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Breathing exercises when teaching about how plants breathe differently than humans (Gr. 3 Science Curriculum) Example: "Take a big breath in to feel the oxygen going in, and a big breath out to release the carbon dioxide" - Sandy

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Breathing exercises when teaching about how plants breathe differently than humans (Gr. 3 Science Curriculum) Example: "Take a big breath in to feel the oxygen going in, and a big breath out to release the carbon dioxide" - Sandy

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Expressing emotions through free drawing.

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Expressing emotions through free drawing.

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Draw to the calming music when they come back from outdoor play, helps to lower the energy and focus

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Draw to the calming music when they come back from outdoor play, helps to lower the energy and focus

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Incorporate social/emotional reflections/lessons to meet expectations in the social/emotional expectations in the new math curriculum - Sandy 

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Incorporate social/emotional reflections/lessons to meet expectations in the social/emotional expectations in the new math curriculum - Sandy 

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https://empoweringeducation.org/blog/mindfulness-in-kindergarten/

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Although effective, mindfulness can be hard for kindergarteners. Educators can use our tips for teaching mindfulness in kindergarten.

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Using visual math prompts to tune in to what they see (and different ways of seeing).

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Using visual math prompts to tune in to what they see (and different ways of seeing).

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5 Mindfulness Exercises for Kids 🌟😊 | Cosmic Kids

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Self-evaluation on how tasks like reading and writing make them feel - this could be done in any subject area or social circumstance -Sandy

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Self-evaluation on how tasks like reading and writing make them feel - this could be done in any subject area or social circumstance -Sandy

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identifying our emotions and labelling them help us to find ways to manage them better

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identifying our emotions and labelling them help us to find ways to manage them better

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Written by Cassie (Teach Starter)

Put simply, mindfulness is "to pay attention, on purpose, to the present moment" (Grossman, 2016).
Make your classroom buzz! Subscribe to Teach Starter and access thousands of curriculum-aligned resources and digital learning tools. Get Started

The positive benefits of teaching mindfulness activities to children have been proven across a number of studies. Incorporating mindfulness into everyday classroom activity is becoming more and more common. A five or ten-minute daily mindfulness practice can see students reduce stress and anxiety, increase concentration and engagement, sleep better, improve social skills, and develop problem-solving and decision-making skills.

5-10 Minute Mindfulness Activities for Kids

Here are 18 quick and effective mindfulness activities for kids in your class. These activities are also available as a printable teaching resource, Mindfulness Activity Task Cards.

If you have never practised mindfulness before you may like to:

Breath Awareness Activities

These are the first stop on your students' journey to mindfulness. Their breath is the one thing that will always be with them.

Explicitly teaching mindful breathing is providing students with a skill that will be with them for life, in every situation they will ever encounter.

Is that not one of the most powerful lessons you can ever teach?

Students can stand or sit for this activity.

Ask students to put both hands on their belly.

Students should close their eyes, or look down to their hands.

Guide students in taking three slow deep breaths in and out to see if they can feel their hands being moved.

You may like to count "1, 2, 3" for each breath in and "1, 2, 3" for each breath out, pausing slightly at the end of each exhale.

Encourage students to think about how the breath feels, answering the following questions silently, in their mind.
- What is moving your hands? Is it the air filling your lungs?
- Can you feel the air moving in through your nose?
- Can you feel it moving out through your nose?
- Does the air feel a little colder on the way in and warmer on the way out?
- Can you hear your breath?
- What does it sound like?

If you'd prefer not to wing it, download and print our Mindful Breathing Guided Meditation Script.

#2 Pinwheel Breathing
(5 minutes)

Providing students with an object to focus on is a great way to encourage concentration during mindfulness activities for kids. Use pinwheels in conjunction with the mindful breathing exercise above, making the pinwheel spin with every exhale.

We have created a beautiful pinwheel template that combines mindfulness colouring with this simple craft activity.

#3 Belly Buddies
(10 minutes)

Ask students to bring in a small stuffed toy, or provide a class set of small, light-weight objects such as small bean bags or wooden blocks.

Students lay on their backs and place the toy or object on top of their belly buttons.

Take students through the guided breathing activity above, asking them to watch the object as it moves up and down with their breath.

#4 Shark Fin
(2 minutes)

Coined by former Mindful Schools co-founder Laurie Gossman and Mr Musumeci's Grade 5 class of the book "Master of Mindfulness: How to Be Your Own Superhero in Times of Stress" fame, the Shark Fin is a fantastic tool that you can use during any quick moment in your day. It will help to calm your class, or individual students, when their minds and bodies may be fighting against them.

Place the side of your hand on your forehead, with your palm facing out to the side.

Close your eyes.

Slide your hand down your face, in front of your nose.

Say "shhh" as you slide your hand down your face

If you are sitting down, you do the 5 S's while you move your hand: Sit up straight, sit still, sit silently, soft breathing, shut eyes.

If you are standing do the same but you are standing straight, still, silently, using soft breathing and shut eyes while you move your hand down your face.

"Master of Mindfulness" (Grossman & Alvarez, 2016)
This activity is similar to the first mindful breathing activity, however it uses visualising colours as a means to increase focus and awareness. You may like to download our printable Breathing Colours Guided Meditation Script.

Ask students to think of a relaxing colour. It can be any colour they like, as long as it is one that makes them think of relaxation.

Ask students to think of a colour that represents stress, sadness or anger. Whichever of those emotions is most relevant or suitable for your class group to explore.

Students imagine breathing in the relaxing colour and visualise it filling their lungs.

Students then imagine breathing out the stress, sadness or anger colour.

Your spoken instructions may be along these lines:

1. Imagine you are surrounded by the relaxing colour. No longer is the air clear, it is the relaxing colour.

2. You can still make out shapes, but your world is now a different colour.

3. Imagine that as you breathe in, you breathe in this colour too.

4. See the colour filling up your lungs.

5. Imagine as you breathe out, that your breath is the colour of stress.

6. See the stress colour mix into the relaxing colour around you. Watch the stress colour slowly disappear.

7. Breath in your relaxing colour.

8. Breath out the stress colour.

#6 Breathing Hands
(2 minutes)

Spread one hand out like a star.

