Preschool Mindfulness Summit 2021 Speaker Info
Dr. Helen Maffini • https://www.facebook.com/groups/mindBE/
Host
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Helen is the Director of MindBE Education and the creator of the MindBE Curriculum and the Thriving Kids Program, She is the host of the Annual Preschool Mindfulness Summit and Co-Author of Developing Children´s Emotional Intelligence and Sammy´s Next Move.
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Books: Developing Children’s Emotional Intelligence (Bloomsbury Education) |
Sammy’s Next Move: Sammy the snail is a traveling snail who lives in different countries  |
Stuart Stotts • www.StuartStotts.com
Stuart Stotts has been an author, musician, storyteller, and teacher for nearly 35 years, working with teachers, students, families, and communities to integrate the arts and creativity into learning and living. Stuart has worked all over the world, including Qatar, Kuala Lumpur, New Zealand, and many parts of Europe, leading workshops, performing, and singing with groups of all sizes. Stuart’s newest book is “Who Is My Neighbor: The Parable of the Good Samaritan in the windows of Chartres Cathedral.”
What we will learn in this presentation or interview
Music, story and the arts are fundamental ways that we relate as humans. Our ability to be present with each other and ourselves as we engage in creativity brings us together and deepens our experience of learning, communicating, and being in the community.
Freebie: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bUUTaPtv5i2hHI110hHWPB03GMH4rY7l/view?usp=sharing
Sue is a heart-centered coach, educator, motivational speaker, and writer, working with individuals, corporations, and families around the globe to navigate life’s daily challenges.
While integrating education, consciousness, and coaching, Sue helps individuals to feel empowered, grow, and thrive. Her passion is to help people deeply connect to themselves, to their children, and of course, to the world around them, creating a brighter future.
What we will learn in this presentation or interview
Emotional intelligence is one of the most effective tools for strengthening our relationship with ourselves and with others. Emotional intelligence allows us to have the self-awareness to check in on our own physical and mental wellbeing, and gauge it in others. When we recognize and support our children’s emotions, it offers us, as parents and teachers, an opportunity to connect with and guide them. Ultimately, this helps our children become independent thinkers, feelers, and resilient problem-solvers.
Free Learning Resources: E-Book on Mindfulness
Session Title: Cultivating Emotional Intelligence
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Nicola is a British qualified teacher with a background in Special Educational Needs. She moved to Abu Dhabi with her family 5 years ago and has worked in several British schools since.
After her daughter was identified as autistic with a diagnosis of anxiety back in 2017, Nicola became aware of her own neurodivergence and gained a deeper understanding of the reasons she had battled with anxiety throughout her life.
Mindfulness not only became a vital tool to support her own well-being but one that she felt passionately about sharing with her family as well as with children in the community.
What we will learn in this presentation or interview
Nicola will talk about the importance of mindfulness for neurodiversity and how it has supported her on her personal journey with understanding and accepting her neurodivergent brain. Highlighting the benefits of a mindful approach to students and learning in the classroom that goes beyond a quick ‘mindfulness session’ and provides connection, acceptance, and trust.
Freebie: Mindful Magic Parent toolkit
Session Title: Mindfulness & Neurodiversity
Book: Currently working on my first book idea. Dear Teacher, it’s not me, it’s you.
Orla O’Sullivan • https://www.orlaithosullivan.com/
Orlaith teaches mindfulness and cultivating happiness internationally. She supports parents, teachers, children, and YA to take care of their hearts so that they can better take care of each other. She in the International Co-ordinator of Wake Up Schools, a movement founded by Thich Nhat Hanh to support mindfulness in education.
What we will learn in this presentation or interview
Discover practical creative exercises to explore feelings and how to take good care of them. With guided practices, coloring, and songs.
Session Title: Mindful Play to Care for Our Hearts
Free Learning Resources: Happy Minds, Loving Hearts
Anh-Le Ho-Gia • https://happiness-based-education.com/
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Anh-Le Ho-Gia is currently a Mindfulness Trainer and Consultant for the Yale- NUS College, Singapore. She is also a Co-founder, Curriculum Developer, and Teachers Trainer for Happiness- Based Education Schools in Vietnam. She has been active in building communities of mindful living in Singapore and Vietnam, co-organizing monthly days of mindfulness, biannual mindfulness retreats as well as facilitating weekly practice sessions for people from all walks of life, including children, young adults, teachers, parents, and also the general public. She has been passionate about cultivating happiness and well-being in education.
What we will learn in this presentation or interview
In this interview, Anh-Le Ho-Gia will share about her experiences of sharing Mindfulness and Compassion practices to cultivate calm, develop concentration, strengthen community connection in the contexts of higher education in Singapore, and pre-school & primary school education in rural Vietnam during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Session Title: Cultivating Calm, Concentration, Community Connection and Compassion in the Classrooms during the Coronavirus Crisis and Beyond
Priyanka Handa Ram is a social entrepreneur and author on a mission to transform how the world sees, cares for, educates, and protects young children. She does this through consulting work, programme innovation, and community initiatives, which encourage collaboration and responsibility – focusing on the most sustainable and scalable methods of Early Childhood Care and Education.
