{"id":33952,"date":"2025-09-26T00:01:32","date_gmt":"2025-09-26T04:01:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/?p=33952"},"modified":"2025-09-23T12:40:27","modified_gmt":"2025-09-23T16:40:27","slug":"one-mindful-minute-supporting-back-to-school-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/2025\/09\/one-mindful-minute-supporting-back-to-school-season\/","title":{"rendered":"One Mindful Minute: Supporting Back to School Season"},"content":{"rendered":"
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[Back to School Essentials: Free Stock Photos of Stylish Backpacks, Stationery, and School Supplies] \u2013 taken from [kaboompics.com]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Back to School season can be a huge transition for school-aged children. Summer adventures without routine or structure can make the classroom return difficult. There is an overwhelming amount of \u201cnew\u201d things to digest at the start of the school year: new teachers, classrooms, school supplies, classmates, friends, rules, school lunches, homework<\/em>, after school activities, \u2014 and that\u2019s just the beginning. Whether a child loves or hates the idea of returning to school, this change truly affects all across the board. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Public Libraries as the Third Space<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When it comes to school-related stress, a big advantage of the public library is that we are NOT school! We are in a unique position because we are a third space away from school and home. We can be a separate entity and offer support in a fun and low-stakes way that can make a lasting impact. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

During this time, it\u2019s important to remember that children may be struggling with behavior and anxieties as they adjust to their new routines. We should keep in mind that executive functioning skills like focus and self-regulation can decline over the summer. In this transition period, behavioral issues may be more pronounced and children may need more reminders to follow directions. If they are coming to the library directly after school, they may have an abundance of energy since they were following rules all day. They may feel more comfortable letting loose in the library.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With this background, we can be more aware and anticipate behavioral challenges before they begin. We can show up in the best possible way for our patrons, redirect behavior when necessary, and meet them where they are at. We can be a friendly face and provide them with a safe space during a time of change. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One Mindful Minute<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One way you can do this is by incorporating the concept of “One Mindful Minute\u201d. I have done this at the beginning of my programs and have found it helps children to focus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a nutshell, One Mindful Minute is a quick mindful exercise done with the group. It could be a minute of breathing, a grounding exercise, a gratitude share, an emotions check-in, a stretch, an imaginative exercise, and more. It can really be anything you think of to get your group focused and present in the here and now. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To prepare for my own Mindful Minutes, I curated a repository of activities in a slideshow for myself to reference. For digital activities such as breathing videos, I embedded them within the slide with the goal of projecting the screen to children. I designed the slides so that they could be used in multiple ways: as a personal reference to keep everything in one place, or as a visual aid to project on a board or screen for children to follow along. It really depends on what kind of activities you would like to try for your Mindful Minutes! See the below screenshot for an example of the simple design and layout I used: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Image created by Joannie Lauria, ALSC member<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are more ideas to include in your Mindful Minutes that you could adjust and modify to fit your needs: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • Breathing videos<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Using a \u201cbreathing ball\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • 5-4-3-2-1 Grounding<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Compliment Call-Out!<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Gratitude Share<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • High\/Low Reflection<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Affirmation of the Day<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Joke of the Day<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    Once regular patrons get into the groove of expecting Mindful Minutes, they know what to do and the flow gets even better. They know that before we start, we have to be mindful. This can help children have some structure while instilling an important practice.
    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Joannie Lauria is the Youth Services Consultant at the Suffolk Cooperative Library System in New York. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Back to School season can be a huge transition for school-aged children. Summer adventures without routine or structure can make the classroom return difficult. There is an overwhelming amount of \u201cnew\u201d things to digest at the start of the school year: new teachers, classrooms, school supplies, classmates, friends, rules, school lunches, homework, after school activities, \u2014 and that\u2019s just the beginning. Whether a child loves or hates the idea of returning to school, this change truly affects all across the board. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":420,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[38,1607],"tags":[786,3057,611],"class_list":["post-33952","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-programming-ideas","category-programming-skills","tag-back-to-school","tag-mindful","tag-mindfulness"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33952","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/420"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33952"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33952\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33952"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33952"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alsc.ala.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33952"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}