Winter Afterschool Program Coming Up!

We are excited to be partnering with The Jefferson County Library to offer a winter Mindful Self Compassion 8 week after school program on Wednesday afternoons!

The program is open for enrollment for 11-14 year olds from Jefferson County. Students will learn skills to find calm in stressful times and tools to navigate the ups and downs of life. The activities we use engage students in learning through mindfulness practices, games and art activities. Students become a supportive community through the 8 weeks of sharing and working together.

Students from last year’s program appreciated the skills they were learning. Here of some of the things they reflected on: 
“I've learned how to really think about things more than I ever used to"” 

"Now I feel like I have other people I can talk to who will support me" 

"Now I have people I can think of when I'm going through something and know I'm not the only one"

Registration is open for the program! We have a pay-what-you-can policy designed to welcome anyone in the age range to sign up regardless of ability to pay. 

Benji Project instructors Nancy and Steve are excited to be leading the program this season and look forward to connecting with this new group.

To find out more or register: https://www.thebenjiproject.org/after-school

The Benji Project goes to Chimacum 6th Grade!

For the first time, our team had the opportunity to bring Benji Project curriculum, games, and activities to the 6th graders at Chimacum School. We have been developing a partnership there for a number of years, and with strong support from the school counselor and two teachers, we got to spend a full class period with each of the two 6th grade classes for four weeks.

During our time together, we focused on four key themes drawn from the Mindful Self-Compassion curriculum:

1. Mindfulness

2. Self-Compassion

3. Common Humanity

4. Gratitude

We had a great time with these students, moving between discussion of topics like identifying our emotions or how to calm ourselves in times of stress or anxiety. We also played games like “Stop, Go, Fall” that involves tuning into the senses of sight and hearing to follow a moving group leader’s instructions and “Feelings Charades,” in which students jumped at the chance to act out emotions they pulled from our deck of feelings cards.

After the entire program was complete, the students had time to reflect on their experiences and share feedback with us. Here are some highlights!

• Of all the practices we introduced students to, the top three that they learned and plan to use in the future were: 

• Paying attention to and naming how you're feeling in the moment.

• Imagining there is a Compassionate Friend within you.

• Thinking about the things you are grateful for.

• Over 60% of students replied with a 3 or higher, out of a five-point scale, in response to “How much did these classes help you find your inner compassionate voice?”

• More than 80% of students replied with a 3 or higher, out of a five-point scale, in response to “How much did you learn about tools for managing stress in your day to day life?” (with 1 being “not much” and 5 being “a lot”)

Quotes from students: 

In response to the question, “What was one practice that you learned during The Benji Project sessions that you plan to use in the future?,” one student wrote, 🌳”Learning to be myself and not being how everyone else wants me to be.”🤨

When asked for any additional feedback they had for us, students shared:

• I found more methods of staying happy.

• I like all the strategies you guys use to help to calm ourselves!

• I really enjoyed getting to do the Benji project because it was fun and I looked forward to it.

Next up: 6th grade at Blue Heron!

Summer Camp Reunion!

Summer Camp Reunion Highlights!

On a sunny windy day in October, a handful of Mindfulness in Motion summer campers gathered with the Benji Project team at the Fort Worden kitchen shelter. Together, we created this incredible mandala, each person contributing both brought and found objects. 

As a group, we revisited many of the mindfulness activities we’d practiced at camp, including the 5-4-3-2-1 sensory mindfulness activity, then did an intentional stroll along the beach, stopping occasionally to tune into one of our physical senses. We noticed the sounds of waves near and far, the cries of seabirds, the smells of our bonfire, the chill of the wind from specific directions, the light in the clouds on the horizon, the changing colors of the leaves on the trees above the beach, among many other vivid details that otherwise we may have missed.

Afterward, we gathered inside for a delicious pizza meal and made s’mores over the fire together, experimenting with different roasting techniques (including replacing marshmallows with grapes for a whole new flavor experience).

It was a wonderful, windy day and great opportunity to keep practicing together as well as continue to build community. After all, these mindfulness and self-compassion tools (like all tools) only work if we use them. And it’s always more fun to do that together. 

We hope to see many of you at camp this summer! (More details coming later this year, stay tuned!)

Announcing The 2024 Grow Fund Selection

The Benji Project’s LGBTQ+ Pride Camp Reunion has been selected as this year’s recipient of The Food Co-Op’s GROW Fund (Totaling $1485). Read about the camp reunion project and how The Benji Project is helping local teens and their families build capacity for stress management and emotional resilience.

https://www.foodcoop.coop/blog/2024/9/27/announcing-the-2024-grow-fund-selection

How Self-Compassion Can Improve Teen Mental Health - Mindful Magazine June 2023

Research has demonstrated that cultivating self-compassion—learning how to be kind and supportive to oneself—can act as a shield for teenagers against the negative impacts of social media, trauma, depression, and various other challenges. While self-compassion is not a magical solution, it can help alleviate some of the difficulties that adolescents encounter on a daily basis.

Keep reading this article by Dr. Karen Bluth for all the details, links and research:

https://www.mindful.org/how-self-compassion-can-improve-teen-mental-health/