Free Learning Resources: Rainbow Play Approach
Session Title:
Book: A Tiger’s Tale
Wendy O’Leary • www.wendyoleary.com
Wendy O’Leary is a Health Educator, teaching mindfulness to children and adults and the co-author of Breathing Makes It Better, a mindfulness book for children. She has been teaching mindfulness and skills for emotional intelligence and regulation to children for 15 years including direct instruction with children in hundreds of classrooms, training teachers and non-profit professionals, and guest lecturing in College Education courses. In addition to her work with children, Wendy teaches classes on mindfulness for adults and works with them in a one on one capacity to support their practice.
What we will learn in this presentation or interview
In this session, you will learn a variety of practical child-friendly mindfulness techniques, ways to explain mindfulness concepts to children, and strategies to easily integrate them into the classroom or other settings. We will also discuss the 3 A’s of mindfulness, to better understand it, not simply as a group of techniques, but a way of being with our experience. This perspective supports a deeper capacity for cultivating emotional awareness and regulation in the classroom. Concrete tips for sharing mindfulness with children will also be discussed.
Freebie: The Breathing Song
Session Title: Mindfulness Framework and Practical Strategies for Emotional Awareness and Regulation
Book: Breathing Makes It Better
Drs. William & Monica Nicoll co-direct the Resilience Counseling & Training Center in North Conway, New Hampshire USA. They provide individual, family, and couples counseling (on site or online/telehealth), consulting services to schools and mental health organizations, and professional development training in resilience promoting strategies for teachers and mental health professionals worldwide. Bill has 50 years of experience in education and mental health as a teacher, counselor, therapist, and university professor with a specialization in the dynamics of the child/family/school triad. Monica brings over 30 years of experience as a counselor/therapist with a special interest in health and wellbeing promotion.
What we will learn in this presentation or interview
Resilience Based SEL adds the missing fourth ‘R’ to the education of children (Reading, wRiting, aRithmetic and Resilience). This presentation will focus on the essential four building blocks for fostering resilience and social-emotional wellbeing in youth as indicated by the research evidence. Practical strategies for parents and teachers will then be presented for each of these 4 areas so as to assist parents and teachers in collaboratively developing home and school environments that effectively foster psychosocial wellbeing as well as improved academic achievement in youth
Session Title: Resilience Based Social Emotional Learning: Building Home/School Partnerships
Free Learning Resources: Resilience-Based Social-Emotional Learning Activities for Parents & Teachers
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Iben Sandahl comes from Denmark and is an internationally-acknowledged public speaker, psychotherapist, and best-selling author of The Danish Way of Parenting and educator who wants to offer parents an alternative to high-stress modern parenting – equipping them with the tools and knowledge to raise confident, happy children. She has more than 20 years of experienced insight into child psychology and education, which most naturally, anchor the Danish way of practicing parenthood. Her books have been translated into 27 languages and she is a mother of two beautiful daughters, Ida and Julie.
What we will learn in this presentation or interview
In this interview, you will meet Iben Dissing Sandahl, whose job daily to promote children’s well-being in families and schools. She believes that all positive energy and development originates with us (the adult). Instead of making children wrong, too much, or labeling them, we should first work on our inner balance and acceptance of ourselves. That way, we ‘clean up’ in our old wounds to better meet children openhearted and in peace. This makes us better equipped to see and recognize them for exactly who they are, which is the optimal goal for everyone who deals with children.
Session Title: It Is All About Balance
Free Learning Resources: Do you want to raise happy children? Parent the Danish way HYGGE
Link: https://vimeo.com/400279366
Password: Happy_Childhood
Chrissy Mignogna • www.1000-petals.com
Chrissy Mignogna, BA, E-RYT-200 (Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher), Lead Trainer and Director of Education for MoveMindfully. She has trained hundreds of staff, parents, and counselors to use the Yoga Calm® and Move Mindfully® curriculums in daycares, schools, hospitals, and juvenile services. Chrissy currently trains and teaches in preschools/daycares, elementary schools, middle and high schools. She provides trauma-responsive yoga sessions for the child/adolescent mental health unit and dual diagnosis units at University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital and United Hospital in St. Paul and Minneapolis, MN
What we will learn in this presentation or interview
Discover the power of mind-body interventions for teaching co-regulation and self-regulation skills in early education. Learn simple BREATHE-MOVE-REST trauma-responsive activities for daycare, preschool, Pre-K, Head Start, and ESCE environments. Walk away from this session with practical tools for both you and the children you care for!
Session Title: Move Mindfully ® for Early Education: Introduction to Mindfulness, Movement & Social-Emotional Learning for Early Educators
Free Resources: www.move-mindfully.com/subscribe
Book: Early Education Card Deck
This newly created card deck is filled with beautiful, diverse images accompanied by developmentally appropriate language for teaching self-regulation to your youngest students.
Available in both English and Spanish versions.
Nancy Colier • www.nancycolier.com
Nancy Colier is a psychotherapist, interfaith minister, author, public speaker, and mindfulness teacher. A longtime student of Eastern spirituality, mindfulness practices form the ground of her work. She is the author of the upcoming Can’t Stop Thinking (New Harbinger, 2021), and also, The Power of Off: The Mindful Way to Stay Sane in a Virtual World (Sounds True, 2016), Inviting a Monkey to Tea: Befriending Your Mind and Discovering Lasting Contentment, and Getting Out of Your Own Way: Unlocking Your True Performance Potential (Luminous Press). Nancy is a national speaker on wellbeing, mindfulness and technology, and has been featured on Good Morning America, The New York Times and countless other media. She is also a regular blogger for Psychology Today and Huffington Post. In addition, Nancy spent 25 years as a top-ranked equestrian on the national horse show circuit and serves as a performance consultant to professional athletes and artists. She is available for psychotherapy, public speaking, workshops, mindfulness training, and spiritual counseling.
