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Mindful Action

8/2/2018

22 Comments

 
Be Where Your Feet Are by Julia Cook: Aligning mindful action with mindfulness
Groceries to get, emails to respond to, to-do lists, phone calls to make - does this sound like your brain? Me too. It's the same for kids too. They are thinking about mom snapping at them this morning, the assessment coming up, what they'd rather be doing (lunch), what they should be doing, friend drama, home drama - the list goes on. We are in such a go, go, go moment in the world, it's no wonder that we are all kinda crushing under the pressure. 
Be Where Your Feet Are by Julia Cook: Aligning mindful action with mindfulness.
That's why I love the new book from Julia Cook, Be Where Your Feet Are. While mindfulness is the underlying concept for the book, it differs from other favorites because  it really focuses on mindful action. There is no sitting in a zen pose and deep breathing. I may be a yogi-wanna-be but I don't always want to zen out and, for some kids, I think this approach is much more relatable. 

Mindful Action

So what exactly is mindful action? I thought I made it up but a quick google shows some other great minds out there ;) When we are in action, particularly actions that are more rote or when we have high levels of feelings related to the action, our minds are elsewhere. We're thinking about the future, the past, the where-we'd-rather-be, or we are ruminating with self-talk about our feelings. 

What if we didn't? What if we thought about what we're doing? Say you're washing the dishes. It doesn't take a lot of thought and you might even have some strong feelings about the dishes or the people that left them for you. Thoughts are all over the place. Focusing on the actions that we are taking both in the mundane and in the intense can give our brains time to rest and allows us to do better.
Be Where Your Feet Are by Julia Cook: Aligning mindful action with mindfulness.

Be Where Your Feet Are

In the book, the boy has distracted thoughts all over the place that cause him to forget permission slips, mess up on a test, and play a different trombone song than the rest of the band. He can't focus long enough to do each thing well. His mom helps him to learn how to "be where his feet are." She suggests he breaks his time into chunks and give each thing all of his brain. 

It's a great perspective and I think kids will respond to the drawings and humor within the book. The text is slightly long for younger readers so you may have to support their attention with some "be where your feet are" practice. For example, on page 26 the book says "Give yourself a mindful moment and make your feet and brain a team," it might be helpful to take kids through a short mindful movement. I like to have students move slowly and feel the way that the air feels on their skin, the earth feels on their feet, and the words sound in their brain. Kids really like it too!

Be Where Your Feet Are also has a great solution focused counseling example when the main character's mom asked him about the one thing he had done well that day and helped him to find an exception to his area of concern. Overall, I think you'll really like it. In the next book, I would love to see Julia Cook add more racial diversity in her characters, especially the protagonists. You can see more about the book and hear from the author on the National Center for Youth Issues website and on her author page.

To celebrate the release of the book, NCYI has given me 3 copies to give away! Like all giveaways, members of the VIP list are automatically entered. If you'd like an additional entry, leave a comment below about Mindful Action. I'll choose a winner on Monday, August 6, 2018.


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Be Where Your Feet Are by Julia Cook: Aligning mindful action with mindfulness.
22 Comments
Veronica Lee
8/3/2018 03:14:46 am

Rebecca, I totally agree with your comments.The book looks like a great read needs more diversity among characters because that is the world we live in.

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Beth
8/3/2018 03:57:54 am

I love that this book gives concrete and visual examples for how to be mindful! I am focusing on mindfulness at my school for the 2nd year and this would make a great addition to my resources!

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Meredith
8/3/2018 04:48:04 am

This is awesome!! It’s such a new book I hadn’t found any reviews really. I can’t wait to use this book with the mindup curriculum! I think it will go well!

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Suzannah Cordas
8/3/2018 05:20:18 am

August 6th just happens to be my birthday!! hint hint!! I am working on incorporating Mindfulness into my lessons this year at school. I have been practicing for just over a year and it has really helped me in my own life and I can't wait to share with my students!! This book would be a great way to start!!