Use the index finger on your other hand to trace the outline of your star hand.

Take a deep breath in as you move to the top of your thumb.

Breathe out as you move down between your thumb and first finger.

Take another breath in as you move to the top of your first finger.

Breathe out as you move down between your first and second finger.

Repeat until you have taken five slow, deep breaths.

#7 Back-to-Back Breathing
(10 minutes)

Students work in pairs for this partnered breathing activity.

Sitting tall, with their back resting against their partner's back, begin the mindful breathing from activity #1.

Encourage students to notice their partner's breath.
- Is it shallow or deep?
- Fast or slow?
- Can they feel their partner's back moving as they breathe?

After a little while, students may find that their breath falls into sync with their partner.

Or it may not! These are all talking points for bringing awareness to the breath, in the present moment.

You could incorporate your Mindfulness Pinwheels into this activity too.

(Jennifer Cohen Harper, Little Flower Yoga)
This is a fantastic activity that students can "take home" with them. It can be particularly useful to do a body scan to help relax before sleep. Download our printable Body Scan Guided Meditation Script to use with your class.

Students lay on the floor, with their eyes closed if they are comfortable (or they may prefer to look at the ceiling).

Encourage students to pay attention to their feet for 5 or 10 seconds.
Questions to ask during a body scan:
- How does this body part feel?
- Is it cold or warm?
- Does it feel tight or relaxed?
- Is all or part of that body part touching the floor?
- Or clothing?
- What does that feel like?

Move on to their toes, then ankles, then calves and knees. Continue body part by body part until you reach the head.

Question how each part of the body feels to bring students' awareness to their body in the moment.

If there is tightness or stress, imagine breathing the stress out of that part of the body with each exhale.

Practising Active Mindfulness

Mindful breathing is arguably the most important skill you can teach your students when it comes to mindfulness. However, being able to incorporate into everyday activities the calm and focused state of mind that the breathing activities practise can be viewed as a more tangible end-goal.

The following 'active' practices help to hone the skill of mindful action. Some students who struggle with the 'still' mindfulness activities may be more likely to feel successful during active practices.

#9 Mindful Eats
(5 minutes)

This is a great activity to bring attention to how mindlessly we sometimes eat! Whether sitting in front of the tv, chatting to friends at lunch, or scrolling through something on the internet or social media, we often "switch off" when eating because it is such a familiar action.

Mindful eating can combat over-eating, it helps bring our attention to the flavours and tastes of different foods and helps us to realise what effects different foods have on how our bodies feel.

Students need something small to eat for this activity. Often a square of chocolate is a fun "challenge", although you could provide a piece of fruit or any food item that you feel will work with your class. Be sure to take any allergies into consideration!

Begin this practice with three deep breaths, or the Shark Fin activity (#4 above).

Direct students to take small nibbles or bites of the food.

Bring awareness to the sensations of eating.
- What is the taste like? Is it sweet or savoury?
- What does the food feel like on your tongue?
- Do you need to crunch it between your teeth, or can you slowly dissolve it in your mouth?
- Try taking a slightly smaller or slightly larger bite.
- How does this change the way eating this food feels?
- Notice which muscles in your mouth, neck and body move as you swallow the food.
- Pause between each bite and notice any changing sensations in your mouth or body.

#10 Mindful Steps
(10 minutes)

This activity is best completed outdoors and if suitable, students may like to walk barefoot.

Give students a clear boundary for where they can walk during this activity.

Each student selects a small area where they can walk in a line for about 5 or 6 steps and back then back to where they started without getting into another person's way.

Begin this practice with three deep breaths, or the Shark Fin activity (#4 above).

Take 5 or 6 steps in one direction, turn slowly and then take 5 or 6 steps back to where you started.

While walking, students bring their awareness to their breath and their body.
- What does the ground feel like under your feet?
- Which part of your foot touches the ground first when you take a step?
- Does your body feel heavy or light today?
- Are you slouching when you walk?
- Or, is your back up quite straight?
- Try not to change the way you walk, but instead just notice how your body naturally moves.

#11 Mindful Sounds
(2 minutes)

For this mindfulness activity, you will need something that makes a bell sound. There are some great meditation apps that have recorded bell, meditation cymbal and singing bowl sounds, however, if you can have one of these small instruments in real life, the sound is much better!

Begin this practice with three deep breaths, or the Shark Fin activity (#4 above).

Give the following instructions before ringing the bell:
- When I ring the bell concentrate on the sound that you hear.
- Pay attention to whether you hear it louder in one ear than you do in the other.
- Keep your eyes closed until the sound is completely gone.
- If you notice your thoughts wandering, just bring your attention back to the sound of the bell.
- After you open your eyes, remain silent until you hear my voice again.

Students close their eyes, while the teacher rings the bell.

The activity is finished when the sound has completely dissipated.

#12 Spidey Senses
(5 minutes)

Karen Young from Hey Sigmund has a beautiful collection of mindfulness activities for kids on her blog. Spidey Senses is a fun way to frame this traditional mindfulness exercise. Our five senses poster and graphic organiser can be useful resources for teaching the senses to younger students.

Ask students to switch their senses up to a superpower level, just like Spiderman.

In this moment,
- What can they hear?
- What can they see?
- What can they taste?
- What can they smell?
- What can they feel?

Guide students as they stay in this Spidey state for 2-3 minutes.

#13 Gratitude Practice
(5-10 minutes)

Students use a notebook or a folder and paper to make a Gratitude Journal.

Practise gratitude journaling at a regular time each day, perhaps first thing in the morning, after lunch or just before the end of the day.

Take five minutes to think of something that you feel grateful for today. Here are some topics or ideas you can use to guide your students:
- Something that someone else did for you that day.
- A person in your life that you appreciate.
- An activity or hobby you are grateful to be able to do.
- A positive quality of someone that can sometimes be hard to get along with.
- A skill or ability you have.
- A part of your body you are grateful for and why.
- An item that you love.
- Something that made you laugh.
- What you have learnt from something that was hard.

