What if I told you that the number one thing... ...you should teach your kids was mindfulness? People from all walks of life have been drawn to the practice of Mindfulness. Those who use Mindfulness undoubtedly note its benefits on their overall well-being. However, most people do not discover these practices until adulthood. Which leaves us to wonder… What would happen if we put these tools in the hands of all children? GROW is the perfect book for anyone wishing to deepen their understanding of Mindfulness and how it can benefit the children in their lives. GROW thoroughly explores the topic of Mindfulness through the presentation of relevant studies, suggested practices, and effective ways to share it with children. Regardless of your title—teacher, parent, friend, neighbor—you have the ability to be a Change-Maker for yourself and others through the practice of Mindfulness. GROW shows you how. GROW contains a collection of clear and creative Mindfulness exercises. The exercises fall into five categories. Breath Practices, Movement, Sensory Experiences, Yoga Naps (Guided Imagery), and Practices for Brain and Heart Power. Offering Mindfulness through these five modalities keeps activities relevant, captivating, and transformative for all types of learners. GROW was written by three former classroom educators and current yoga instructors: Julie Strittmatter, Melissa Hyde, and Molly Schreiber. The co-authors contribute their own expertise, knowledge, and passion to produce an approachable understanding of Mindfulness. GROW shows how the simplicity of taking a few deep breaths can drastically change your day… ...and your life. Get it now. “My fourth grader has been involved with Challenge to Change since she was three years old. As she grew up with their program, the skills and lessons she learned at Challenge to Change have become integrated into her system; acting like a map for her body and developing brain to follow. Her default is to literally respond mindfully to situations that arise in her life, rather than react. I frequently find her independently breathing in meditation, entirely unprompted. Her self-awareness and empathy toward others is a dream--the kind every parent wishes their child to possess. At home, our Mindfulness practices have evolved into a shared language that helps keep our family life healthy and bright.” -Kristina Castaneda, Educator, Health Coach, and Musician, Dubuque, Iowa In this standout guide dedicated to "change-makers," Strittmatter, Hyde, and Schreiber tout the benefits, scientific and pedagogical, of mindfulness practice, with an emphasis on introducing it to children. What is mindfulness to these authors? Simply living as if "all that really exists is the present moment," without judgement, with self acceptance, and with greater control over how we move through life. Rooted in Schreiber's experience as a mindfulness practitioner who leads an in-school yoga and mindfulness practice, the text has been crafted to lead the reader both in developing a knowledge and understanding of mindfulness, applying it to the needs of young people (it can "help teens develop positive self-esteem and acceptance of themselves"), and in incorporating its practices into the classroom through clear, inviting routines. A practical handbook, Grow sets itself apart with its thorough, clear exercises and meditations. Extensive quotes and personal examples from practitioners describing their experiences of mindfulness provide some deeper context but can distract from the flow of the argument; line drawings help readers picture more complex examples, and the glossary of sketched yoga poses at the end will definitely prove helpful for those who need a brush up. A little over a third of the book focuses on the exercises, focused on movement, breath practices, sensory experiences, and more. Elsewhere, Strittmatter, Hyde, and Schreiber dig deeply into the benefits of mindfulness on an emotional, physical, intellectual, and social level, especially for young people. They argue that, as children's brains are still developing, it's urgent to learn emotional regulation and how to center yourself from people they can trust, and that the first step in teaching must be personal practice-children can detect insincerity and whether a teacher believes what they are teaching. Teachers and parents will find this a helpful guide to how to introduce mindfulness practices to their children -and why doing so is vital to emotional and social growth.Takeaway: Parents and teachers will find this guide to mindful practice helpful in teaching children and developing themselves. Great for fans of: Christopher Willard and Amy Saltzman's Teaching Mindfulness to Skills to Kids and Teens, Wynne Kinder's Mindfulness for Kids - BookLife Reviews Grow - Tending to the Hearts and Minds of Children Through the Practice of Mindfulness by Challenge to Change, Inc. is an essential guide for any educator,