Session Title: Mindfulness and Resilient Thoughts
Maria Gehl • www.zerotothree.org
Maria is deeply committed to supporting early relationships with a spirit of nurturing and inquiry. In her current role, she does this through directing the Mindfulness in Early Childhood Project at ZERO TO THREE. Her current work focuses on increasing the understanding and use of mindfulness and compassion strategies in early childhood settings and parenting.
What we will learn in this presentation or interview
Mindfulness and compassion are being used more and more frequently in early childhood programs and spaces. And, these practices are being integrated into preschool and other early childhood settings in diverse and creative ways. Maria will share some examples from the field about different approaches for integrating mindfulness, and some helpful things to consider as you do this work.
Session Title: Sharing from the Field: How Early Childhood Organizations are Integrating Mindfulness
Free learning resources: Getting Started with Mindfulness a Toolkit for Early Childhood Organizations
Whitney Stewart • http://www.whitneystewart.com
Whitney Stewart is an award-winning children’s book author and mindfulness instructor for kids—toddlers to teens. She recently adopted her Mindful Kids card activities for kindness, focus, and calm to be accessible to toddlers in a new book series called Mindful Tots. These books tap into a toddler’s awareness of the five senses and of calming breaths. The series can be purchased online at Barefoot Books.
What we will learn in this presentation or interview
We will discuss how to introduce mindfulness activities to preschool children and why these activities could be helpful to you and to the children in your life. We will also dig into the activities themselves and explain how and when to practice them.
Free Resources: Mindful Tots: Loving Kindness, Mindful Tots: Tummy Ride, Fist Squeeze for Little Ones
Session Title: Mindfulness for Toddlers
Books: 
Priyanka Handa Ram • www.learntoplay.org
Priyanka Handa Ram is a social entrepreneur and author on a mission to transform how the world sees, cares for, educates, and protects young children. She does this through consulting work, programme innovation, and community initiatives, which encourage collaboration and responsibility – focusing on the most sustainable and scalable methods of Early Childhood Care and Education.
What we will learn in this presentation or interview
How can you bring mindfulness into your play approach? Mindful play is about using play to be completely present and aware of the process of play, how it makes children feel, and how children are being engaged. It’s also about the educator being more mindful and present. Playing mindfully helps to build connections, trust, important life, and academic skills – but most of all, it is a nurturing and fun way of being. In this session, we will talk about ideas for playing more mindfully in the early childhood classroom.
Free Learning Resources: Rainbow Play Approach
Session Title: Playing Mindfully
Book: A Tiger’s Tale
Abby Wills • shantigeneration.com
I’ve had the joy and honor of teaching mindfulness practices, yoga, and SEL in pre-schools since 1998. My training and certifications in Contemplative Arts coupled with academic studies in Human Development (BA + MA), Trauma-Informed Teaching, Education, and Social Change coalesce in an approach based on respect for diversity, cultural humility, and transcendent values.
What we will learn in this presentation or interview
Practice ways of playfully exploring awareness, co-regulation, and compassion through mindful movement, breathing, and visualizations designed to nurture the social-emotional needs of children and adults simultaneously.
Session Title: Move, Play, Be: Embodied Social Emotional Learning for Pre-Schoolers and their Adults
Free Learning Resources: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8BfzKU6b1SNmbOaqHaw_lA?view_as=subscribe
Jennifer Miller • https://www.confidentparentsconfidentkids.org
For twenty-five years, Jennifer Miller has worked with educators and families to help them become more effective with children through social and emotional learning (SEL). She is the author and illustrator of the book “Confident Parents, Confident Kids: Raising Emotional Intelligence In Ourselves and Our Kids” and her blog has more than 23,000 followers in 152 countries worldwide. She writes for popular publications and media outlets including NBC, PBS, Parent Magazine, and more. She consults with school districts and organizations, conducts research, and offers to coach families.
What we will learn in this presentation or interview
Learn to build on your preschooler’s superpower of pretend and dramatic play by weaving in lessons on managing big feelings, working through conflict, and modeling inclusion in play. Involve young children with their whole bodies in movement and connecting that movement to naming emotions to heighten their self-awareness and self-management skills. There are some simple pitfalls we, as teachers or caregivers, can fall into that take away from our children’s social and emotional skill development. We’ll address these pitfalls and how adults can hone their own social and emotional skills while supporting their children or students.
Session Title: Using Play to Teach Social and Emotional Skills
Book: Confident Parents, Confident Kids; Raising Emotional Intelligence In Ourselves and Our Kids from Toddlers to Teenagers
Alessandra Sollberger • https://www.toptierimpact.com/
Instagram • Twitter • LinkedIn
Alessandra Sollberger is a serial entrepreneur and an active technology investor. She’s the founder of Top Tier Impact, the global sustainability-focused ecosystem of leading investors, entrepreneurs, and sector experts. She’s also the founder of Blockchain Mavericks, the platform educating smart professionals on how to leverage blockchain technology to be part of the shift to capitalism 2.0.