Another beautiful idea is for each student to put their day's thanks into their own Gratitude Jar, or to create a Gratitude Tree where each day's thanks is written onto a 'leaf'. This could either be on a notice-board or be hanging on a string from the limb of a real plant or tree branch. (Mayuri Gonzales, Little Flower Yoga)

#14 Glitter Bottle
(5 minutes)

Use this familiar sensory bottle concept as a mean to explicitly teach how mindfulness can help to calm us when we are feeling stressed, anxious, sad or angry.
Preparation

Fill a bottle or jar with water, leaving 2-3 cm of space at the top.

Add a generous amount of glitter glue to the bottle (or a combination of PVC glue and regular glitter).

Seal the bottle well!

You may like to make one large bottle to use as an example for whole-class instruction, or a set of bottles that can be used by individuals or for small group rotations.

Directions

Shake the bottle well to mix the glitter, water and glue.

Share the following words with your students:

"'Imagine that the glitter is like your thoughts when you're stressed, mad or upset. See how they whirl around and make it really hard to see clearly? That's why it's so easy to make silly decisions when you're upset - because you're not thinking clearly. Don't worry this is normal and it happens in all of us (yep, grown-ups too).

[ Now put the jar down in front of them.]

Now watch what happens when you're still for a couple of moments. Keep watching. See how the glitter starts to settle and the water clears? Your mind works the same way. When you're calm for a little while, your thoughts start to settle and you start to see things much clearer."
(by Karen Young of Hey Sigmund)
#15 Mindful Safari
(10-30 minutes)

Another beautiful child-friendly reframing of a traditional mindfulness practice is to take your students on a Mindful Safari.

Instruct students to remain quiet, calm their thoughts and move slowly while on safari.

Ask students to turn their sense of sight, touch and sound onto high.

Search for beautiful natural objects to explore.
- What does it look like?
- What colour is it?
- What does it smell like?
- Can I touch it?
- What does it feel like?

Search for mini-beasts and other creatures that move.

When they find a creature, encourage students to watch the creature in silence for as long as they would like to.
- What does it look like?
- How does it move?
- What colours can you see on its body?

#16 Sense Countdown
(5 minutes)

A great one for older students, this is an extension of the Spidey Senses activity that can be used to help calm a busy mind and bring our awareness to the present moment.

Think of:

5 things you can see

4 things you can touch

3 things you can hear

2 things you can smell

1 thing you can taste

#17 Heartbeat
(5 minutes)

Our heartbeat is an amazing representation of our emotions. Like our breath, it is always with us. So, we can use our heartbeat to connect with the present moment in times of difficulty or stress.

You might like to begin this practice with three deep breaths, or the Shark Fin activity (#4 above).

Students place their fingers or hands over the part of their body where they can best feel their pulse.
- on the side of their neck, under their jaw
- inside their wrist
- or, over their heart

Ask students to close their eyes and notice how quickly or slowly their heart is beating.

Encourage them to think about their current state of emotion and consider if this might be connected to how quickly or slowly their heart is beating.

Direct students to stand and jump up and down on the spot ten times.

Students return to sitting and feel their heartbeat again, noticing any changes.

Students may like to close their eyes and focus on their heartbeat until it slows back down.

#18 Add a Touchy Feely Focus
(5 - 10 minutes)

Saving the best for last, Shakti Burke gives these great tips for helping wiggly kids begin to master mindfulness. Burke suggests:

Restless minds are magnetised by the sensation of touch: we can't think and feel at the same time. The stroking and feeling itself (when using a prop to help children focus) becomes the meditation, in place of the breath awareness focus.

You might like to begin your class journey towards mindfulness with some of these more tactile activities.
Provide students with a prop to hold, touch, balance or focus their eyes on during one of the above activities.

small soft toys

small bean bags or beany pillows

stress balls

pieces of furry fabric

There you go! 18 amazing activities to help teach mindfulness in your classroom. Mindfulness truly is a skill that will benefit your students as individuals, long after they leave your classroom for the final time.

Check out our beautifully illustrated Mindfulness Activity Task Cards that you can use to support mindfulness practice with your students.

Whole Class Daily Mindfulness Activity Tracker

Track your class' progress to superhero status with these beautiful Mindfulness Activity Tracker Charts can be used to note each day of whole-class practice.

The charts are available in three formats:

Each download comes with a page of illustrated markers that can be stuck onto the chart. The black and white downloads of these trackers are also fantastic for students to use for their personal mindfulness practice.

If you are new to mindfulness for children, take a look at our post "Why You Should Be Teaching Mindfulness to Improve Student Learning" for practical tips and tricks to begin your class mindfulness practice routine. You can also download our Mindfulness Information Sheet for Teachers with eight succinct and actionable tips.
Make your classroom buzz! Subscribe to Teach Starter and access thousands of curriculum-aligned resources and digital learning tools. Get Started

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5 Minute Classroom Mindfulness Activities for Kids | Teach Starter

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Written by Cassie (Teach Starter) Put simply, mindfulness is "to pay attention, on purpose, to the present moment" (Grossman, 2016). Make your classroom buzz! Subscribe to Teach Starter and access thousands of curriculum-aligned resources and digital learning tools. Get Started The positive benefits of teaching mindfulness activities to children have been proven across a number of studies.

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https://theartofeducation.edu/2019/12/23/5-simple-mindful-activities-perfect-for-the-art-room/

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Mindfulness. What's the buzz all about?

You may have heard the word tossed around casually or discussed at length during your staff meetings. Whether you are a seasoned mindfulness professional or if this is the first time you are seeing the word, here's what you need to know.

Mindfulness means to focus intentionally.

It seems like a simple concept. However, there is a great deal of importance to focusing on mindfulness. Every day, our students are bombarded with navigating social situations and maintaining academic rigor. Often, it feels like there is simply no time to slow down. Focusing on mindfulness can add that "slow down" time into your day.

