Peer-reviewed article
Mindfulness training in early childhood education
Nicoletta Rosati ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This article explores how mindfulness practice can be integrated into early childhood education for nursery and pre-primary school children. It draws connections between mindfulness principles and existing Montessori teaching methods, suggesting that activities like sensory-motor practice and attention exercises can support mindfulness training. The article notes that while mindfulness research is established for adults and increasingly studied in primary school children, application to younger children remains limited. Teacher training is identified as essential for successful implementation of mindfulness in early childhood classrooms.
Key points
- Mindfulness practice has shown positive impacts on adult populations
- Research on mindfulness with children is scarce but increasing among educators and psychologists
- Montessori Method activities can be adapted to support mindfulness training in young children
- Sensory-motor practice, selective attention exercises, and practical life exercises can be applied to mindfulness training
- Teacher training is a critical consideration for implementing mindfulness in nursery school classrooms
Limitations
This article is primarily a conceptual discussion rather than an empirical study, so it does not provide evidence of whether mindfulness training actually improves outcomes for early childhood students. It does not present quantitative data, baseline comparisons, or evaluation of implemented programs.
Abstract
This text presents the main characteristics of mindfulness practice and seeks to draw a parallel among some aspects of didactics for early childhood education. Research suggests that mindfulness practice has had a positive impact on the adult population. While surveys on the use of mindfulness with children are scarce at present, this type of research is increasing among educators and psychologists targeting primary school level and beyond. In this article, we present the methods by which mindfulness practice can be applied in the teaching of nursery and pre-primary school children. In some instances, there is evidence that activities present in the Montessori Method can be borrowed and developed in accordance with the principles of the Mindfulness training. This article outlines how typical activities, such as sensory-motor practice, selective attention exercises and the exercises of practical life can be applied in the mindfulness training. Teacher training is another aspect to consider when applying mindfulness practice in the nursery school classroom.