What we will learn in this presentation or interview
How we can all be part of a new positive paradigm, where sustainability and equality are part of our institutions, our businesses, and our personal mindsets.
Session Title: How Can We All Be Part of a Sustainable, Positive Future?
Book: Blockchain Mavericks
Susan Verde • Susanverde.com
New York Times bestselling author, Susan Verde grew up in the heart of Greenwich Village in New
York City. Ultimately, she moved to the Hamptons where she earned a Bachelor’s degree in
Elementary Education and a Master’s in reading remediation and become an elementary school
teacher for many years. Now, Susan is an author capturing and celebrating the unique experience of children. Susan’s books continue to inspire children, educators, yoga practitioners, and mindful humans alike helping to cultivate empathy and kindness in all of us. In addition to writing Susan teaches yoga and mindfulness to kids of all ages.
Session Title:
Book: The Tossy Turny Princess and the Pesky Pea (out in April)
Olive Hickmott • https://olivehickmott.wordpress.com/ • www.empoweringlearning.co.uk • www.olivehickmott.co.uk
I am a Forensic Health and Learning Coach, author, and trainer. I am qualified in NLP, energetic NLP, and many other modalities. I look behind the behaviors of children, especially neurodivergent ones, to understand what is causing them. I am a world leader in understanding the role of mental imagery and particularly interested in how sleep, breathing, grounding, energy, anxiety, safety contribute.
What we will learn in this presentation or interview
Parents say that my work makes so much sense. I have learned from older children and adults about their experiences and extrapolated backward to shine a light on the world of small children, who are often non-verbal. Talking to a child, you realize more about their experiences, but repair for years of upset is much more difficult in later life. You can’t start again, this is where Empowering Learning’s experience is invaluable and parents can learn simple tools for themselves.
Free Learning Resources: Free training video
Session Title: I Wish I Had Known This When My Children Were Tiny
Book: The Elephants in the Classroom and Bridges to Success
Karen Power •
Karen is a Mum of two and a childcare professional for more than twenty years. Discovering how mindfulness and yoga supported her mental health she began bringing the tools to children and families. She is passionate about positive mental health and wellbeing for children. She is an Accredited International Mindful Practitioner, a 200 hour Yoga Teacher with a special interest in Trauma.
What we will learn in this presentation or interview
What would it be like to feel happy right now, with everything you have? Practicing gratitude can shift our mindset to appreciate where we are with all that we have. Yoga is a fun way to incorporate movement for children and families, especially in these times. It builds the mind/body connection to increase wellbeing and have fun.
Session Title: Gratitude Makes for a Happier Life
Rana DiOrio • https://www.sourcebooks.com/what-does-it-mean-to-be-series.html
Rana DiOrio has written her way through life—as a student, an attorney, an investment banker, an investor, an author, and an entrepreneur. It has taken Rana over four decades of healing, learning, and evolving to be in a position to write What Does It Mean To Be Safe? As a mother of three children, she hopes this title shows children how they can protect themselves and others and encourages caring adults to be ever mindful of their children’s safety.
Session Title: What Does It Mean To Be Safe During These Surreal Times
Free Learning Resources: Lesson plans for each of my titles
Dr. Elizabeth Joy Erwin • Contact Elizabeth: erwinel@montclair.edu
Join Elizabeth on an exquisite retreat to Bali in 2022: Deepening a Reflective Practice within the Ancient and Magical Lands of Bali https://baliinstitute.com/tour-item/bali-immersion-with-elizabeth-erwin/
Elizabeth Erwin, Ed.D. is a Professor of Education at Montclair State University where she prepares current and future teachers to think critically, reflect deeply and teach inclusively. Over the past 30 years, the commitment to inclusive education and equity in early childhood, particularly for learners with disabilities, has been the focus of her teaching and research. Just released, Elizabeth’s latest book “The Power of Presence: A Guide to Mindfulness Practices in Early Childhood” explores partnering with young children to promote justice in the world and peace within.
What we will learn in this presentation or interview
Engaging in conversations and inquiry with young minds promotes a greater curiosity to notice a world rich in difference. When we slow down and deepen an awareness together with children, we maintain a collective web of peace in the world as well as peace within. In this session, we will explore the use of mindfulness practices to elevate a greater sense of equity and inclusion to ensure that every learner thrives in the early childhood classroom and beyond.
Free Learning Resources: “What We Can Learn from Children about Mindfulness to Transform Our Learning Environments” 1-hour webinar (Scroll to the bottom to access free webinar)
Session Title: Intersections of Mindfulness and Peace: Tools for Strengthening Equity and Inclusive Teaching in Early Childhood
Book: “The Power of Presence: A Guide to Mindfulness Practices in Early Childhood”
Available from your favorite bookseller, Amazon, or Gryphon House (leading publisher in early childhood)
Dr. Ronald D. Siegel • DrRonSiegel.com
Assistant Professor of Psychology, part-time, Harvard Medical School; serves on the Board of Directors and faculty, Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy; long time student of mindfulness meditation; teaches internationally about the application of mindfulness practice in psychotherapy and other fields; is author of numerous books including The Mindfulness Solution: Everyday Practices for Everyday Problems; is professor for The Science of Mindfulness: A Research-Based Path to Well-Being produced by The Great Courses.
