By: Kayla Dimick | Southfield Sun | Published May 7, 2015


SOUTHFIELD — When you think of kindergarteners, you might think of little balls of energy. But Franklin Academy is trying to harness that energy.

Starting next year, the school, located at 29633 Franklin Road, will implement a mindfulness-based program, which is an experimental learning practice of focusing attention and thoughts on emotions in the present moment.

“It’s a skill to clear the mind and focus on one thought while other thoughts are passing through,” said kindergarten teacher Laura Rosin.

According to Director Karen Vandeputte, the goal of the program is to enhance traditional classroom practices while teaching the children to stay focused and calm.

“Mindfulness is a particular way of paying attention, noticing what is happening in the present moment; inner awareness and outer attunement in tandem with yoga,” Vandeputte explained.

Rosin, who is a certified yoga instructor for children and adults, said she has been sprinkling the program into her classroom this year, and she has seen a positive result with her students.

“The distractions are minimal, so they can learn better and get along with each other better and be more focused,” Rosin said.

Mindfulness has been implemented in the classroom by using several different techniques, Rosin said. For example, students pair a yoga pose with each letter of the alphabet. Students have also created vision boards, learned breathing techniques for relaxation, and even learned techniques to deter bullies or limit distractions.

One activity has one child in the yoga pose known as tree pose. Another child acts as the wind and tries to distract the tree. Rosin said this allows children control over the situation by focusing on themselves.

“When they’re on the playground and somebody is bothering them, they have more control to walk away from it,” Rosin said.

Control can be a powerful thing for children, Rosin added.

“They’re in charge of their mind, not anybody else,” she said.

Vandeputte said school officials have already held an informational session about mindfulness for parents, which yielded lots of positive feedback.

“We can’t wait to get this started. We’re all actually very excited to launch this, to begin the program,” Vandeputte said.

Parents interested in Franklin Academy’s mindfulness-based program can call the school at (248) 352-KIDS.