KIC Overview Transcript 

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- Lori: Mindfulness is really the awareness that comes from paying attention in a certain way. In this particular way of: How do I pay attention using my senses? How do I pay attention to others? How do I pay attention to these emotions that are happening and to perhaps learn ways to self-regulate. How does your body feel right now?

- Students: Happy!

- Does anybody feel sad right now?

- Students: No!

- The more a child is able to recognize how a feeling feels inside his or her own body, they're better able to recognize what might be happening for someone else.

There's that sense of, "Oh, I understand this," and maybe even that sense of, "I can do something here. I can maybe offer some care." So, we actually teach them how to offer this care to themselves, to others, to their family, to everyone in the world. 
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[class sings "May You Be Happy" by Betsy Rose]
♪ May we be happy May we be peaceful ♪

- The Kindness Curriculum is a series of lessons designed to support young children ages four-to-six. It’s 24 lessons, one lesson built on the other.

- Marci: The Kindness Curriculum has books. It's movement, it's singing, it's games, it's role plays, and so, it's fun. So, the kids associate mindfulness with coming to have a fun, engaging lesson.

- Lisa: Teachers might see students being able to find ways to calm down at times where, perhaps earlier, they didn't have that skill. Students are more patient, are able to wait, take turns. There is more of a sense of community in the classroom, more of a connection. Students better able to share with others, help each other, planting seeds of kindness throughout the day.

- The sooner we can integrate some capacities for emotional awareness and emotional intelligence to go along with academic demands in a school setting, the better we're going to be able to support kids to be ready for the content that they're being asked to attend to at whatever grade they're in, whatever level they're at.

- I think the biggest benefit is that it just becomes second-nature so that when they are in a situation where they're stressed or scared or mad or sad, they have these tools that they've already practiced, time and time and time again. Kids at every age want to do well, and they want to feel loved, and they want to show kindness, and so, when you can give them the words, you can give them the experiences, you can give them the safety. Then it just becomes second nature for them to express it for each other. It's really, really beautiful.

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