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Building Mindful Classrooms Basics

On-Demand • Online • 1 PD Hour

Head Start staff play a critical role in supporting the social and emotional development of the children in our programs. This course is an introduction to MindUp’s evidence-based program to help children reduce their stress, self-regulate their emotions, increase their ability to learn, and improve their overall mental fitness.

Each year, younger and younger children are showing signs of elevated depressive symptoms. MindUp helps children thrive by learning to self-regulate, manage their emotions, find calm and focus, have an optimistic outlook, and see positive possibilities for themselves and their community. MindUp’s program is a universal, evidence-based program grounded in four pillars:

  • Neuroscience
  • Mindful awareness practice
  • Positive psychology
  • Social and emotional learning (SEL)

Join us to learn strategies to support the social and emotional development of the children in your care, enhance their overall well-being, and ensure they are meeting the developmental milestones in the Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework (ELOF). 

This course includes a Parent Guide to help disseminate best practices with your community. It is available in multiple languages and can be shared with Head Start families!

Start Date: 

Pre-registration is open! The course will be available on-demand starting Fall 2023.

Course Level: 

Beginner

Requirements/Prerequisites:

  • None

Target Audience:

Instruction and Effective Practice, Parents and Families, Support Services

Course Meeting Times:

None

Completion Timeline/Duration: 

One-month

Head Start Alignment:

This course supports programs in meeting 1302.31 Teaching and the learning environment of the Head Start Program Performance Standards (HSPPS) in which a program must “ensure teachers and other relevant staff provide responsive care, effective teaching, and an organized learning environment that promotes healthy development and children’s skill growth aligned with the Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework: Ages Birth to Five, including for children with disabilities.”

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Download the Syllabus:

Rachel Hutchison

Rachel Hutchison is the Manager of Online Instructional Design at the National Head Start Association (NHSA). In this role she oversees the design and management of 100+ online courses for the Academy at NHSA. In 2021, Hutchison launched NHSA in the Classroom, an initiative that aims to increase access to world-class arts and educational resources through virtual programming. Rachel earned her bachelors in writing and communication at Concordia College in Moorhead, MN and her masters in creative writing at Harvard University in Cambridge, MA. Rachel grew up in Havre, Montana and enjoys puppetry, music, and hiking.