Mindful Moments: Building Emotional Wellness Through Play and Presence

Presenters

• Nate Buursma, Memorial Health Children's Hospital of SavannahFollow

First Presenter's Highest Degree Earned

M.S.

Year First Presenter's Degree Was Awarded

2022

First Presenter's Field of Study

Child Development with Concentration in Child Life

Institution Where First Presenter Received Highest Degree

Erikson Institute

First Presenter's Institution

Memorial Health Dwaine and Cynthia Willett Children's Hospital of Savannah

First Presenter's Brief Bio and Description of Credentials for This Presentation

With a Master of Science in Child Development and a concentration in Child Life, the presenter brings a unique blend of clinical expertise and creative teaching experience to the field of child and family wellbeing. As a Certified Child Life Specialist at Memorial Health Children’s Hospital in Savannah, they have spent the past three and a half years helping children and families cope with the stress and trauma of hospitalization through play, emotional support, and mindfulness-based interventions. A Certified Autism-Informed Professional (ASDI), the presenter also draws on a Bachelor’s degree in Theatre and years of experience as a teaching artist and lead teacher in arts-based early childhood classrooms in Chicago. Their work bridges developmental science, creativity, and emotional literacy—empowering educators and caregivers to use mindfulness and play as tools for connection, regulation, and resilience in the clinical setting

Location

Ballroom D

Document Type

Individual Presentation

Primary Strand

Mindfulness and Wellbeing

Relevance to Primary Strand

This proposal directly supports the Mindfulness and Wellbeing strand by demonstrating how mindfulness principles and practices can be seamlessly integrated into daily classroom routines and schoolwide culture. The session equips educators with practical, developmentally appropriate strategies—such as mindful breathing, grounding through play, and creative reflection—that infuse mindfulness into lessons, transitions, and group activities.

By engaging participants in both experiential and reflective learning, the session increases staff awareness of how mindfulness can reduce stress and anxiety in educational environments while enhancing attention, focus, and emotional balance. The approach also emphasizes educator wellbeing, offering simple self-care tools that help teachers model calm and compassion in their classrooms.

Ultimately, the proposed session fosters greater mindful awareness among both teachers and students—empowering school communities to cultivate presence, empathy, and resilience as integral components of teaching and learning.

Alignment with School Improvement Plan Topics

Leadership / Development

Brief Program Description

Discover playful, practical ways to bring mindfulness and emotional wellness into your classroom or school community. In this engaging session, participants will experience simple, evidence-based strategies that blend mindfulness, movement, and creativity to support students’ self-regulation, focus, and resilience. Learn how to weave “mindful moments” into transitions, lessons, and group activities to foster calm, connection, and compassion—for students and staff alike. Leave refreshed and equipped with ready-to-use tools that nurture wellbeing across your learning environment.

Summary

In today’s schools, students and educators face growing stress, distraction, and emotional overwhelm. This interactive session explores how mindfulness, play, and social–emotional learning (SEL) can combine to create calmer, more connected classrooms where students thrive.

Participants will experience hands-on mindfulness activities, playful regulation tools, and creative SEL strategies that can be used immediately—no special materials required. Rooted in evidence-based child development and trauma-informed practices, these approaches help strengthen self-awareness, resilience, and empathy, while improving focus and classroom climate.

The session will highlight the neuroscience behind mindfulness and emotional regulation and demonstrate how movement, music, and imagination can make SEL engaging and sustainable. Educators will learn quick routines to weave “mindful moments” into transitions, group activities, and daily lessons.

By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

1. Explain the link between mindfulness, SEL, and school climate.

2. Apply practical tools for emotional regulation and focus.

3. Integrate creative, play-based mindfulness into daily routines.

Teachers, counselors, and administrators will leave with ready-to-use resources and a renewed sense of calm, creativity, and connection—empowering them to nurture wellbeing for both students and staff.

Evidence

The proposed approach integrates mindfulness and social–emotional learning (SEL), two well-established, evidence-based frameworks proven to enhance students’ emotional regulation, focus, and academic outcomes. Research from organizations such as CASEL (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning) and studies published in Mindfulness and Child Development consistently demonstrate that regular mindfulness practice reduces stress, improves executive functioning, and promotes prosocial behavior in children. SEL interventions have similarly been shown to strengthen classroom climate, reduce behavioral incidents, and support long-term wellbeing.

Research shows that educators who regularly practice mindfulness have a higher sense of wellbeing and teaching self-efficacy. These teachers demonstrate greater capacity to manage classroom behavior, maintain supportive student relationships, and respond to challenges with empathy and composure. For students, mindfulness practices are associated with reductions in challenging behaviors and increased compliance with teacher guidance—key contributors to a positive school climate.

In addition, studies indicate that regular engagement in mindfulness supports academic achievement. This relationship is likely linked to the role of self-regulation—a critical factor in learning success—which is highly influenced by stress-induced emotional arousal. By equipping students and teachers with mindfulness tools that calm the body and focus the mind, schools can create conditions for both emotional balance and cognitive growth.

Field-tested practices such as mindful breathing, grounding through movement, and creative emotional expression align with trauma-informed and neuroscience-based promising practices, supporting resilient, connected, and thriving learning communities.

Learning Objective 1

Explain the link between mindfulness, SEL, and school climate

Learning Objective 2

Apply practical tools for emotional regulation and focus

Learning Objective 3

Integrate creative, play-based mindfulness into daily routines

Start Date

6-2-2026 2:15 PM

End Date

6-2-2026 3:15 PM

Recommended Citation

Buursma, Nate, "Mindful Moments: Building Emotional Wellness Through Play and Presence" (2026). Southeast Conference on School Climate. 58.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/secsc/2026/2026/58

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.