A Newmarket woman has published a series of children's books about mindfulness, which have become increasingly popular with local schools and parents.
The plan is to use the proceeds from the books to open an education centre for special needs students.
Michele Murri is an autism specialist who works for the York Region District School Board and has been writing her children's books with the help of illustrator Frank Gibb for the past few years.
The books themselves contain simple stories about animal characters and show kids how to use mindfulness techniques in their own lives.
"I just want to help children understand why they are doing something and that if someone does something to them or they feel mistreated, they can pause and don't have to react right away. They can take a moment to observe what they feeling before they respond and get themselves into trouble," Murri said.
"In the books, we have different techniques such as smell the flower or blow the candle to help. They are stories with techniques and teaching tools."
Mindfulness is an increasingly influential concept, often linked to meditation, of being fully present and aware of what one is feeling and doing rather than being overly reactive or overwhelmed by what is going on around them.
A mother of five adult children, Murri said she practised mindfulness with her own kids as they were growing up. She has also found success using the techniques with the autistic students she works with.
The inspiration for the books came out of a session with one particular student.
"One day we were doing a lesson about a frog, and the child was getting frustrated and couldn't sit still. And I said 'you know what, we should be like a frog. They sit on their log all day long, they don't worry about what is going on, they just breathe in, and then they get what bugs them,'" she said.
"Then a teacher came by and said, 'oh, that sounds like a book.' I ran home and started to write that."
She teamed up with graphic designer Frank Gibb after meeting him at a fundraiser and telling him about her book ideas.
"She said she wanted to open a special needs centre in York Region, and I said, 'yeah, that sounds cool.' I told her to send me her copy, and I would see what I could do," said Gibb.
"I was expecting to do a cover for a book of a few hundred words, but she sent me 40 words. I was like, 'what the heck is that?' I had not understood that each sentence was going to be a page, and she wanted some animal characters. So I was like, 'OK.'"
"And now we are at six books, with some of them have been transcribed into French."
The books contain explanations of breathing techniques, about being kind to others and yourself, dealing with change, and other subjects. Murri says she is currently working on a book about COVID-19.
They have been selling them at public events around the region, as well as to schools that have requested them.
"The response has been very good. They are in schools across York Region, and a few in Niagara and Simcoe schools," Murri said.
Murri has been putting aside the proceeds from sales, apart from what is needed to cover the cost of publishing subsequent books, to save up money to open education space for special needs students in Newmarket. Those plans have been largely put on hold because of the pandemic.
When some amount of normalcy returns, she hopes to look at locations eventually.
"I have some different options. There are some spaces along Main Street in Newmarket. We also did have a mindfulness camp two summers ago, but we couldn't do that this year, so we had a virtual one instead. So we are laying the groundwork for opening something. We are just taking our cues from the world right now."
