Jan 15, 2022 by Mary Kate | Wellbeing
Mindfulness
There are plenty of reasons to be stressed during the 2021-2022 year. Mindfulness helps to handle some of those challenging emotions. When students have the tools to process their feelings they can be mentally available for learning. Psychology Today defines mindfulness as “mindfulness is a state of active, open attention to the present.”Have you ever been able to concentrate when you are worrying about something else? We have put together a few ideas to introduce mindfulness and practice it daily.
Healthline.com offers great Mindfulness activities for kids. We recommend both the “mindfulness scavenger hunt” and “dragon breathing.” In the mindfulness scavenger hunt, children find describing words for each of their senses. This helps them be mindful of their body and their surroundings. With dragon breathing, a child can practice breathing deeply. They mimic the deep breathing of a dragon; imagine a dragon nasally breathing to sound like.
For older students, music serves as a powerful tool to help generate mindfulness practice. Healthline invites teens to choose one song and ask simple questions “How am I feeling during this song?” & “What do I notice in this song?” This can aid with “getting out of their head.” Mindfulness.org offers plenty more ideas for mindfulness everyday. This includes family mindfulness activities and audio guided meditations.
There are countless mindfulness activities to choose from. We hope to share more with you and give more ideas. When children are able to quiet their minds it can help them concentrate on learning in a stress free way!