Floral Park-Bellerose students learn about mindfulness

The Island Now

Second-grade students in Laurie Pappagallo and Alexandra Levine’s class at Floral Park-Bellerose School are being educated about mindfulness as part of their daily school routine.

Students recently colored a picture of a rainbow and the title “Rainbow Breaths” and glued it into their class notebooks. They were then given a small pamphlet with instructions on how to take a rainbow breath. Teachers explained to students that if they ever feel stressed or scared to take rainbow breaths. The class was encouraged to calm their mind and bodies by closing their eyes, to place their feet on the floor and picture a rainbow in their minds. The teachers then instructed the class to picture the color red, to breathe it in and then to breathe out any negativity they were feeling. The students repeated this exercise for all the colors of the rainbow. After the mindfulness activity, students discussed what they thought about during the exercise.

The Floral Park-Bellerose School District is concentrating on mindfulness this year in response to studies that reveal children are more vulnerable to stressors around them than adults. The district remains committed to fostering a safe learning environment that promotes social-emotional, physical and intellectual growth.

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