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Exhausted? Stressed? These 5 Simple Habits Will Change Your Teaching (and Your Life!)

We probably don’t need to tell you that stress is a serious issue! Chat with nearly any teacher, and they’ll tell you that, despite the good aspects of their jobs, there is quite a list of stressors and things that can take a toll on their wellbeing and mental health.

Deep Roots, Strong Branches: Nurturing Resilient Learners

Everyone wants to help the kids in their life be resilient. But what are the practical things we can actually do to encourage strategies that can help young people cope with stress, handle disappointment, and develop a growth mindset?

Supporting children to sleep better is an important part of mind health – Grant Rix

Many of us are not getting enough sleep.

The power of “yet” and “and”

As educators and parents, we want our children and young people to adopt a growth mindset.

Smartphones are stressing out our children, but could they also support better mental health – Grant Rix.

For our children and teens, managing social media is like trying to take a sip of water from a fire hose. It’s relentless, overwhelming and unmanageable. It’s no wonder that a survey released in August shows that we’re more worried about the effects of social media than we’ve ever been.

Introducing Whaiwāhi Mauri Tau, by Pause Breathe Smile

Pause Breathe Smile is a mind health programme for children and is being delivered to over 140,000 children across Aotearoa. This year, for the very first time, it will be offered to kura and Māori medium schools in Te Reo Māori. This programme is called Whaiwāhi Mauri Tau.

Pause Breathe Smile: The Musical

Without a doubt, one of the most exciting, inspiring, toe-tapping, fun things a Pause Breathe Smile school has ever done is make mindfulness into a musical! And not just any musical—one performed by the entire school community, with stars, back-up dancers, hundreds of costumes, ten distinct scenes, a live 6-piece band, a thousand people in the audience, all in the beautiful Regent Theatre on the Octagon in Dunedin.

Sir Ashley Bloomfield officially joins with Southern Cross to promote good mental health and wellbeing for our tamariki

One of the questions Sir Ashley Bloomfield is often asked is ‘how did you cope with all the pressure you were under as the public face of the Covid response for Aotearoa?’ And it’s one he’s happy to answer as an example for how others can set themselves up for success in dealing with stressful situations.

Thankful for My Hands and Feet by Janel Atlas

I have a confession. You know the little mindfulness practice titled “Thankful for My Hands and Feet”? It appears in the Pause Breathe Smile programme curriculum in Lesson 2; it guides children to think of their hands and their feet and all the things those parts of their bodies help them to do.

Pause Breathe Smile has now reached over 100 thousand Kiwi Kids!

I am very pleased to announce that Pause Breathe Smile has now reached over 100 thousand Kiwi Kids! It’s a massive milestone. That’s about 1 in 5 tamariki aged 5 to 12 equipped with mind health skills. It’s exciting and incredible to have made it possible for so many young New Zealanders to learn mindfulness for free.

It’s a Wrap on Whakawhiti Kōrero!

It was a brilliant year for having smart, kind, and generous mindfulness teachers along on our six Whakawhiti Kōrero Sessions on Zoom!

Pause Breathe Smile trainings for Kura Kauapapa Māori and Māori Immersion Settings

Pause Breathe Smile has always been deeply rooted in Aotearoa’s bicultural identity, but this year we’ve taken some big steps toward ensuring that it is fully accessible for kaiako and ākonga who teach and learn in Māori immersion settings.

Creating Positive Change for Tamariki

Parents say they are worried about their children’s mental health. There is a mind health programme available free to all junior schools.

Whole School Approach

Pause Breathe Smile is a mind health programme designed to equip children aged five to 12 with tools to manage the ups and downs of life and set them up for a healthy future

Breathing with Fatigue: The Impacts of Covid on New Zealand Teachers and how mindfulness can help

Ask any teacher about wellbeing over the last few years and chances are, they’ll quickly describe the many challenges their learners face: disrupted routines, anxiety about Covid, decreased social interactions, and negative impacts on learning outcomes.