required to select, organize, and properly initiate goal-directed actions) by increasing activation in the prefrontal cortex and serotonergic system. By integrating physical movement with breathing exercises and mindful awareness, yoga serves as a promising form of physical and cognitive training to enhance learning-related outcomes.
  (Butzer et al.,2016). http://www.yoga4classrooms.com/supporting-research

Mindfulness with Students

• Studies find that youth benefit from learning mindfulness in terms of improved cognitive outcomes, social-emotional skills, and well being. In turn, such benefits may lead to long-term improvements in life. For example, social skills in kindergarten predict improved education, employment, crime, substance abuse and mental health outcomes in adulthood.
  http://www.mindfulschools.org/about-mindfulness/research/

Affirmations/Visualizations and Students

• “It seems like we can change neural activity using this simple intervention and it does relate to behavior change down the road,” said study lead author Emily Falk, an assistance professor of communication at the University of Pennsylvania Annenberg School for Communication. “Self-affirmation is a cheap, scalable intervention…and it turns out to have huge effects for a relatively low
   http://scienceblogs.com/thepumphandle/2015/02/06/study-self-affirmation-targets-the-brain-in-way-that-makes-us-receptive-to-health-messaging/

Brain studies now reveal that thoughts produce the same mental instructions as actions. Mental imagery impacts many cognitive processes in the brain: motor control, attention, perception, planning, and memory. So the brain is getting trained for actual performance during visualization. It’s been found that mental practices can enhance motivation, increase confidence and self-efficacy, improve motor performance, prime your brain for success, and increase states of flow – all relevant to achieving your best life! https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/flourish/200912/seeing-is-believing-the-power-visualization

We know that this curriculum will enhance every students’ experience at Claire’s Montessori.