Join us for a special class designed for "littles," children ages 6-8, to explore the world of Mindfulness. Mindfulness, as defined by professor of medicine, Jon Kabat-Zinn, is the art of paying attention in a specific manner: intentionally, in the present moment, and without judgment. Our goal is to teach our "littles" the gentle practice of being present with themselves in the here and now, fostering kindness and awareness.

This class seeks to introduce one of the potentially strongest applications of mindfulness, focusing on the awareness of emotions. Before the complex years of adolescence, we can help the "littles" in our lives to identify and verbalize and acknowledge seven of the most common emotions. Using literature and a series of activities, this practice lays the basis for identifying and verbalizing the emotion being felt.

Please note: This class seeks to unite children with their caregivers, and all children must be accompanied by an adult for the duration of the class.  

Instructor bio: Wendy Parchment-Chan began her own journey into Mindfulness in 2015, with an 8-week Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Course. This course proved to be life changing and so began the deepening of her meditation practice. With a teaching career that began with a Masters in Early Childhood Montessori Ed, she later transitioned to being a Kindergarten public school teacher, which proved to be very different from the world of Montessori.  Each passing year, saw more and more emphasis on standardized testing and students came to school less emotionally ready. With testing stressors beginning earlier and earlier, many students came to Kindergarten unprepared for academic learning and the need to teach more than mere academics became clear. She became a Certified Mindfulness Instructor (CMI) with Mindful Schools, in 2018. Mindful Schools, based in California, has trained over 70,000 educators and is a leader in the field of training of educators in Mindfulness. Mrs. Parchment-Chan found Mindfulness so personally life changing that she wondered what life could be like, for the child, who having learnt Mindfulness early enough, had a lifetime to practice. How could their life improve with this life skill? This continues to be her mission, one child at a time.