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"Look outside and you will see yourself. Look inside and you will find yourself.” — Drew Gerald

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"Look outside and you will see yourself. Look inside and you will find yourself.” — Drew Gerald

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N.J. otter couple enjoys Valentine’s Day treat

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Penguin Valentines, 2018 | California Academy of Sciences

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Yoga For Love - Valentine's Vinyasa Flow

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Taylor Swift - Lover (Official Music Video)

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Zoo animals enjoy treats on Valentine's Day | ABC News

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2 Minute Guided Mindful Meditation for Winter

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Box breathing relaxation technique: how to calm feelings of stress or anxiety

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It does not matter how slow you go as long as you don't stop.

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It does not matter how slow you go as long as you don't stop.

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-Confucius

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When you get tired, learn to rest, not quit. 

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When you get tired, learn to rest, not quit. 

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-Banksy

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Always believe in yourself!

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Mistakes are proof that you are trying.

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Looking for some deep breathing exercises to teach the kids? Try this Halloween themed technique and grab a copy of the free printable poster too!

Two areas that I have been helping my kids to practice and develop a lot over the past couple of years are mindfulness and deep breathing.

I'm a big fan of teaching both of these skills.

In fact, they have both already had a tremendous impact on my kids' ability to cope with anxiety and self-regulate. And even I use these tools myself because even adults need some help with self-regulation, right?

This Halloween themed deep breathing exercise is so cute. More importantly though, this technique is simple to teach and easy to implement.

Teach Your Kids this Halloween Themed Deep Breathing Technique

Have you heard of triangle breathing before? Well, it was the inspiration for this ghostly breathing exercise.

It's a simple and straightforward technique that even the littlest of kids can do. No trickery involved. And definitely no spooky imagery is involved. Instead it's just a super calm and adorable ghost coaching your kids to do a little deep breathing. Bonus, he even looks like he is taking in a deep breath, don't you think?

Anyway, this ghost breathing is a nice twist on the classic triangle breathing exercise.

About the Free Printable Ghost Deep Breathing Exercise Poster

This one page printable shows kids how to do a Halloween themed deep breathing technique and features a calm, chill ghost. I highly recommend laminating the poster for durability.

The full instructions for doing this breathing exercise are included on the printable.

To get your copy of the printable, simply click the link below.

Other Mindfulness Resources You'll Love

Mindfulness Activities, Printables, & Resources
Free Deep Breathing Social Story
Simple Mindfulness Activities You Can Start Today

Married to her high school sweetheart, Dyan is a Canadian stay-at-home mom to two boys, J and K. When she's not writing about hyperlexia and autism, you can find her teaching piano, kicking her kids' butts at Mario Kart, adding another new board game to her huge collection, whipping something up in one of her Instant Pots, binge reading yet another book, or ranting away in her Instagram stories.

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Ghost Deep Breathing Exercise {Free Printable Poster Included!}

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Looking for some deep breathing exercises to teach the kids? Try this Halloween themed technique and grab a copy of the free printable poster too! Two areas that I have been helping my kids to practice and develop a lot over the past couple of years are mindfulness and deep breathing.

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Across the northern hemisphere, leaves are currently turning from deep summer green to the most brilliant shades of red and orange, yellow and gold.

It's quite the show, and for leaf peepers in the Lower 48 states, it's possible to take a look at a virtual, interactive map to see just where the tree leaves are at their brilliant best.

At SmokyMountains.com, publicly accessible data such as National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration precipitation forecasts, temperature forecasts, and average daylight exposure gets collated and synthesized in order to create a map that changes color according to where the most colorful scenes might be seen across the States.

Just move the date lever to predict the foliage for a future date.

Co-founder of the map, David Angotti, noted that its predictions aren't quite perfect. It might show amazing fall colors happened in the middle of Arizona, but if there are no deciduous trees in that area-of course there won't be much of a show.

