Click here for Evidence for the Impact of Mindfulness on Children and Young People
Our favorite child friendly mindful activities include:
Super Spidey Senses: This activity follows a 5-4-3-2-1 format. Use the following script: "We are activating our super Spider-Man senses. Lets find a comfortable place to sit and keep our bodies very still to help activate our powers. Stay very still and don't move your head, only your eyes and tell me 5 things you can see. Now lets close our eyes and say 4 things we can feel in our bodies without moving. (for example, the weight of my shirt across my shoulders, the tickle of my hair on my cheek, the hard floor under the bottom of my feet) Then keep your eyes closed and tell me 3 things you can hear, try to activate your powers and hear sounds that are outside of this room! The last 2 senses we say 1 thing we can smell (sometimes this is just fresh air) and 1 thing we can taste in our mouths (this might be sour, sweet, or just the taste of our saliva)."
As children progress encourage them to be more detailed in their descriptions and expand the amount of time you spend on the activity. If your child is too old for a Spiderman theme, we have been successful relating this to sports or just calling it a 5-4-3-2-1 challenge.
Superhero Hearing: For this one, we like to use a chime or a singing bowl. We have the child sit and close his or her eyes and tell them to focus on the sound of the chime or singing bowl. The challenge is to see who can listen and hear the sound the longest. Once he/she can no longer hear the sound raise a hand in the air. Whomever listens the longest gets to ring the chime on the next turn. You can add in an additional challenge by ringing the bell a few times before the long chime, and then asking the children to tell you how many times you hit it. Once they discover they will be asked how many times it rang they start to pay more attention when they hear the first chime.
Rainbow Walks: Take a walk and try to find items in rainbow order (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple). Complete this three times but don't repeat anything!
Our favorite child friendly mindful activities include:
Super Spidey Senses: This activity follows a 5-4-3-2-1 format. Use the following script: "We are activating our super Spider-Man senses. Lets find a comfortable place to sit and keep our bodies very still to help activate our powers. Stay very still and don't move your head, only your eyes and tell me 5 things you can see. Now lets close our eyes and say 4 things we can feel in our bodies without moving. (for example, the weight of my shirt across my shoulders, the tickle of my hair on my cheek, the hard floor under the bottom of my feet) Then keep your eyes closed and tell me 3 things you can hear, try to activate your powers and hear sounds that are outside of this room! The last 2 senses we say 1 thing we can smell (sometimes this is just fresh air) and 1 thing we can taste in our mouths (this might be sour, sweet, or just the taste of our saliva)."
As children progress encourage them to be more detailed in their descriptions and expand the amount of time you spend on the activity. If your child is too old for a Spiderman theme, we have been successful relating this to sports or just calling it a 5-4-3-2-1 challenge.
Superhero Hearing: For this one, we like to use a chime or a singing bowl. We have the child sit and close his or her eyes and tell them to focus on the sound of the chime or singing bowl. The challenge is to see who can listen and hear the sound the longest. Once he/she can no longer hear the sound raise a hand in the air. Whomever listens the longest gets to ring the chime on the next turn. You can add in an additional challenge by ringing the bell a few times before the long chime, and then asking the children to tell you how many times you hit it. Once they discover they will be asked how many times it rang they start to pay more attention when they hear the first chime.
Rainbow Walks: Take a walk and try to find items in rainbow order (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple). Complete this three times but don't repeat anything!