Created and launched by Kinder Associates LLC in 2001, Wellness Works in Schools™ is an innovative evidence based health and wellness program based on mindful awareness (mindfulness) principles and practices. Taught by our team of teachers in numerous and diverse educational settings, the program responds to contemporary educational challenges by helping students develop the needed skills to address important issues like: stress, mental health, emotional balance, behavior and learning readiness.

Wellness Works in Schools™ is designed to motivate, educate and support students, teachers and families in developing the mental, emotional, physical, and social competencies to handle life's challenges healthfully, across school, home, work and community. Wellness Works embraces a whole person/whole child perspective and is grounded on universal health and wellness principles and incorporates mindful awareness, contemporary neuroscience, and executive function approaches to optimize strident achievement and behavior while supporting classroom teachers.

Our program offerings are strongly influenced by our training in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction and our continuing connection with the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care and Society.

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Mindfulness defined:

• To be Mindful…is to be aware or to be conscious in the present moment nonjudgmentally with compassion
  
• Mindfulness approaches (e.g. focused awareness, healthy breathing, mindful movement and relaxation) strengthen skills of awareness, focus, attention and concentration.
  
• By strengthening this inner locus of control, we foster greater mental fitness, emotional intelligence, and physical well-being to relate and respond to life's challenges, healthfully.

Student Programs

Wellness Works in the Classroom is generally presented in a series of sessions, each 45 - 50 minutes, with sequenced lessons (according to grade level and readiness). Students explore emotions, intentions, personal goals, resiliency, and problem solving skills. While appropriate for all students, the program effectively targets those with academic and behavioral issues (alternative and special education settings including autism, learning support, and emotional support).

Curriculum

Wellness Works in Schools™ objectives are reached through a series of active-learning classroom/group sessions led by Kinder Associates instructors where students experience various expressions of the following components:

• Group discussion of selected mindbody health and wellness topics e.g. handling challenging emotions, mental fitness, strength (inner and outer), the nature of anger, resiliency, hope, courage and more.
  
• Mindfulness skills (focused awareness, attention and concentration) to shift one's focus from external stimuli to internal awareness and sort out thoughts, emotions and impulses in a non-reactive way
  
• Healthy breathing promotes slowing down, calming and becoming present
  
• Mindful movements strengthen the mindbody connection by releasing tension and stress
  
• Rest promotes balance and stability
  
• Group reflection allows students an opportunity for inquiry and comment

Participation in mindful movement (sitting and standing) is voluntary, but students may not distract from the teaching or learning of others.

Over the fourteen years of teaching Wellness Works in Schools ™, we have reached over 8,000 children and adolescents, 1,200 classroom teachers and administrators, and created eight core curriculums with age-appropriate lesson plans. Continual updating allows meeting the need of students, teachers, and educational settings.

Teacher Training Programs

Teachers are experiencing an intensification of expectations, time pressure and emotional challenges in their classrooms. To respond, teachers need new skills and training to address these stressful mental and behavioral issues not only for themselves but for their students. To support teachers' personal and professional development, Kinder Associates offers two Wellness Works programs for educators:

• Wellness Works: Professional Development Workshops™ - Our Wellness Works Professional Development Workshops provide an introduction to mindful awareness principles and approaches that will strengthen the classroom teacher's skills to respond to their own stress and challenges. Conducted in 2-3 hour formats, these workshops are both informative and experiential.
  
  
• Wellness Works: Classroom Integration Teacher Training™ (CITT) This training consists of a series of sessions (generally eight or more hours) designed to assist teachers in deepening understanding and strengthening mindfulness skills (awareness, attention, focus and concentration). The classroom teacher accesses healthy ways to self-regulate, maintain inner balance and transfer these skills to their students and classroom environment. Classroom teachers and students gain emotional resiliency and improve performance in the face of academic, personal and social pressures.

Family Programs

In conjunction with Wellness Works in Schools™ programs for students and classroom teachers, Kinder Associates provides programs designed to promote mindful awareness in the family.

• Individual Wellness Works Instruction - In response to parent and professional requests, Kinder Associates offers individual Wellness Works sessions to support children and adolescents in handling stress, anxiety, and behavior. During these sessions young people work and practice at their own pace based on their own needs. Our experienced teachers provide individual support and mindful awareness approaches (healthy breathing, mindful movement and relaxation) to promote self-regulation and strengthen skills of attention to manage oneself across home, school, and community.
• Wellness Works for Families™ - tailored to individual school settings, the program is designed to share health and wellness information and practices relevant to handling challenges across home, school and community Students often encourage and enjoy sharing Wellness Works with their family members.
• Wellness Works for Mindful Parenting™ - Parenting can be stressful. This Wellness Works workshop offers family members the opportunity to learn and experience mindful awareness practices specifically related to parenting. Mindful awareness has been shown to deepen and enrich healthy connections both within oneself and with others fostering healthy personal, interpersonal and family dynamics.

Mindful Awareness and Somatic (movement) practices enhance self-regulation, attention, healing/recovery, and executive function skills.