Picture your daily actions. In the morning, do you ever drive to school and wonder how you got there? At lunch, do you ever scarf down your lukewarm bowl of leftovers and barely remember what you ate? Don't worry; you are not alone. If this has ever happened to you, you may want to try incorporating a few mindful practices into your day or your classroom routines.

5 Simple Mindful Activities Perfect for the Art Room
1. Mindful Hand Washing
Pick a task you find yourself doing many times during the day. Washing your hands, walking to the school office, or emptying the drying racks. Whenever you find yourself doing this chosen task, focus on your "spidey senses."

For example, when washing your hands, slow down. Think about the temperature of the water. Ground your feet on the floor and feel the pressure of your feet in your shoes. Listen to the sound of splashing water. Look closely at your reflection or the sink backsplash, noticing all the fine details. Take a deep breath and mentally prepare yourself for what is next. This act of slowing down during a common task will help you pepper in little mindful moments throughout your day. For more, read A List of Simple Ways to Teach More Mindfully.
2. Singing Bowl Guided Meditation
When you think of meditation, you probably think of someone sitting criss-cross applesauce and humming with their eyes closed. While this meditation practice can be helpful for some individuals, it may not work the best for a classroom full of squirrely students.

Try using a singing bowl, an instrument typically used for yoga practice, that, when hit, resonates a single calm note for an extended period of time. Have your students sit comfortably and close their eyes. Have them raise one hand when the singing bowl starts ringing. Then, as the sound fades away, have students put their hands down when they can no longer hear the singing bowl. This act of intentionally focusing on a single, specific sound makes the practice of meditation more feasible in a classroom setting.
3. Belly Buddies
Do you know the best way to take a deep breath? Proper breathing is a great skill to teach students using a little trick called "belly buddies." Belly buddies are little stuffed animals (or even art items like paintbrushes or balls of yarn) that can be used to show students how to take their best breath.

Have students lie down on their backs and set a belly buddy on their tummy. Then, have students breathe deeply to make their belly buddy "ride the wave." Breathing deeply from the diaphragm allows the belly buddy to move up and down slowly and calmly, having students focus intentionally on their deep breathing. Check out this video to see belly buddies (and other mindful practices) in action!
4. First Five
Typically, the first 5 minutes of student work time may be a kerfuffle of students passing out supplies or getting organized before settling into their work. However, the first five minutes of work time can be the perfect time to begin a mindful practice with your students.

Try using a visual timer like this 5-minute glitter jar and have students start the first 5 minutes of work time in complete silence, focusing intentionally on the task at hand. If you teach your students how to focus mindfully, this routine can be a great way to start class AND maintain your sanity. Learn more with Five Minute Mindfulness.
5. Art Mantra or Calm Down Corner
Try giving your students more ownership over their mindful practices. A great way to do this is by adding a mindful space to your classroom, specifically a Calm Down Corner. You can also include positive self-affirmations by using an art mantra or put together resources like guided breathing posters and sensory jars in a special spot in your room.

No matter what mindful activities you do, you and your students are sure to benefit from taking an extra few seconds to slow down. Remember, it's all about intentional focus but like everything, it takes practice.

What mindful practices have you tried in your classroom?
What benefits can you see from practicing mindful techniques?
When might be the best time for adding a mindful practice to your class routine?

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5 Simple Mindful Activities Perfect for the Art Room - The Art of Education University

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Mindfulness. What's the buzz all about? You may have heard the word tossed around casually or discussed at length during your staff meetings. Whether you are a seasoned mindfulness professional or if this is the first time you are seeing the word, here's what you need to know.

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Reflect on mindful moments/techniques through writing, drawing and conversation

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Reflect on mindful moments/techniques through writing, drawing and conversation

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Listen to music - I use the classical music from Beethoven etc.
We can have a paper and crayon in front of us and draw lines about how the music makes us feel - jagged, swirls, rolling hills, zigzag, dotted lines, etc

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By Jennifer Chang Wathall

Have you ever been in the situation where your students come to class a little too energetic to be able to focus on the task at hand? Or when your students arrive from a break or lunch and they are just not ready for the learning space? Perhaps your students, based on previous experiences are extremely anxious and fearful of solving mathematics problems?

In another life, as well as teaching maths in the classroom, I was a part time yoga teacher for 10 years. Being mindful during my practice and meditation meant that I was able to be fully present and focus on what I was doing at that specific time. Mindfulness is about attending to your awareness of what you are sensing and how you are feeling, with a non-judging and kind attitude, and without letting the external environment be sources of distraction. Mindfulness is a basic human quality that everyone is capable of engaging in. With practice, mindfulness can be a powerful strategy to positively contribute to one's mental health and well-being.

The benefits of mindfulness in the maths classroom

Many schools around the world are introducing mindfulness programs as a way to empower learners by explicitly teaching self-management skills and reduce stress. Research from Harvard and Oxford suggests that mindfulness education can reduce stress and increase attention spans in the classroom. Mindfulness programs teach students strategies to calm the mind and body so learners can engage and be present in the classroom.

The benefits of infusing mindfulness into the classroom include:

Teaching students how to reflect and identify their feelings and behaviour. This encourages a compassionate attitude and to be aware of distractions.

Preparing students to fully engage in the learning space.

Support the transition to different learning engagements or environments.

Give students reflection and thinking time by helping them create an interval between experiencing a feeling and reacting.

Encourage students to be fully present and focused.

Increase attention spans.

Reduce stress and anxiety.

How can we incorporate mindfulness into math lessons?

Unfortunately, too often, students experience fear and anxiety towards maths, sometimes caused by past negative experiences when learning maths. To overcome their anxiety one of the simplest strategies you can employ is the idea of a mindfulness minute. A mindfulness minute does not take up a lot of time, and can be used throughout a lesson whenever necessary. Basically, you can infuse a mindfulness minute whenever you feel your students need to focus and be aware of their own feelings and behaviours.

In a mindfulness minute, there are variety of exercises we can employ so here are ten strategies to help you structure a mindfulness minute.

