Bringing mindfulness to children, teens and adults.
About Me
Hi! I’m Mary Lea Crawley, the founder of Mindful Kidsand a Mindful Schools Certified Instructor. I started teaching mindfulness and meditation ten years ago, when I left my career as a college professor to bring Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) programs to kids and teens. My classes, in schools and community centers, help students excel in the classroom, on the athletic field and with their friends. Mindfulness strengthens our brains, like exercise shapes our bodies.
My Experience in the Classroom
My work in education began in the Computer Science classrooms at the University of San Francisco. I taught students to navigate their first computers, while taking classes in writing at night. I earned my Master of Arts in Writing from the University of San Francisco and went on to teach courses in English and Computer Science, in other colleges in the Bay Area. During that time, I joined my first circle of meditators and began a personal study of meditation and mindfulness.
After five years of college teaching, I followed my love of silence and children into working as the Director of Family Ministries at a mid-size Episcopal church, in my new town of Madison, New Jersey. For over eight years, I brought Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) programs to kids and teens. Meditation, art journaling, play-writing and community service were a few, of the many opportunities, I crafted for young people. Together, we explored our strengths and challenges and shined our inner gold.
It’s been two years since I left Grace and founded Mindful Kids. During that time, I have brought mindfulness to numerous schools and organizations in Northern New Jersey and New York City.