What we will learn in this presentation or interview
We, humans, crave certainty. Whether turning to the wisdom of ancient prophets or modern science, we want to know what the future will bring and how to keep ourselves and our loved ones safe. So it’s no surprise that during this time when our health and prosperity is in question, parents are stressed—and our distress affects our children’s well-being. Tune in to hear from a clinical psychologist with decades of experience working with families on how we can use mindfulness practices to weather these difficult times and support our children in the process.
Free Learning Resources: Free Video: The Science of Mindfulness
Session Title: Mindfulness Practices for Challenging Times: Pathways to Resilience
Book: The Mindfulness Solution: Everyday Practices for Everyday Problems
Peter Moses • https://www.themindfulexperience.com/
Peter Moses is the co-founder of The Mindful Experience LLC and a happy father of six children. His work and play through The Mindful Experience for Children includes on-site and virtual mindfulness classes for preschoolers, as well as school staff training in mindfulness and stress management. As a kids’ recording artist for the past 25 years, Peter has also integrated music & movement into his mindfulness curriculum.
What we will learn in this presentation or interview
Peter Moses will enjoy sharing many of the most engaging mindful practices and games that have had great success in both preschool and home environments. Through Peter’s work with The Mindful Experience for Children, he will speak about how praise & personalization, fun & empowerment can inspire kids’ meaningful participation in mindfulness. Resources will also be offered for teachers’ and parents’ self-care and for being great mindful models.
Session Title: Mindfully Engaging Preschoolers, Their Parents & Teachers
Mary Gordon • https://rootsofempathy.org/
Facebook • Twitter • Twitter • LinkedIn
Mary Gordon is an award-winning social entrepreneur, educator, author, and parenting expert who has created an international children’s charity, Roots of Empathy. The organization offers empathy-based programming to pre-schoolers (Seeds of Empathy) and to children in Primary and Elementary school (Roots of Empathy). Research from three continents confirms the impact of her programs and this is the fourth year Roots of Empathy has been acknowledged by HundrED as one of the most inspiring and impactful education programs in the world.
What we will learn in this presentation or interview
Using the lens of temperament to unpack children’s difficult behaviors removes frustration and increases appreciation for the uniqueness of each child. This session will provide a ‘no blame’ and ‘no guilt’ approach to reinterpreting children’s behavior through the lens of 9 temperament traits. Humour and kindness are beautiful traits in educators and this presentation will celebrate the positive influence of Early Childhood Educators.
Free Learning Resources:
Session Title: Understanding Children’s Behaviour Through the Lens of Temperament Video Series, Roots of Empathy COVID-19 Resource, Roots of Empathy Research Symposium Proceedings and videos
Book: Roots of Empathy: Changing the World Child by Child
Dr. Susan M. Pollak • Drsusanpollak.com
Dr. Susan Pollak is co-founder and senior teacher at the Center for Mindfulness and Compassion at Harvard Medical School. She is the co-author of Sitting Together and the author of Self-Compassion for Parents: Nurture Your Child by Caring for Yourself. She has been a practicing psychologist for over 30 years.
What we will learn in this presentation or interview
“So many of us feel that we have somehow failed during the pandemic—we wish we had been a better parent, a better teacher, a better partner, or that we had been more productive. This presentation will help you let go of some of these feelings of not being good enough and replace them with a sense of kindness, compassion, and appreciation for what we did accomplish.”
Free Learning Resources: Ten Percent Happier “Murderous Rage”
Session Title: Self-Compassion for the Pandemic
Book: Self-Compassion for Parents
Michelle Arscott • michellearscottbooks.com
Michelle Arscott ‘The International Kids Life Coach,’ 2020 award-winning life coach. Michelle works with both children and adults. She combines her coaching with mindfulness. She is a former Primary school teacher. Michelle is also the author of ‘Jake’s Joyful Bubbles,’ a story introducing two to six-year-olds to mindfulness and the concept of loving-kindness meditation.
What we will learn in this presentation or interview
Michelle will discuss how mindfulness can in fact change the world and help to foster loving and kind children, with reference to the home and classroom environment. She will specifically refer to the loving-kindness meditation and mindfulness gratitude activities with reference to her book ‘Jake’s Joyful Bubbles.’ She will give practical mindfulness examples and discuss how they can be successfully incorporated into the preschool classroom and beyond.
Free Learning Resources: Loving Kindness Meditation audio and scripts and gratitude activities
Session Title: The Loving Kind Classroom and Home
Mitch Abblett, PhD • www.drmitchabblett.com
Dr. Mitch Abblett is a clinical psychologist who has served as the Executive Director of the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy and for over a decade he was the Clinical Director of a Harvard-affiliated special education therapeutic school in Boston. He maintains a private psychotherapy and consulting practice (www.drmitchabblett.com), speaks nationally and internationally, and has published several books about mindfulness, professional development, communication effectiveness, and family mental health, including The Five Hurdles to Happiness (Shambhala Publications), The Self-Compassion Deck (PESI Publications), and the upcoming book Prizeworthy – How to Meaningfully Connect, Build Character and Unlock the Potential of Every Child, also with Shambhala.
