Awakening Joy for Kids: A Hands-On Guide for Grown-Ups to Nourish Themselves and Raise Mindful, Happy Children

by James Baraz, Michele Lilyanna

Overview

Awarded the 2016 Nautilus Gold Medal for Parenting and Family!

Spirit Rock founder, author, and teacher James Baraz’s Awakening Joy offers his large and devoted readership a program to gain contentment and happiness by cultivating the seeds of joy within. Here he joins with Michele Lilyanna, a classroom teacher for 25 years, to offer caregivers and children ways to find joy in each day together.

This unique offering nourishes both adults and kids. James shares the practices for the adults—parents, caregivers, and teachers. Michele offers her own experiences as a parent and as a teacher, showing how the themes work with kids, followed by the tried and true lessons that she's used herself in the classroom and at home.

Packed with practices and activities that James and Michele have gathered over their many years of working with thousands of adults and children in retreats, workshops, and the classroom, Awakening Joy for Kids is imbued with compassion and delight. Part of Parallax Press' growing curriculum for parents and educators designed to cultivate joy and mindfulness in children.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781941529294
Publisher:	Parallax Press
Publication date:	08/09/2016
Sold by:	Penguin Random House Publisher Services
Format:	eBook
Pages:	304
File size:	10 MB

About the Author

James Baraz has been a meditation teacher since 1978. In 2003 he created the Awakening Joy course, which he teaches at the Omega Institute, Esalen Institute, and other venues across the United States and abroad. He is co-founding Teacher of Spirit Rock Meditation Canter in Woodacre, California, and author, with Shoshana Alexander, of Awakening Joy, the book based on the course. Early in his life, James was an elementary school teacher in Astoria, Queen for 12 years. James lives in Berkeley, California with his wife, Jane. He has two sons and three grandchildren.

Michele Lilyanna has taught in the public education system for the past 25 years, although all of her principals have described her as "out of the box" and out of the building with her students! For most of that time her focus has been social and emotional learning. When Michele is not teaching parents, educators, or children, you will find her awakening joy on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia with her partner Peter and her two sons.

Read an Excerpt

Introduction

Setting Intention

One of the most powerful practices we can do is set intention. Setting intention is akin to putting the rudder on a boat to guide in stormy weather. It is also like using a map when going on a road trip. With either tool, you can change direction when you feel the need but you are on the lookout for a clear pathway to get you where you want to go.

Here is a story of a young student in my classroom that demonstrates the usefulness and power of setting intention as a daily practice. Nigel, a boy of eight, had a very difficult time socially. Every day there was an issue on the playground or a tussle in the classroom. He would go home and say, "Nothing good happens—ever." As you can well imagine, his parents were very worried. They would wait for his daily report on how bad things were and become agitated and scared. They came in after school sharing their frustrations and concerns. Both parents wondered if they should pull him out of school and teach him at home. They worked, so this option was not viable.

Along with other daily mindfulness practices, each day I worked with him to write in his journal one small thing that was good or brought him joy. Slowly his story changed. Bit by bit he acknowledged moments of joy and they started to build into something greater that he could write about in his journal. One day he filled a whole page. I also had him set intention for his day: To look out for the good things, like when another child asked him to play or asked him to be a partner in an activity. Lo and behold, when he paid attention, he saw that he was asked to partner and small things did go his way. When class-sharing time came, he was able to voice a special moment and smile. He expressed that everything wasn’t bad and he had shared good moments with peers in the room. The other children shared they had fun with him too. I saw him light up when he heard this mutual joy. At the end of the year, he decided to stay at the school as he had so many friends to play with at recess.

I also worked with the parents and suggested that instead of looking for a report of the bad things, they might ask him what was one good thing that happened. This reinforced and helped their son remember that there were good moments in the day.

I can’t say every day became easy for him or that all his struggles were gone, but he began to notice good things happen and he learned to set intentions to look for the positive rather than the negative. This chapter offers you a variety of ways to set intention with yourself and your family. For teachers, the lessons easily translate into morning classroom practices. We invite you dive in and try these practices while noticing the difference that finding the "good" makes in your days.

Table of Contents

Introduction



How to Use This Book



Step One-Intention

• Activity 1: Setting Intention (Inclining the mind)

• Activity 2: Shredder - Moving From What We Don’t Want To What We Do Want

• Activity 3: Cup Of Water



Step Two-Mindfulness- The Heart Of It All

• Activity 1: Starting a Practice Of Their Own

• Activity 2: *Mindfulness Through The Eyes Of A Child

• Activity 3: Puppy Mindfulness

• Activity 4: Weaving in the good- Craft

• Activity 5: Magical Cave- Guided Journey



Step Three-Gratitude

• Activity 1: Arrows Of Gratitude

• Activity 2: Planting Seeds

• Activity 3: Gratitude Flags

• Activity 4: Years of Gratitude



Step Four-Joy in Difficult Times

• Activity 1: Building Muscles To Use In Difficult Times

• Activity 2: Shine The Spotlight On The Positive

• Activity 3: Happy Memories



Step Five-Integrity?

