{"id":13207,"date":"2025-09-19T14:56:16","date_gmt":"2025-09-19T18:56:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.childrenscenter.net\/?p=13207"},"modified":"2025-09-22T10:03:54","modified_gmt":"2025-09-22T14:03:54","slug":"the-seeds-you-water-growing-at-school-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.childrenscenter.net\/index.php\/2025\/09\/19\/the-seeds-you-water-growing-at-school-home\/","title":{"rendered":"The Seeds You Water (Growing at School & Home)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Guided Meditation\/Visualization by Amanda McFaul<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here at CCB, I have been using Guided Meditation\/Visualization for most of my nine years.\u00a0Despite my mother using the \u2018Body Scan\u2019 visualization with me as a young child who had\u00a0suffered with debilitating migraines, practicing yoga beginning in college and well into my 30s, it was actually a CCB family that introduced me to the book that I have replaced and gifted more than almost any other time in my career, Starbright by Maureen Garth. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A lifelong reader and naturally self-reflective person, I began putting the meditations and\u00a0visualizations from Maureen\u2019s book into practice immediately. Humans are storytellers by\u00a0instinct, by necessity and guided mediation is, to me, what most early stories must have been, a way to understand our bodies, our environment and the connection between those and the other humans in our circles. Early stories told children how to survive, what was safe to eat, why the natural environment did what it did, what to avoid, and how to behave.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Along with researchers and educational thinkers, we as teachers are realizing the damage of the Covid-19 Pandemic inflicted on our children. Studies, although few in scope, have alerted us to a troubling realization that many children are worse off since the pandemic. Social development and early language acquisition decreased due to an increase usage of screen time by caregivers. Developmental delays and behavioral disorders increased as children\u2019s educational and social needs were not being met by attending school online, even preschool, through a computer screen.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Children who are now turning 4 and 5 are becoming qualified for services that they would have gotten earlier if they were in childcare settings before the pandemic. Emotional regulation and ability to co-regulate is trending downward, and many of us who are at the front of the Early Childhood field are having difficulty meeting the emotional needs of children as we deal with our collective trauma. Some children are quicker to frustration and attention spans overall are lessening.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Post-Pandemic, I leaned into meditation more, with myself as I began navigating a world and new procedures that were supposed to be safer for myself and my community while simultaneously activating my trauma response, and with the children in my care. And they responded, with closed eyes, rapt attention, deep untroubled breathing.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although most of our research about meditation and its effectiveness primarily deals with the adult population, the limited research about meditation and children has thus far shown positive results. As meditation in adults is shown to lower blood pressure, decrease cortisol and stress levels, lead to better sleep, lower pain, enhance emotional regulation among other benefits, the benefits for young children are similar.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Benefits of Guided Meditation for Kids<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The benefits of meditation are numerous \u2013 both at home and in the classroom. And good habits early on can lead to a lifetime of well-being. Meditation can: <\/p>\n\n\n\n