What we will learn in this presentation or interview
In modern societies, our kids are raised in a paradigm of praise and blame. They learn from early ages to expect praise for doing adult-prescribed behavior and blame for being “bad” when they do not. To “prize” a child is to offer kids a present-moment-focused gift of adults’ presence. When adults drop their control agendas and connect with kids’ effort and healthy risking of meeting their own needs, kids move toward resilience and connective, creative capacity as they develop and grow.
Session Title: Prizing vs. Praise and Blame with Kids
Book: The Five Hurdles to Happiness (Shambhala)
Train Your Mind Like a Ninja (Shambhala)
Prizeworthy (Shambhala)
Cathy Daly • www.play-therapy.ie
Facebook •
Cathy Daly a Non-Directive Play Therapist and Children’s Creative mindfulness practitioner, facilitator of the Circle of Security program, trained in Filial Therapy and Nature Based Play Therapy. Cathy lives in Ireland with her husband and three girls. During this period of motherhood, she reignited her passion for the world of the woodland. She facilitates Nature-Based Parent and Child Mindfulness workshops with an added focus on nature connection and parent-child connection.
What we will learn in this presentation or interview
Participants will learn nature based ways to support creative awareness practices and
gratitude practices.
1.How to adapt the Mind Jar (moving from glitter to using materials that are nature
based to support our connection to the environment)
2.Why stories are useful to use for children and parents
3.What way to engage senses in the here and now in nature
4.What nature-based gratitude practices Cathy uses in the woodland
Session Title: Wonder in the Woods: Nature-Based Creative Mindfulness
Sonia Mainstone-Cotton • http://soniamainstone-cotton.com
Sonia works as a nurture consultant in Bath, Uk, with a small team called Threeways Brighter Futures, she supports four-year-old children in their transition from pre-school to school. All of these children find change very challenging. Sonia uses mindfulness with the children as an aid to support them. Sonia also writes books and delivers training.
Session Title: Supporting Young Children Through Change and Everyday Transitions
Mark Brown • www.ZenPigBook.com
Mark Brown is a writer and speaker who passionately helping others awaken to a life of purpose, presence, and intention. Born in Hampton Roads, VA over 30 years ago Mark Brown now resides in booming Nashville, TN with his wife Amy and son Noble.
Session Title: Zen Pig’s Mindful Journey
Dr. Rosina McAlpine • www.DrRosina.com
Dr. Rosina McAlpine is an author, parenting expert, trainer of early childhood educators, and co-creator of Parent Educator Partnerships. Dr. Rosina supports parents to successfully navigate family life and early childhood educators to develop the knowledge and skills to manage day-to-day challenges including emotional outbursts and keeping calm even in the most volatile situations. Managing more confidently means less stress and better outcomes for children. Dr. Rosina appears regularly in the media and her innovative evidence-based programs support parents and educators locally and internationally. Connect with Dr. Rosina at DrRosina.com
What we will learn in this presentation or interview
Helping your children manage their emotions – developing emotional intelligence
Whether you’re looking for strategies to deal with toddler tantrums or ways to manage emotional outbursts at home or at preschool, you’ll discover practical approaches to help children to regulate their emotions and create the foundations for emotional intelligence.
In this interview Dr. Rosina McAlpine, parenting educator and provider of continuing education to early childhood educators shares:
- What emotional intelligence is.
- Why emotional intelligence is a key skill for navigating life successfully.
- Strategies to help children learn to identify and regulate their emotions.
Free Learning Resources: Key Skills for Your Child for Life Success
Session Title: Helping Your Children Manage Their Emotions – Developing Emotional Intelligence
Hayam Yousef Salah •
ICF transformative coach, Emotional Intelligence, and mindfulness trainer. Working with individuals and organizations to encourage them to live their best life, release their potentials, and live in the moment. I believe that shifting the mindset from negativity to positivity is the key element to a better life.
What we will learn in this presentation or interview
The majority of women are forgetting themselves and their needs. They live other persons’ lives, their kids, husbands, parents, and so on. Unfortunately, they think or pretend that they enjoy this kind of life as others are happy and satisfied with what they offer them. Each and every woman should learn to put herself a top priority. Each and every woman should learn to say no. They should learn that when you take care of yourself, you will be able to take care of others.
Session Title: Self Belief for Parents and Teachers
Alexaraye Vallejo • themindfulcarecollective.com
Instagram • Instagram • LinkedIn
Alexaraye Vallejo is a women-led small business owner and CEO of The Mindful Care Collective. She is a child and adult mindfulness, virtual educator, and yoga teacher. She trains caregivers of
children, including nannies, daycare providers, and au-pairs. Her mission is to provide the next
generation with the social and emotional skill sets needed to thrive in our rapidly changing world.
What we will learn in this presentation or interview
Mindfulness Educator, Alexaraye Vallejo, will guide you on a path to success as you step
into your role as a mindfulness educator.
Create a long-lasting, consistent and enjoyable mindfulness practice in your classroom, home, and more! We will learn what steps to take before the implementation of teaching mindfulness, how to develop a classroom routine that works year after year for the children you care for.
Learn how to get past the big fears of implementing a classroom or home practice and start today!
We take our mindfulness education and put it into action in our time together.
