Mindfulness in the Music Classroom

Last week I was teaching my 3rd grade students how to sing in rounds. One moment they were singing like beautiful angels, and then the next moment I hear a student shout to another student-”stop looking at me!”, and then another, “You looked at me first!”, and then another, “SHUT UP, GUYS!!” All of a sudden, within the span of 10 seconds the situation had escalated to a yelling match between students.

I don’t know about you, but somehow I get a few classes like this every year. There is a myriad of reasons they could be acting this way. Clash of personalities, something going on at home, academic problems, social issues, aggression, among other things. But one thing I do know is that they are defensive for one reason or another and need to regulate their emotions. Because, although I try to stay calm and strong, I can’t deny that this takes an emotional toll on me.

So, back to where we were in this yelling match between students. I immediately, and calmly, stopped what we were doing and had all students go back to their regular spots. I dimmed the lights and turned on this mindfulness meditation video (so far I have enjoyed using New Horizon’s videos, and Cosmic Yoga videos). I told them to try and close their eyes and focus on breathing. Not only did I tell them to do this, I JOINED THEM. Students follow the examples that they see. They need to see that yes, teachers do get frustrated, upset, and overwhelmed, but that they have coping strategies to handle their emotions.

I turned the video on for about 5-6 minutes and when they seemed to have calmed down, I turned the light back on. I had a small discussion with them about focusing on breathing when they feel overwhelmed or upset, instead of acting out or becoming defensive. Because of my experience with classes such as these, I have learned a lot of classroom management. For my free classroom management cheat sheet, click here .

After this, I split the class back into their groups to sing rounds and we continued with our lesson. When their homeroom teacher came to pick them up, she commented on how calm they were. I told her about my mindfulness break, and she said “Oh, I don’t have 5 minutes for that in my classroom.” And I said, “Girl, 5 minutes is worth a day of sanity.”

You have time. This is not only caring for your students, but it’s self-care. Mindfulness in the classroom is worth it. YOUR SANITY is worth it. Not only are you teaching students a coping skill, but you are gaining a classroom management tool. So, after this experience I’ve decided that from now on, with these 2 or 3 highly rambunctious classes, I will start each class with a 5 minute mindfulness practice and evaluating their emotions on my mood meter. For more ideas like this, you can check out my blog post on ways to incorporate SEL strategies in the music classroom. Remember that every class is different. I start most of my classes with an energetic welcome song. But I’m learning to be flexible and aware of the needs of each individual class.

Also, did you know that I’m in a band called Narwhals and Waterfalls and we create Social Emotional Learning songs and resources? Check out our music for more ideas on incorporating SEL into your classroom.

Do you have a mindfulness practice in your classroom? Or need to start one? What are you doing to keep the peace in your music classroom and in your life?

Keepin’ it simple,

Paige