1. Go to the window and choose one object to focus on for one minute. This could be the sky, clouds, trees or a building. Looking at nature always evokes a sense of serenity, and research suggests that nature can reduce anger, fear, stress and increase positive feelings.

2. Close your eyes for one minute and count your inhale and exhales for a count of four to six. This technique allows students to focus on their breath. Naturally their minds may wander, so remind students to be aware of this and to let those thoughts go.

3. Close your eyes and listen to some calming music and appreciate the sounds you hear.

4. Close your eyes and notice and appreciate the silence or the natural sounds of the classroom.

5. Close your eyes and think about something that makes you happy.

6. Close your eyes and repeat a mantra to yourself that follows your breath. For example, as I breath in I think about being calm, as I breath out I smile.

7. Close your eyes and hum or buzz like a bee that follows a four-count breath (good for early years learners).

8. Close your eyes and imagine you are floating on a fluffy white cloud gliding though the sky- I use to use this one very often and everyone loved this imagery.

9. Stand and stretch. In yoga we start in mountain pose (Tadasana) and we raise our arms over our head as we inhale and lower our arms as we exhale.

10. In a seated position, with your legs crossed, close your eyes and think about a piece of string lifting your spine. As you sit tall think about relaxing the muscles on your face.

Infusing mindfulness into your classroom only takes a minute but the benefits for our students are extremely impactful to their health and well-being. As a society, we are becoming more aware of the importance of the well-being of our children. It is our goal to make sure they grow up to be future positive, happy citizens of the world.

If you'd like to hear from Jennifer Chang Wathall about how to develop a growth mindset in your students, watch the webinar recording here.

References
https://www.mindful.org/what-is-mindfulness/ https://www.gse.harvard.edu/news/uk/19/01/making-time-mindfulness https://transformingeducation.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/2019-BCRC-Mindfulness-Brief.pdf http://www.pocketmindfulness.com/6-mindfulness-exercises-you-can-try-today/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3699874/ https://leftbrainbuddha.com/mindful-minute-10-simple-ways-bring-peace-day/ https://www.oxfordmindfulness.org/news/mindfulness-resilience-adolescence-myriad-project/

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Ten ways to infuse mindfulness into the maths classroom

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Maths expert, Jennifer Chang Wathall, shares her top tips and the benefits of infusing mindfulness into the maths classroom.

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Using storybooks, e.g., Have you Filled Your Bucket Today? by Carol McCloud.

Cosmic Yoga https://cosmickids.com/category/watch/

and Youtube

Go Noodle https://app.gonoodle.com/

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Counting our breaths in and out to relate to numeracy.

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Counting our breaths in and out to relate to numeracy.

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this was a fun one we did this year online

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Using a black sharpie, draw lines on the paper representing the shapes of a stained glass window.
Students doodle, design various textures into each shape

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Review senses and ask them to focus on what they hear, see, feel, etc.

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Review senses and ask them to focus on what they hear, see, feel, etc.

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Math journals-new learning, successes, challenges and accompanying feelings

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Math journals-new learning, successes, challenges and accompanying feelings

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My school had a subscription the last couple of years to X movement https://www.xmovement.com/ Ties in well with Phys Ed

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We provide in-school physical activity and mindfulness programs that build life skills and help to create a positive school climate.

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teaching the 5 senses and relating them to being mindful of our surroundings. we would do this during lunch sometimes and smell, taste one thing in our lunch

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teaching the 5 senses and relating them to being mindful of our surroundings. we would do this during lunch sometimes and smell, taste one thing in our lunch

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Mindfulness Alive | Drama Games and Stories for Teaching ...

https://mindfulnessalive.wordpress.com

Given the importance of engaged practice and direct experience in cultivating mindfulness, drama games and stories can help you supplement whatever mindfulness training you may be doing in a way that is exciting, hands-on, and truly alive. …a project of The Mindfulness Education Exchange.

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During a nature walk have ask them what did you see, hear and smell during our walk?

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During a nature walk have ask them what did you see, hear and smell during our walk?

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Teach them new words we use in mindfulness and their meanings during language lessons.

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Teach them new words we use in mindfulness and their meanings during language lessons.

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The Best One-Minute Mindfulness Activity for Dancers

Mindfulness. Mindfulness is defined as “the nonjudgmental focus of one’s attention on the experience that occurs in the...

It’s Easier Than You Think. Mindfulness is an astonishingly simple skill that helps you regulate your emotions, improves...

Image your favorite routine you’ve ever performed.. What made you love it? Was it the technical skill you got to show...

Easy Mindfulness Exercises. Mindfulness exercises are surprisingly simple on the surface. Yet it’s in...

More ...

The Best One-Minute Mindfulness Activity for Dancers ...

passionatecoach.com/one-minute-mindfulness-for-dancers/

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my ECE partner lead these cute mindfulness moments. now shes leaving I need to purchase my own copy.

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Opportunities for kinesthetic examples and practice

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Opportunities for kinesthetic examples and practice

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Teaching them to self- regulate their emotions using the zones of regulation

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Teaching them to self- regulate their emotions using the zones of regulation

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Record their breaths in a certain amount of time and have them use tallies to count their own breaths or a partner's breaths, then show them how to put that data into a bar graph. 

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Record their breaths in a certain amount of time and have them use tallies to count their own breaths or a partner's breaths, then show them how to put that data into a bar graph. 

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5Rhythms: A Call to Dance! / The Mindfulness Project Blog

https://www.londonmindful.com/blog/5rhythms

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Dancing Mindfulness: Bubble Dance - YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnUBfFWA2d8

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Creating calming zones in our classrooms

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Creating calming zones in our classrooms

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Once they understand emotions, have them do a daily check in with their emotions, or a few times a day is even better.

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Once they understand emotions, have them do a daily check in with their emotions, or a few times a day is even better.

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Mindfulness Alive | Drama Games and Stories for Teaching ...

https://mindfulnessalive.wordpress.com

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students could survey family members about their own calming/mindfulness strategies. Also, students could take what they've learned in class about mindfulness home to teach their families.

