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Mindful minute for kids
Mindful minute for kids










mindful minute for kids

As you trace your finger along each of the three sides, quietly count to three on each side for the in-breath, holding the breath, and finally the out-breath. Do this for a few minutes to begin with before gradually increasing the duration.Ī triangle can be used in a similar way. When you get back to the top, trace back clockwise as you follow the out-breath. Start with your finger at the top of the circle and trace counter-clockwise along with the natural flow of the in-breath. Rather than just sitting quietly and paying attention to their breath, have the kids use basic shapes as finger tracing tools that help them stay engaged.įor example, you can use a circle to trace along with the in’s and out’s of the breath. But this version of the exercise has a few twists. If you’re in the urban jungle, identifying different types of cars can be fun, too.įinally there’s the tried and true mindful breathing practice. Or, if you’re on a nature walk, how many birds or animals you can see. For example, you can just focus on colors. You can keep this a general direction or hone in to something more specific. Set a timer just like you did for the listening exercise and ask your kids to pay special attention to everything they can see. We’re constantly seeing things from the time we wake up. Visual sights are another great object for mindfulness and paying attention. Is that a dog barking in the distance? An airplane? A siren or car horn? How about birds singing, the leaves fluttering in the wind, or even the sound of your own heartbeat? See if you all heard more sounds the second time around. See if you all can pay even closer attention to the sounds that arise. Now that you’re all warmed up, set the timer again. Once your timer goes off, ask them to list as many as they can remember. Set your watch or timer for 1 minute and have your kids pay attention to all the sounds they hear. You can do it in the car, at the park, or on a walk. You don’t even have to be sitting down to do this. Paying attention to auditory sounds is a great way to practice mindfulness for kids. That being said, here’s a few fun and simple exercises that you can begin to play with at home, at school, or in the great outdoors.

mindful minute for kids

That’s because that’s really all that mindfulness is: paying attention to whatever you decide you’re going to pay attention to at any given moment. And it doesn’t take that much to explain what it’s all about. “Paying attention” is my favorite way of talking to kids about mindfulness these days. Some people like to call the practice “being present” but that sounds like something Auntie Moonchild might say just before sage smudging the kids’ playroom to clear out the bad vibes. Use that one and you’re more likely to get rolled eyeballs than relaxed and focused minds.

mindful minute for kids

“Grounding” is another word that I’ve heard used but it’s still a little too adult-ish. What do you say we sit down on some cushions, close our eyes, and count our breath for a few agonizing minutes?” Yeah. Personally, I don’t like using the word “mindfulness” when teaching kids. From developing more focus in the classroom to putting another handy wrench in the meltdown tool kit, a mindfulness practice will be a skill that your kids will use for the rest of their lives.īefore we dive in to the “how-to” of the practice, let’s talk about the word itself. Well, let me tell you, teaching your kids mindfulness is well worth the effort. Or maybe you just don’t think you have time for another activity. So, of course, it’s not surprising that we’ve got a whole slew of material out there on mindfulness for kids.

#Mindful minute for kids how to#

Even the US military has gotten in on the game, teaching soldiers how to train their minds to be more calm, relaxed, flexible, and resilient. Every other day, another celebrity, business leader, or politician comes out to tell us they wouldn’t be where they were without their mindfulness and meditation practices. It’s a big thing for adults, and yes, mindfulness is a big thing for kids.ĭo a quick Internet search and you’ll find mindfulness exercises for cooking, vegetable chopping, dishwashing, floor scrubbing, and even brushing your teeth. Unless you’ve been living under a rock (or out in the woods on a decades-long Wilderdad adventure), you’ve probably heard that mindfulness is a thing.












Mindful minute for kids