Calm - Free for Teachers
My original thought was to focus this Friday Five on things to love. Ideas I had included collaboration tips to "love your colleagues," device tips to "love your computer," and, of course, lms tips to "love Canvas." However, writing this in the aftermath of the most recent school shooting, made it clear that an entire post about a free tool that can help us all relieve stress, build resiliency, and increase patience was far more timely. Calm is an iOS, Android, and Web App that provides individuals with guided meditation and mindfulness exercises.The Calm School Initiative is working to provide this powerful tool free to every teacher in the world.
The Atlantic published this article that describes many of the benefits of mindfulness in schools. Included in the piece is a discussion of the growing body of scientific reasearch on the postive effects of mindfulness including improved attention, reduction of stress, and a growth in "capacity of compassion and empathy."
For more information on how to get your free access to this powerful tool, click here.
We will continue to keep the entire Parkland community in our thoughts.
* I made the Valentine's graphic with Canva. Canva is an awesome and (mostly) free graphic design web tool.