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students could survey family members about their own calming/mindfulness strategies. Also, students could take what they've learned in class about mindfulness home to teach their families.

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Boosting Mood with Music - Mindfulness Exercises

https://mindfulnessexercises.com/tune-up-with-music

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Music and Mindfulness For Stress Reduction | Drum Helper

https://drumhelper.com/blog/music-and-mindfulness-for-stress-reduction

Exploring Different Sounds 1.) Pay attention to the timbre of the musical instruments. Imagine that it’s the very first time you have ever heard a... 2.) Feel the changing dynamics and the beat. Without judging or analyzing, familiarize yourself with the beat of the... 3.) Absorb the mood of the ...

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I love the big life journal resources.  If you sign up, she sends a free printable every Friday.
Here is a particular resource for growth mindset in math.
https://biglifejournal.com/blogs/blog/5-ways-kids-develop-growth-mindset-in-mathematics?epik=dj0yJnU9SHRPMTBWYUFwR184N01lbkFkekxPZDFaVGhZcXAzN3ImcD0wJm49YzZsV1FkT0tSemFLck9WRzRlTVVpZyZ0PUFBQUFBR0VWWUlv&utm_source=pinterest&utm_medium=social

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5 Powerful Ways to Help Kids Develop a Growth Mindset in Mathematics
"I'm just not good at math." "I'm not a math person." "I wasn't born with the math gene."
THIS ARTICLE INCLUDES A FREE PRINTABLE

Unfortunately, as a math educator, these phrases are all too familiar to me. Kids go through school and life being bombarded with messages that imply some people are good at math and some people aren't.

For some of us, math just "clicks." But what if it doesn't "click" for you right away? Well, you might as well give up. You're just not a math person. The problem with these messages, whether stated or implied, is that they're false.

This "cultural baggage" we have towards math is not based on truth about how our brains are wired. It's based on parents and teachers' years of misunderstanding or hating math and passing these negative attitudes and beliefs onto their children.

However, the great news is more and more research is proving these messages false as we learn how our brains work and how math teaching styles can impact mindset and achievement.

Before you move on, be sure to sign up for our FREE weekly printables carefully crafted to teach your kids growth mindset, resilience, and much more. Sign up below to make sure you're on the list!

Once signed up, you will immediately receive our popular Parent's Guide to a Growth Mindset.

Why Having a Growth Mindset Towards Math is so Important?

We all want kids to feel and successful as they learn math. Kids who have a growth mindset about their math abilities perform on standardized tests and are more engaged in the classroom.

"Students who have a fixed mindset but who are well prepared and do not encounter difficulty can do just fine. However, when they encounter challenges or obstacles they may then be at a disadvantage."

And that's precisely the problem. At one point or another, for every single one of us, math will become hard. For some, this might be in second grade when facing subtraction with regrouping. For others, it might not become hard until Calculus.

How can you Help Kids Develop a Growth Mindset in Math?

Here are some practical ideas to get you started.

1. Teach Kids About the Brain's Ability to Grow

If necessary, first we need to change how kids view math and their math abilities. There are a lot of children who feel they are going to be good at math, no matter how hard they try.

By showing them how our brains work we give them hope that their brain can grow and change, as they continue to study and explore mathematics.

Here are some suggested activities:

For younger children, show fun YouTube videos like the Neuron Song to teach them about neuroplasticity.

For older children, show this brief clip from the BBC documentary 'The Human Body', which demonstrates how establishing new neural pathways between brain cells is like building a bridge to cross a ravine.

Take your kids or students through a free online course from Jo Boaler of Stanford University. This course will explain current brain research and present math in a way many have never seen or thought of before. In addition, research has shown students who take this course have more positive beliefs about math, are more engaged in math class, and perform better on standardized tests.

Have your children or students create their own Brain Poster (included in our Growth Mindset Printables Kit) and display their creation so it serves a reminder of the immense power of their brain.

2. Model and Praise Mistakes as Opportunities for Brain Growth

Kids need to understand our brains learn more when we make mistakes. If we solve all the math homework problems correctly, we haven't learned anything without any struggle. We haven't stretched or strengthened our brains at all.

According to Jo Boaler, in her book, "Mathematical Mindsets," our brain responds to mistakes in one of two ways. First, through an ERN response, which is increased activity in our brain, which happens when there's "a conflict between a correct response and an error."

To help kids see and value their mistakes, we can help them see mistakes for what they are: opportunities for brain growth.

Here are some suggested activities:

Model mistakes in front of kids. Show them that you make mistakes too, and it's a good thing.

Analyze mistakes together to see what and how we learn from them. A great example for classroom teachers is to incorporate "my favorite no" , which allows the whole class to discuss mistakes together and find the value in them.

Read together Mistakes That Worked by Charlotte Foltz Jones.

3. Provide Rich, Open-Ended Math Tasks

Although changing kids' attitudes towards math and the language they use is important, no real change or progress will be made if math continues to be taught the way.

Because math is often taught as a closed, fixed subject with one goal - get the right answer - kids are often afraid to make mistakes because it feels like a . Their only thought is to find that one correct solution, and when they don't, they shut down and quit.

What does this look like? Well, as Jo Boaler says, meaningful math tasks combine the 5C's: curiosity, connection making, challenge, creativity, and collaboration.

When presented with these types of tasks, kids are going to be more excited about math and more engaged in learning.

Challenging kids to actually think about what they're doing and WHY it works is more productive than merely completing 20 problems from a textbook.

Here are some suggested activities:

Try out a variety of tasks from YouCubed with your kids. These tasks are completed by kids all over the world and spark a deeper love of math. Learn more about the week of inspirational math .

Take traditional, closed problems and turn them into rich challenges. For example, your kids might be working on the problem, 18 x 5. This could be a straightforward problem with a single solution. But what if instead, you asked kids to solve it two different ways? Or to give a visual proof of their solution and explain their answer?

Use another engaging challenge from Boaler is the "four 4's" task. This challenge asks kids (or parents and teachers) to find all the numbers from 1-20 using 4 fours and any mathematical operation. For example, 4 + 4 + 4 + 4 = 16, 4 + 4 - 4 + 4 = 8, etc. After some basic operations, this challenge becomes a lot more difficult and engaging!