"I wish I could make fall happen in South Florida or in the desert," Angotti told the Washington Post, "but at the end of the day, the math is basically showing when the temperature and precipitation trends would cause peak fall to occur in each of these areas."
RELATED: Stunning Aerial Video of Iceland's Green Volcano Can Soothe Your Lockdown Stress
So just why do leaves change their color? According to SmokyMountains.com, "As the fall days begin to get shorter and shorter, the production of chlorophyll slows to a halt, eventually giving way to the 'true' color of the leaf."
MORE: Americans Say COVID-19 Has Given Them a Newfound Appreciation of Nature
When it gets cold, the trees then "slowly close off the veins that carry water and nutrients to and from the leaves with a layer of new cells that form at the base of the leaf stem, protecting the limbs and body of the tree.
PASS This Story On To The Leaf Peepers In Your Life Via Social Media...
"Once the process of new cell creation is complete, water and nutrients no longer flow to and from the leaf-this enables the leaf to die and weaken at the stem, eventually falling gracefully to the ground."

We hope it's beautiful where you are right now.

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Want to Know Where The Best Fall Colors Are in Your Area? Check Out This Interactive U.S. Map

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Across the northern hemisphere, leaves are currently turning from deep summer green to the most brilliant shades of red and orange, yellow and gold. It's quite the show, and for leaf peepers in the Lower 48 states, it's possible to take a look at a virtual, interactive map to see just where the tree leaves are at their brilliant best.

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Believe you can and you're half way there.

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Relaxing Halloween Music for Writing - Darkstar Woods | Dark, Spooky, Gothic ★88

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How are you feeling?

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When I think of Halloween, I think of fun games and activities, Halloween parties, yummy food, cute pumpkin crafts, adorable costumes, and getting together with neighbourhood friends to have a good laugh together. And while Halloween might be looking a bit different this year for lots of us, most of these things CAN still happen, and it doesn't have to be any less fun! In fact, with trick or treating cancelled this year in places, this is a perfect opportunity to focus less on treats and more on health, wellness and connection with the people we love!

So today I'm giving you 6 of my favourite Halloween mindfulness exercises for kids. These activities come from my Mindful Little Halloween Activity Book and will help you make Halloween extra special and lots of fun for your little people this year, no matter what it's going to look like.

And, while these activities are all playful and fun, they also all serve a very important purpose. They help your child learn about emotions and how to manage them, so that ultimately, you can have a calmer Halloween this year (and a calmer home too!).

6 fun Halloween mindfulness exercises for kids:

1. Pumpkin Breathing

What you'll need:
What to do:
Have your child lay down in a comfy spot and support their head if needed. Ask them to place their mini pumpkin on their belly. Now they breathe in slowly through their nose and fill their tummy up with air, focusing on the pumpkin as it rises. Then they breathe out slowly through their mouth, emptying their belly and focusing on the pumpkin as it comes back down. Ask them to continue focusing on the pumpkin as they breathe in for three counts and out for three counts, trying to make the pumpkin move as slowly and smoothly as possible.

2. Halloween Sensory Walk

This twist on a traditional mindful walking activity is lots of fun for kids and grown ups!
What you'll need:

A collection of 6-8 shallow tubs or buckets

A selection of items to fill your tubs.

Some ideas to try: Fake spider web decorations, water beads (eyeballs), cooked spaghetti (zombie brains), dyed or soapy water (witches potion), plastic spiders, jelly or slime (monster goo), raw bowtie pasta dyed black (bats), fluffy slime (pumpkin goop)
What to do:
Line your tubs up on a flat surface (I suggest you do this outside as it gets super messy!). Put a different textured item in each tub. Now have your child walk slowly through the tubs noticing the different textures in each one. Ask them to pay attention to how each item feels on their feet as they walk. Do they sink into it? Does it make a noise when they step in it? Does it go between their toes?