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Erin
8/3/2018 05:21:56 am

Thank you for sharing this information! Mindfulness is such a huge piece of our human development and maintaining mindfulness in our daily activities is a way to approach each day with a positive perspective. I am eager to read this book and share it with my students and staff!

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Amy
8/3/2018 05:28:33 am

There was actually a time when mindfulness practices (before that was the term for it) were considered "new age propaganda" and were discouraged by parents who were afraid their children were being brainwashed! I am so thankful that this attitude has changed. Mindfulness is beneficial for all of us!

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Ashley
8/3/2018 06:29:26 am

I’m starting slow with mindfulness this year by teacing it once a week in 5 of my 29 classrooms. This will be a great addition for a lesson!

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Ann
8/3/2018 06:47:53 am

Thanks so much for sharing this book. I will also be incorporating more mindfulness in my counseling this year and look forward to using this book as a concrete example of mindfulness.

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Denise latour
8/3/2018 06:53:30 am

I attended an SEL training at Berkley this summer and have intentions of incorporating mindfulness into my lessons. This book would be a great addition.

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Mae
8/3/2018 08:04:54 am

To be present where we are sounds so strange but in this day and age it’s so sad that it’s something that needs to even be addressed and taught.

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Hulyapat
8/3/2018 08:08:49 am

Thank you for sharing. I will use for myself, my kids and my students.

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Amanda
8/3/2018 08:21:58 am

Love this!!! I think it would make a really great teacher read aloud to kick off the year with (and by that I mean....I think perhaps I may read this book to my staff). I've tried incorporating small mindfulness pieces into my interactions with staff and students the past year....another great addition. Thanks for the review.

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Chelsie Gransee
8/3/2018 11:36:56 am

What a great new vocabulary--"Mindful Action". This appeals to me both personally and professionally more than straight mindfulness. Mindful action is something I can see myself using throughout my busy day to stay present, rather than taking an intentional break to stop and meditate. Both are great, but this allows me to stay in that place throughout the day. I think it will also help increase buy-in for students who hate sitting still and therefore mindfulness in the past hasn't been appealing to them. Thank you!

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Gina Lanz
8/3/2018 12:23:41 pm

Thank you for providing all of us go-to literature to help our kiddos!

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Ashley Bartley link
8/3/2018 01:18:20 pm

Thank you for this review! It would be a great kickoff to teach mindfulness, as I plan to wrap up (or maybe start?) each of my lessons with a short mindfulness activity at my elementary school. Thanks! ~Ashley (@counselorstation)

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Bethany
8/3/2018 03:52:18 pm

This looks like a great Mindfulness book. Thanks for your tips on how to actually utilize the book with students.

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Betty Ross
8/3/2018 04:53:13 pm

This sounds like a great book to use with my students and staff. Love the idea of mindful action.

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Chris
8/3/2018 06:37:26 pm

I’ve heard great things about this book! What a great resource to introduce mindfulness to little ones!

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Emily
8/3/2018 06:50:50 pm

This looks like a great resource and offers some reminders that we as adults can benefit from, too. I am really trying to work harder at being where my feet are and not just going through the motions!

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Brooke
8/5/2018 04:20:45 pm

I teach mindfulness, and the start up is usually a difficult process to get kids to buy in to practicing such an essential skill. This book seems like a great tool to use to help introduce mindfulness in a more exciting way for kids!

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Daniel
8/6/2018 12:09:16 am

Hey! This concept is something we are trying to add within our school. I love the idea of adding in "mindful action" to the daily life of the school. Thanks for the post.

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Chloe
11/3/2022 06:46:26 am

Please stop using Julia Cook’s books. They repeatedly use name calling, spread stigma, and overlook the hard work of children with neurodiverse symptoms.

There’s also racist comments, including negative references to curly hair, calling a black girl “bossy Bernice,” and a book about a brown boy who “always blames others” (yet, the white adults blame him for their mistakes)

I can provide specific examples if you would like.

Reply



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    Rebecca Atkins

    Welcome to my blog where I talk about all things school counselor and encourage others to Counselor Up!

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