Free Learning Course: FREE Subscriber Toolkit – packed with mindfulness resources for the whole family.
Session Title: How to Develop a Consistent Mindfulness Practice with Children in 5 Easy Steps
Dr. Christopher Willard • http://drchristopherwillard.com/
Dr. Christopher Willard (PsyD) is a psychologist and educational consultant based in Boston specializing in mindfulness. He has been practicing meditation for 20 years and has led hundreds of workshops around the world, with invitations to more than two dozen countries. He has presented at TEDx conferences and his thoughts have appeared in the New York Times, The Washington Post, mindful.org, and elsewhere. He is the author of Alphabreaths, Growing Up Mindful (2016) Raising Resilience (2017), and eight other books for parents, professionals, and children, available in more than ten languages. He teaches at Harvard Medical School.
What you will learn: Simple mind-body practices to boost concentration, compassion, creativity, and more.
Freebie: Animated Gifs and Videos
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Alphabreaths: The ABCs of Mindful Breathing
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Raising Resilience: The Wisdom and Science of Happy Families and Thriving Children
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Helle Katinka Gøtzsche • www.bornslivskundskab.dk
Katinka Gøtzsche, Master of Arts in psychology and dramaturgy. Chairwoman in the Danish Society for the Promotion of Life Wisdom in Children. Has been a high school teacher and been teaching children and adolescence mindfulness and how to develop presence, awareness, and empathy for several years. Is the lead trainer at the project: Stress-free Everyday Life for Children (SELF-Care), an education for school teachers in mindfulness and relational competence situated at The Danish Center for Mindfulness, Aarhus University ( http://mindfulness.au.dk/stressfri/#c77289 ). Teacher in a two-year International Education situated in Germany (www.trainingempathy. com)
What we will learn in this presentation or interview
To develop presence, awareness, and empathy in children it is necessary to work in two directions: 1) specific exercises that the children can do together and alone 2) building relational competence in the teachers being together with the children. Building relational competence is about being more empathic and compassionate with yourself and with your students. It is also about becoming more present in difficult situations, to help one remain in touch with oneself, even when feeling vulnerable and incompetent. A way to build relational competence is to practice mindfulness with a focus on what we call “the natural competencies” described in the Pentagon Model – that is body, breath, heart, consciousness, and creativity. The training is to bring your awareness inwards, ground yourself and the moment with whatever that that moment consists of. And to train to be able to both be aware of anchoring oneself through awareness of the natural competencies while also keeping an outer focus—being aware of what is happening around them in the classroom and in the children as well as what is going on within oneself.
Free Learning Resources: Training Empathy
Session Title: How to Develop Presence, Awareness, and Empathy in Children by Building Relational Competence in the Teachers and Educators
Book: Empathy: It’s What Holds the World Together
Dr. Laura Markham • www.ahaparenting.com
Dr. Laura Markham is the author of Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids: How To Stop Yelling and Start Connecting, Peaceful Parent, Happy Siblings: How To Stop the Fighting and Raise Friends for Life, and now her latest book, The Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids Workbook: Using mindfulness and connection to raise resilient, joyful children and rediscover your love of parenting.
Dr. Laura Markham earned her Ph.D. in clinical psychology at Columbia University and has worked as a parenting coach with countless families across the world. Over 130,000 moms and dads enjoy Dr. Laura’s free weekly coaching posts via email. You can sign up on any page of her website, AhaParenting.com, which serves up Aha! Moments for parents of babies through teens. Dr. Laura’s aspiration is to change the world, one child at a time, by supporting parents. The proud mother of two thriving young adults who were raised with her peaceful parenting approach, she lives with her husband in New York.
Session Title: Keeping Children Safe and Secure
Books: Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids Workbook
Mary Helen Immordino-Yang • candle.usc.edu
USC Faculty Profile: https://rossier.usc.edu/faculty/maryhelen-immordinoyang/
Company: The USC Center for Affective Neuroscience, Development, Learning and Education (CANDLE)
Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, EdD is a Professor of Education, Psychology, and Neuroscience at the University of Southern California and Director of the USC Center for Affective Neuroscience, Development, Learning and Education (CANDLE). She studies the psychological and neurobiological development of emotion and self-awareness, and connections to social, cognitive, and moral development in educational settings. She uses cross-cultural, interdisciplinary studies of narratives and feelings to uncover experience-dependent neural mechanisms contributing to identity, intrinsic motivation, deep learning, and generative, creative, and abstract thought. Her work has a special focus on adolescents from low-SES communities, and she involves youths from these communities as junior scientists in her work. A former urban public junior-high-school science teacher, she earned her doctorate at Harvard University in 2005 in human development and psychology and completed her postdoctoral training in social-affective neuroscience with Antonio Damasio in 2008. Since then she has received numerous awards for her research and impact on education and society, among them an Honor Coin from the U.S. Army, a Commendation from the County of Los Angeles, a Cozzarelli Prize from the Proceedings of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences editorial board, and early career achievement awards from the AERA, the AAAS, the APS, the International Mind, Brain, and Education Society (IMBES), and the Federation of Associations in Behavioral and Brain
Sciences Foundation (FABBS).
Immordino-Yang was a 2018-2019 Spencer Foundation mid-career fellow.
