Welcoming/Inclusion Activities 

Welcoming Inclusion Activities are brief, interactive experiences that bring the
voice of every participant into the room, making a connection to one another
and/or to the work ahead, with each perspective-laden, culturally-rich voice being
heard, respected and learned from. The more we fully share ourselves and are fully
received and understood by others, the stronger and safer our learning
environments become. Growing knowledge of and appreciation for our groups help
ensure that we will provide opportunities to welcome people in the ways they need
and want to be included.

Psychologist Barbara Fiese explains that routines are a way of communicating “this
is what needs to be done,” while rituals symbolically communicate the idea that
“this is who we are” as a group, providing continuity in meaning across time.

Access the full PDF version here.

 

Ivy ChildWelcoming/Inclusion Activities 

CASEL

CASEL is transforming American education through social and emotional learning.

The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) defined SEL more than two decades ago. Today, they collaborate with leading experts and support districts, schools, and states nationwide to drive research, guide practice, and inform policy.

CASEL Cares – SEL Resources During COVID-19.

Ivy ChildCASEL

Black Lives Matter

We seek accountability for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and the innumerable Black lives lost due to the horrific systems of oppression that are prevalent in our world today. As an organization and as people of color, we value and are devoted to our diverse communities and continue to serve through our programs and offerings that focus on equity and breaking down systemic imbalances. As we stand in solidarity and work to create spaces for healing for all, we wish to honor our front line activists who are tirelessly fighting to bring about structural change. We wish to contribute by sharing the importance of building more spaces for real conversations together that result in action. Abundant thanks to Craig Martin for offering a heartful conversation with our community on Mindfulness and Racial Justice.
 
 
 
Ivy ChildBlack Lives Matter

Mindfulness and Racial Justice with Craig Martin

Abundant thanks to Craig Martin for offering a heartful conversation with our community on Mindfulness and Racial Justice.

Craig is a 2018 National Distinguished Principal and Massachusetts Elementary Principal of the Year and 2009 Boston Public Schools’ Educator of the Year, currently serves as the Executive Director of Bridge Boston Charter School in Roxbury, MA.

In six years as Proud Principal of the Michael J. Perkins School, with strategic professional development, partnerships, and investments in socio-emotional learning, culturally responsive pedagogy, trauma-informed practices, mindfulness, 21st Century technology skills development, blended learning, and social media presence, the Michael J. Perkins’ School student achievement has improved over 320% leading to reversals in achievement gaps among English Language Learners and Latino American Learners, a 50% reduction in suspensions, a 25% decline in chronic absenteeism all while being named a 2019 Semi-Finalist for the Edvestors’ School on the Move Prize.

Resources From Session:

https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/144/2/e20191765#sec-11

https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2020/05/9841649/allyship-ahmaud-arbery-george-floyd

https://www.colorlines.com/articles/4-self-care-resources-days-when-world-terrible

http://craigcmartin.weebly.com/craigs-blog/may-31st-2020

https://youtu.be/e257BL851Uw – Dr. Brene Brown Video
Ivy ChildMindfulness and Racial Justice with Craig Martin

5 Steps to Bring You Back to Center

This workshop will focus on 5 Steps to Bring You Back to Center. Participants will explore various wellness tools and techniques to revitalize and reconnect to their center and find the balance they need to renew and serve others. Tools and techniques include Breath-Work, Meditation, Self-Compassion, Movement and Creativity.

The workshop was led by Maya Breuer and Kiesha Battles.

Maya has almost 3 decades of experience and has been a trailblazer in making mindfulness and yoga more inclusive and accessible for people of color. Kiesha is a Yoga Trainer and Self-Care Charlotte North Carolina Ambassador. She promotes self-care for the purpose of nurturing healthy lives and relationships for individuals, families, and communities.

 

Ivy Child5 Steps to Bring You Back to Center

Insight Timer App

Insight Timer

One of the top rated meditation app. Guided meditations and talks led by the world’s top meditation and mindfulness experts, neuroscientists, psychologists and teachers from Stanford, Harvard, the University of Oxford and more. Music tracks from world-renowned artists. Join millions learning to meditate on Insight Timer to help calm the mind, reduce anxiety, manage stress, sleep deeply and improve happiness.

Try the app here.

Ivy ChildInsight Timer App

The Inner Work of Racial Justice by Rhonda V Magee

The Inner Work of Racial Justice
Healing Ourselves and Transforming Our Communities Through Mindfulness.
Law professor and mindfulness practitioner Rhonda Magee shows that the work of racial justice begins with ourselves. When conflict and division are everyday realities, our instincts tell us to close ranks, to find the safety of our own tribe, and to blame others. The practice of embodied mindfulness–paying attention to our thoughts, feelings, and physical sensations in an open, nonjudgmental way–increases our emotional resilience, helps us to recognize our unconscious bias, and gives us the space to become less reactive and to choose how we respond to injustice.

For victims of injustice, embodied mindfulness calms our fears and helps us to exercise self-compassion. Magee shows us how to slow down and reflect on microaggressions–to hold them with some objectivity and distance–rather than bury unpleasant experiences so they have a cumulative effect over time. She helps us develop the capacity to address the fears and anxieties that would otherwise lead us to re-create patterns of separation and division.

It is only by healing from injustices and dissolving our personal barriers to connection that we develop the ability to view others with compassion and to live in community with people of vastly different backgrounds and viewpoints. Incorporating mindfulness exercises, research, and Magee’s hard-won insights, The Inner Work of Racial Justice offers a road map to a more peaceful world.

You can purchase the book here.

Ivy ChildThe Inner Work of Racial Justice by Rhonda V Magee

The Mindful Athlete by George Mumford

Michael Jordan credits George Mumford with transforming his on-court leadership of the Bulls, helping Jordan lead the team to six NBA championships.

Mumford also helped Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal, and Lamar Odom and countless other NBA players turn around their games. A widely respected public speaker and coach, Mumford is sharing his own story and the strategies that have made these athletes into stars in The Mindful Athlete: The Secret to Pure Performance. His proven, gentle but groundbreaking mindfulness techniques can transform the performance of anyone with a goal, be they an Olympian, weekend warrior, executive, hacker, or artist.

You can purchase the book here.

Ivy ChildThe Mindful Athlete by George Mumford