Raise the bar for kids who are finished with a given problem or task. One easy way to do this is to challenge them to create their own problem. Ask them to write a new similar question, but more difficult. This allows kids the chance to be creative and gets them excited to try and challenge their peers.

As your kids work on math challenges, encourage them to use the 5-step problem-solving cards available in the Growth Mindset Activity Kit .

4. Remove an Emphasis on Speed

As I've already mentioned, kids often have the impression that math is about one thing and one thing only: getting the right answer quickly . But if learning and teaching math was only about getting the right answer, there would be no point in it, because calculators can do that work for us.

Evidence shows math tests increase kids' and hatred of math. The pressure of finishing within a time limit can be so stressful, some kids develop severe math anxiety, which stays with them all their lives.

So instead of focusing on speed, focus on the process.

Here are some suggested activities:

Teach kids the strategies they use, as well as how they talk about big mathematical ideas, are more important than the final answer. And tell them the world's leading mathematicians often spend years focusing on ONE problem, proof or idea.

If you're a classroom teacher, you can assign fewer math problems. When kids see a worksheet or assignment with 20 or 30 problems, they may be more inclined to find a way to get through it all quickly. But if instead you assign fewer problems and make sure they justify their answers or look for multiple solutions, they're more likely to slow down and think about the process.

5. Be Mindful of Your Own Attitude Towards Math

Lastly, and probably most importantly, I want to encourage you to be especially mindful of your own views of math and the you use to talk about it in front of your kids. Kids are watching and listening and learning from our example (whether we're aware of it or not) and even subtle fixed mindset messages will come across to kids.

If the only effort made is a change in language, such as using words like "yet" or "mistakes help our brain grow," but the teacher's mindset and teaching style don't change, there will be no real change in kids.

Instead, we have to see a trickle-down effect: it begins with parents and teachers changing their mindset towards math. This in turn affects how we talk about and present math to kids. This then changes kids' mindsets from fixed to growth and begins to affect their achievement in math class and on standardized tests.

Here are some suggestions for you:

Continue to learn and study the importance and impact of a growth mindset for yourself. This will not only help you to develop a growth mindset towards math but will be a powerful example to your kids as you show them how to persevere.

S p end time together as a family discussing some of the open math tasks shared above. You can learn new strategies together and have fun discussing big ideas. You'll be spending quality time together and engaging in meaningful math learning at the same time! It's a win-win.

If you're concerned about your own mindset towards math, complete the free course from Jo Boaler. You may also like this freemini coursefor teachers on creating rich math tasks (even if you're not a teacher).

Follow the free 4-week guide on How To Teach Growth Mindset to Kids , it provides specific examples of how to model growth mindset and teach it to your children.

Given time and intentionality, even the most fixed mindsets towards math can be turned around, and the most struggling students can succeed, thrive and will love exploring mathematical ideas.

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5 Powerful Ways to Help Kids Develop a Growth Mindset in Mathematics

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"I'm just not good at math. I'm not a math person. I wasn't born with the math gene." Unfortunately, as a math educator, these phrases are all too familiar to me. Kids go through school and life being bombarded with messages that imply some people are good at math and some people aren't.

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One way to increase student engagement and decrease anxiety in the classroom is to combine mindfulness and improvisational theatre exercises to teach subject matter. Improvisation develops a sense of trust in self and others, as well as whole-body thinking and awareness. It is also fun.

Improvisational mindfulness activities can be used in most academic subjects. Personally, I have used them in English, Social Studies and Social Science classes. My colleagues have used them to teach foreign languages. They can also be used by teacher trainers to show how to present material in a lively way, relate compassionately with students, and face challenging situations with empathy and clarity. In any class, improvisation can be used to encourage class participation or to assess student understanding. For example, in a class on psychological literature, I asked students to take turns playing the main 3 characters in the novel

In English classes, improvisation can be used to examine a character in a novel, develop a plot for a short story, or explore the meaning of an essay. In history or social studies classes, it can be used to develop empathy and in-depth understanding of an event in history or explore the meaning of concepts like freedom, compassion, nationalism or the need for equal rights for all.

Ordinary People in an imagined family therapy session. The school counselor played the therapist, and I observed the session and took notes on how the students' words and gestures showed how well they understood and embodied their characters.

A Few Games and Exercises

The following activities can help your students become more aware of:

their physical sensations,

how they interact with others, and

how they're connected to other people through sharing the same types of emotions and reactions.

Before you introduce any of these activities to your students, practice the technique yourself several times and imagine how each of your students will respond. You may need to modify in order to better suit your students and your context.
Mirroring can be a wonderful way for students to develop a subliminal understanding of and ability to harmonize with others as well as a way to pick up on body messaging. (See my book, 1. Mirroring
Compassionate Critical Thinking, page 63.)

a. If you have space or can move tables out of the way, ask students to stand up and pick a partner (or you can assign partners).

b. Have the pairs stand with feet shoulder width apart, facing each other, hands up and open, slightly in front, with hands facing those of their partner.

c. Imagine that the surface of the mirror is halfway between you. Pick one of you to be the leader, the other mirrors. Move slowly, without breaking eye contact or breaking the mirror. An example of breaking the mirror would be if the leader's right hand goes outward, toward her partner and past the partner's left hand.

d. After a few minutes, have them switch who leads. After a minute or two, before they tire, switch again⎼ and then again. After switching two or three times, of shorter and shorter intervals, tell them to move with no leader.

e. After a minute or so with no leader, ask them to stop and close their eyes. Lead them in a body scan or an exercise in mindfulness of feeling and sensation.

f. Have them thank and share their reactions with their partner.

g. Ask the whole class how difficult it was to follow their partner without losing eye contact and if they were able to move freely without a leader. Discuss the importance of being able to move with awareness in tune with others.

