FOFBOC and Beditation at 8-13

This week saw Lesson Three of the J1s 10-week classroom-based mindfulness course. The course, known as .b (dot-be), is provided by the Mindfulness in Schools Project (MiSP) which is the most established provider of mindfulness training for UK Schools.

The pupils are developing great mindfulness skills and are being encouraged to practise these at home. Earlier lessons saw classes exploring how it is possible to train your mind, direct attention and comparing learning these skills to training a puppy and taming wild animals! Just like training an animal, kindness to yourself, curiosity, and patience are very important.

Sessions start with FOFBOC, where Feet on Floor, Bum on Chair, is used to help anchor the mind in the present moment. In session 3, Mr Draper talked to the children about worries, and how overthinking and ruminating can keep you from sleeping at night. The children were confident in sharing their worries, which helped others in the class to admit that they had the same concerns. Mr Draper then taught them about ‘Beditation’, to help them to calm their mind to get that all important rest. He described mindfulness to them as a life skill, and one that they could use now, but one that would also be important later in life too, as worries become bigger.

To practice, the children all lay on the floor (after a lot of shuffling and wiggling!) and lay very still. Mr Draper took them though the ‘Beditation’ exercise, focusing on their breath and noticing each part of their body individually. The room fell silent as the children relaxed into the activity, and we had a few sleepy eyes when they had to come back into the room! It was a great example of how they can calm their mind before bed and push the worries away.