She served on the U.S. National Academy of Sciences committee writing How People Learn II: Learners, Contexts and Cultures, and on the Aspen Institute’s National Commission on Social, Emotional, and Academic Development.
https://www.aspeninstitute.org/publications/the-brain-basis-for-integrated-social-emotional-and-academic-development/
http://books.wwnorton.com/books/Mary-Helen-Immordino-Yang/
USC Faculty Profile: https://rossier.usc.edu/faculty/maryhelen-immordinoyang/
CANDLE’s website and social media:
Website: https://candle.usc.edu/
Follow CANDLE and tag us on Facebook and Twitter @CandleUSC and use #CandleUSC
Follow CANDLE and subscribe to our YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOIDZHj2EuBYP3fUPFLgr-g
Follow CANDLE on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/CandleUSC
Session Title: Emotions, Learning, and the Brain: Why Strong Relationships and High-quality Cognitive Opportunities are so Critical in Pre-school
Book: Emotions, Learning, and the Brain: Exploring the Educational Implications of Affective Neuroscience
Mariam Gates • http://www.mariamgates.com/
Mariam Gates is the bestselling author of numerous books to include Good Night Yoga, Good Morning Yoga, Yoga Friends, Meditate with Me and This Moment Is Your Life (middle grade) on yoga, meditation and mindfulness for kids of all ages. She has taught yoga and mindfulness for the past 20 years and created her signature training program, Kid Power Yoga which offers online courses throughout the world.
Free Learning Resource: Free giveaway for a book -all summit participants will be entered. Winner will be informed by email.
Session Title: Mindfulness for Young Children
Book – Breathe with Me: Using Breath to Feel Strong, Calm and Happy
Kira Willey • https://kirawilley.com/
Kira Willey is a children’s music artist, author, kids’ yoga and mindfulness expert, and creator of Rockin’ Yoga school programs. Her TEDx talk, “Bite-Sized Mindfulness,” can be viewed online, and her 5 CDs of children’s yoga songs have won Parents’ Choice Gold and numerous other industry awards. “Breathe Like a Bear,” Kira’s mindfulness book for children, is being published in eight international editions.
Free Learning Resource: Free Copy of Album Mindful Moments for Kids
Session Title: Music, Movement, and Mindfulness
Book: Breathe Like a Bear: 30 Mindful Moments for Kids to Feel Calm and Focused Anytime, Anywhere
Jody Johnston Pawel, LSW, CFLE • https://parentstoolshop.com
Jody Johnston Pawel empowers parents with a unique system and practical tools for preventing common challenges and finding individualized solutions to problems that fit their family’s needs. She knows the pitfalls to avoid and shows parents how small changes in their words and actions can produce dramatic — sometimes even miraculous — results that can help them have stress-free relationships in all areas of their lives.
Free Learning Resources: List of resources for parents to teach children anger/stress management:
Link to course I’m giving summit people for free with coupon
Use coupon code MINDBE to get it for free for 1 month from today (3/18/21)
Session Title: The Mindful Way to Tame Temper Tantrums
Book: 5 Easy Steps to Effectively Respond to ANY Parenting Challenge
Cynthia Hauk, MFA • https://mindfulcreativemuse.com
Cynthia Hauk shares calming Mindful Art activities and Teacher Training for Educators. Her online Mindful Art and Yoga Teacher Training (and upcoming Mindful Art for Kids Teacher Training) empowers parents and teachers with calming Mindful Art activities and for children. You can follow along with her YouTube Channel or learn more on her website at mindfulcreativemuse.com.
What we will learn in this presentation or interview
In this talk, Cynthia Hauk (Founder of Mindful Creative Muse) will share What is Mindful Art and the Benefits of Mindful Art. Cynthia will also share simple, calming Mindful Art activities Parents and Teachers can use for both themselves and children.
Free Learning Resources: Mindful Art Workbook for Parents and Teachers
Session Title: Mindful Art for Children, Parents, and Teachers
Chanie Messinger • Chaniemessinger.com
Master’s degree in Occupational Therapy from Long Island University (LIU)
Mindfulness Certifications
Currently, a doctoral student at Thomas Jefferson University focuses on an occupational-based mindfulness meditation training program for teachers
Adjunct Occupational therapy professor at LIU
International and local speaker
Published author Breathe, Breathe, Breathe
Session Title: Mindful Movement Activities for Kids
Book: Breathe, Breathe, Breathe..
Debra Burdick • www.TheBrainLady.com
Debra Burdick, LCSW, BCN, also known as “The Brain Lady,” is an international expert on Mindfulness and ADHD. She is an award-winning, best-selling author of Mindfulness Skills for Kids and Teens; Mindfulness Skills for Kids Card Deck and Card Games; Mindfulness for Kids with ADHD; Mindfulness for Teens with ADHD, ADHD: Non-Medication Treatment and Skills for Children and Teens; Mindfulness Skills Workbook for Clinicians and Clients Mindfulness Toolkit for Kids, and more. Visit www.TheBrainLady.com for more information.
You will learn:
- What is Mindfulness and what are the benefits for kids?
- Important things to consider when teaching Mindfulness to kids.
- How to do some Mindfulness Skills that are fun and improve self-regulation.
Free Learning Resources: 
Session Title: Mindfulness Skills for Self-Regulation in Kids
