Joyful Teaching: Cultivating Joy through Mindfulness & SEL

Learn mindfulness and social emotional behavioral support practices that you can use to support the wellbeing of you and your students

1 p.m., Monday, June 22 – 1 p.m., Wednesday, June 24. This is the registration page for Prairiewoods. Click here for University of Iowa registration.
Program sessions will start at 9 a.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday. Sessions will end at 5:30 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday.

Discover More Joy—in Your Teaching, Classroom, and Daily Life

Prairiewoods is partnering with the University of Iowa College of Education to invite educators, school staff, university personnel, and administrators to Joyful Teaching: Cultivating Hope through Mindfulness & Social Emotional Behavior Support. This restorative, retreat-like learning experience is designed to nourish educators from the inside out.

Through research-based mindfulness and social emotional behavior support practices, participants will explore practical and meaningful ways to bring greater calm, resilience, joy, and connection into both their classroom and everyday life.

Over the course of our immersive three-day experience, participants will engage in:

• Mindful breathing and movement practices
• Art and nature-based experiences
• Self-compassion and emotional awareness activities
• Collaborative reflection and design
• Research and neuroscience-based learning
• Practical classroom strategies that support healthy, compassionate learning environments

Participants will also create a personalized “Joyful Toolkit” filled with sustainable resources and practices to support themselves, their students, and their school communities long after the course ends.

This course offers opportunities for both personal renewal and professional growth while providing 1 licensure credit. A copy of the book Practicing Presence is included in the registration fee and will serve as a companion text throughout the course.

Come reconnect with the heart of teaching through intentional pauses, compassionate awareness, curiosity, and hope. Together, we’ll explore how joyful, grounded educators can help create more connected and compassionate learning communities.

The cost is $135 ($85 to Prairiewoods plus $50/credit hour paid to University of Iowa) and includes sessions and daily lunch. (Overnight lodging is available for $100 per course and is strongly encouraged.) For more information, contact Prairiewoods at 319-395-6700 or email at ecospirit@prairiewoods.org. Dual registration is required. Register for this course on the University of Iowa website AND here:

https://pw.retreatportal.com/calendar/event?programcode=26PGR33705