Ask them to describe each item - is it dry, wet, crunchy, slimy, slippery, foamy, soft, scratchy - without using judging words like eww, gross, or yuck!

3. Spooky Halloween Calm Down Jar

Calm Down jars are a fun and easy mindfulness activity as well as an amazing calm down tool to keep in your calm down space. When we get upset, our thoughts get a bit 'swirly', just like the glitter in the jar when we shake it. But if we sit quietly and watch the glitter, it will calm down and settle at the bottom. And so will our thoughts!
What you'll need:

A jar or plastic bottle with a lid

Water

Glitter

Halloween confetti/craft supplies

What to do:
Fill your jar about 3/4 way to the top with water. Add a few scoops of glitter or glitter glue in your choice of colour. Add your Halloween extras - try Halloween themed confetti, small plastic spiders or googly eyes. Top your jar up with water and if you like, hot glue the lid down so it doesn't spill!

When your child feels upset, they simply shake the jar and then sit quietly, focusing on the glitter until they feel calmer.

4. Mindful Colouring

Mindful colouring is a great way to help kids learn to focus and concentrate better. It can also help them calm down when they are feeling overwhelmed, worried or frustrated.
What you'll need: What to do:
Mindful colouring is about focusing only on what you are doing in the present moment. Simply enjoying the act of colouring. Ask your child to focus only their colouring and to let go of any thoughts about how "good". their colouring is. If their mind wanders off and starts thinking about other things, (like what they'll do when they're done) just gently bring it back to the colouring. If they're having trouble focusing on their colouring, try talking to them about what they are doing as they do it, and instruct them to do the same. They can say, "Now I'm colouring this pumpkin with my orange crayon. Now I'm colouring the witches hat black. Now I'm colouring the witches broom. "

5. Mindful Eating

There's lots of yummy food around at Halloween time (including all those delicious treats you're kids are going to collect if they are able to go trick or treating!). That means it's the perfect time for some mindful eating!
What you'll need:

A small piece of food from the trick or treating loot. You could use some candy corn, a chocolate bar, a hard or chewy lolly, a lollipop, a small chocolate. Or you could even use some vampire boogers (raisins)!
What to do:
Ask your child to imagine they are a monster from another galaxy. They have never seen human food before, and they've definitely never tasted it either! Instruct them to explore the food using all of their senses, slowly and intentionally. How does the food look, what does it smell like, how does it feel, does it make a noise when you unwrap it? And lastly, how does it taste?

Ask your child to eat it their food as slowly as they possibly can! They should notice how it feels in their mouth, how it tastes on their tongue, how it feels when they bite into it, and how it feels when it travels down their throat. Be sure to remind them not to use judgment words like yummy, delicious, or good.

6. Spider Races

This game is lots of fun and great for practicing mindful breathing too!
What you'll need:

Straws

Lightweight plastic spiders

What to do:
Line your spiders up on a flat surface and have the kids grab a straw each. Draw a finish line on a piece of paper or stick some tape on your table. Each child has to blow through the straw and move their spider towards the finish line using only their breath. The first to cross the finish line is the winner!

I hope your kids love these activities as much as mine do! And if you'd like even more fun mindfulness activities to complete with your kids this Halloween, you can check out my Mindful Little Halloween Activity Book here. It includes over 50 pages of fun self regulation activities, that will help improve your child's focus, calm their minds and bodies, better understand their emotions, and have lots of spooky fun wth you this Halloween!

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6 fun Halloween mindfulness exercises for kids - Mindful Little Minds

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When I think of Halloween, I think of fun games and activities, Halloween parties, yummy food, cute pumpkin crafts, adorable costumes, and getting together with neighbourhood friends to have a good laugh together. And while Halloween might be looking a bit different this year for lots of us, most of these things CAN still happen, and it doesn't have to be any less fun!

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10 Minute Mindfulness Meditation for Teens

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Life is TOUGH, but so are YOU!