• Activity 1: Through the Veils
• Activity 2: Cutting The Cords Of Wrong Doing

• Activity 3: Family Breathing



Step Six-The Joy of Letting Go?

• Activity 1: The Power Of Touch

• Activity 2: Blow It Away

• Activity 3: The Emotional Embodiment Of Deep Relaxation



Step Seven-Loving Ourselves?

• Activity 1: Loving ourselves just as we are

• Activity 2: Being My Own Best Friend

• Activity 3: Celebrating who we are with a family bead necklace

• Activity 4: Pen Pals



Step Eight-Connection with Others?

• Activity 1: Sparkles - Acknowledging One Another

• Activity 2: Ten ways to play again

• Activity 3: Building Community And Connection

• Activity 4: Sticky Friendships



Step Nine-Compassion

• Activity 1: Self Compassion

• Activity 2: Mindful Tea

• Activity 3: Full Moon Nights

• Activity 4: Awakening Listening



Step Ten-The Joy of Being: Embrace Life

• Activity 1: Fairy Garden and Leaf People

• Activity 2: Stone Soup: Celebrating Life

• Activity 3: Joy Through The Lens Of A Camera

• Activity 4: In Service

Editorial Reviews

“Awakening Joy for Kids is an extraordinary gift for parents, teachers, and most especially for our children. James Baraz and Michele Lilyanna offer simple yet powerful teachings, which have the potential to transform our individual and collective lives. I highly recommend this book!”
—Shauna Shapiro PhD, Mindful Discipline and The Art and Science of Mindfulness

“This is a magical book. Like the Nutra-Grow we put on our plants to help them bloom, these practices really make Joy and Wisdom grow! What a wonderful nurturance for our children. “
—Jack Kornfield, PhD, The Wise Heart
 
“This beautiful book goes straight to the heart, so rich with simple, powerful, practical things that children and adults can do to grow real and lasting resilience, compassion, and joy inside themselves.”—Rick Hanson, PhD, Hardwiring Happiness and Just One Thing
 
“Awakening Joy For Kids is a treasure trove filled with creative, wise, accessible, and engaging practices, that’ll nourish you and the children in your life. Don't wait; start practicing now!”
—Dawn Scott, Family Program Coordinator, Spirit Rock Meditation Center, Woodacre, California

“Chock full of easy and practical suggestions for finding joy — and peace! — as a teacher or parent, for helping children develop the skills they need for their own happiness. James Baraz is one the most important and inspirational happiness teachers alive today; if you have children or work with them, don’t miss this terrific collaboration with master teacher Michele Lilyanna.”— Christine Carter, PhD, Raising Happiness and The Sweet Spot, Senior Fellow, Greater Good Science Center
 
“The lessons throughout Awakening Joy for Kids are timely as well as timeless. Knowing what brings true happiness, ease, and well-being is an important wisdom to be passed on to next generations. Awakening Joy for Kids has gifted parents and educators with a fun and accessible guide to teach our kids the social and emotion skills they need to live fuller, well-rounded lives. “—Kate Munding, Founder of Heart-Mind Education, creating mindfulness training for teachers
 
“Awakening Joy for Kids is the new ‘go-to’ resource to help parents and teachers help children manage fears and worries and develop a deep inner wellspring of well-being. These lessons are fun, playful, practical, and easily adaptable for home and school. Well-organized and beautifully illustrated, Awakening Joy for Kids is ‘kid-tested,’ reader friendly, and life-changing. Highly recommended.”—Linda Graham, MFT, Bouncing Back
 
 “At once inspiring, practical, doable, and fun, Awakening Joy for Kids is for children and adults alike, making quality-of-life the highest priority. This book supports the development of the whole human being and is a much-needed addition to our curriculum for educating children in this world.”—Robert Gonzales, PhD, Co-Founder of the Nonviolent Training Institute, Past President of the Board of Directors of the Center for Nonviolent Communication
 
“Weaving together the discoveries of contemporary science with the real needs of children in classrooms and beyond, the authors have gifted adults everywhere a treasured resource. Central to the message is that all human beings have light, and we adults have a profoundly important role in ensuring we nurture an awakening of joy so that each child can grow and be all they were intended to be. I love this book!”—Dr. Vanessa Lapointe, Discipline Without Damage
 
“Fresh.  Friendly.  Fantastic. Finally. In this era of testing and achievement, Michele and James give delightfully practical form and direction to educators, parents, and all of us humans who care about equipping our children (and ourselves) to lead joyful, resilient lives.  Simple and profound, Awakening Joy for Kids is an inoculation against the maladies of fear and hopelessness that come when we lose track of our inherent playfulness, creativity, and wisdom.  An easy, accessible reference that I will generously recommend.”—Ann McKnight, LMSW, ACSW, TEDx talk on Restorative Circles

From the Publisher