2. Living Pictures
Option 1: Act out a photograph or painting
Show the class an image of a group of people in a social situation or during a historical event. They could be discussing, arguing, celebrating, or having some other type of interaction. Then ask the class to intuit what is going on and why.

You can ask student volunteers to take the body posture and position of the people in the photo and try to feel what the posture and position might be communicating.

Ask: Who are the people? What is their relationship? What are they saying to each other? What might they be feeling?

Option 2: Create a living portrait
Alternatively, you can have your students create a scene from history or literature.

In an English class, pick 2 or 3 main characters from a scene in a novel.

In a social studies class, you might use actual historical figures.

Ask for volunteers to "play" the character. Assume the body posture and gestures of the fictional character and thus re-create in the classroom a representation of the scene you are studying.

You could have one or two volunteers " sculpt " the characters, your students are comfortable with this . Otherwise, the characters can move themselves into position, guided by suggestions from the rest of the class. if

3. Embodied Words

a. Pick three student volunteers and give each a piece of paper with a contrasting word printed on it like Yes, No, Maybe. (Or you could use vocabulary words they've been studying.) You could actually have students act out the word (see part b and part c) or just answer the questions (skipping to part d).

b. Once they've read and digested the word, ask them to walk around in the front of the room, just feeling the word, letting the word meaning develop inside.

c. Have them say the word as they walk, exploring the word's meaning.

d. Ask: What might a person who often says this word be like? What would he or she look like or how would he/she walk and gesture? How might she/he be feeling?

e. Interact. One at a time, say the word to the other actors. Explore how the words motivate you to relate. Show it. Then engage in a conversation using only the one word.

With older students (secondary school, university, or adult learners), you can do the above with more complex concepts, ones that relate yet possibly contrast, like freedom, law, and responsibility. Or pick a concept like nationalism and ask the class to list words that the concept brings to mind.

In order to aid memory and allow students to relax if the discussion has brought up strong feelings, have them close their eyes and focus on their breath.

Once they have quieted, ask them to focus on their shoulders and notice how their shoulders expand as they breathe in, settle down, relax, and let go as they breathe out.

5. Breathing exercise

a. Introduce the exercise by asking students if they want to learn a way to clear away hurtful feelings, strengthen the clarity of their mind and the power of their breathing. If the response is positive, talk about the and psychological benefits of breathing more deeply. You could even have them do health benefits research on the topic.

b. Have them put their hands on their belly and practice breathing in deeply enough to move their hands. Ask them to breath in to the count of 2, breath out to the count of 4.

c. Ask them: could you breathe out even more slowly?

d. Ask: Can you hear the exhalation, or the natural sound you make when you relax and the air passes from the belly, to the chest, vocal cords, and out? Make the sound like ohmmmmm or aummmm.

e. Now let's do it together. Stand up and form a circle. (Depending on your students' comfort level, they can hold hands.) Breathe in-then breathe out, at your own pace and for as long as it is comfortable, letting the natural sound of ohmmmm or of the air passing out be heard. Say Om 3 times.

f. At the end, stand still, in silence, listening to the last students' finish and the quiet that settles on the group.

I used this breathing exercise for several years at the beginning of the period in drama classes, and one time in an English class after we received news that a student from the class was injured in an auto accident. You might use it after a difficult incident in order to reconnect, or to start classes in a way that develops group harmony, strengthens the breath and clears the mind.

Improvisation, especially combined with mindfulness, can help turn a classroom into a supportive, empathic environment where students are more engaged, thoughtful and joyful. In times of great anxiety and stress, such practices are greatly needed and appreciated by both students and teachers.

If you're looking for more information about improvisational techniques, I recommend the following books:

Related Posts:

Emotion Improv: an Exercise for Developing Mindfulness of Feelings
Exploring Our Humanity Through Mindfulness: What Our Bodies Can Teach Us
Trying on Different Shapes: Mindfulness of Mood and Posture
Using Mindfulness and Empathic Imagination in Teaching Myths

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5 Improvisational Mindfulness Activities for Academic Classes

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One way to increase student engagement and decrease anxiety in the classroom is to combine mindfulness and improvisational theatre exercises to teach subject matter. Improvisation develops a sense of trust in self and others, as well as whole-body thinking and awareness. It is also fun. Improvisational mindfulness activities can be used in most academic subjects.

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Mindful Art in the Classroom

I don't know about you, but I see a strong connection between mindfulness and art.

Think about all the different types of art: drawing, painting, music, jewelry, rap, sculpting, writing. The list can go on and on.

Now think about mindfulness: Paying attention to the present moment.

Using art as a mindfulness tool can provide a uniquely accessible opportunity to let the mind wander freely while focusing attention on a simple, engaging task - it is a 'hack' for present moment awareness. Mindfulness and art are also becoming more popular as a form of therapy for young people. Mindfulness-based art therapy brings together mindfulness and artistic expression in which the process of creating is the important part, not the finished product.

"Art is a natural way to practice mindfulness. The colors, textures, and sounds of creating pull us into the moment. You don't need any previous training to meditate through art, just a willingness to draw like a child, with freedom and a sense of curiosity."

-Amy Maricle, Art Therapist

By providing students the chance to get hands-on with art we provide them with a fun and concrete experience that they can use to self-regulate during times of escalation. It provides a tangible coping strategy that students can use at home, at their desks, or any other time they need to calm down.

We put a list together of five fun and simple mindful art activities that require very little supplies. Try one, or all, out with your students! If you're interested in more mindful art activities, check out our full lesson on art & mindfulness.

1. Draw Your Breath

Each student gets a piece of paper and a marker or pen. With the marker in the middle of the paper, students breathe in and breathe out drawing lines for each breath. During this whole activity, students will not raise their pen from the piece of paper. When you breathe in, you draw a line in any direction. Keep the pen on the paper and when you breathe out, you draw another line. Students keep doing this as they breathe in and out making their own lines, shapes, and creative artwork.

After about 30 breath cycles, students use colors to color in different shapes. Students can be creative by coloring in the shapes, drawing little pictures or patterns in each shape, etc. You can also do this art project on an Etch-Sketch!

Art Materials:

Paper

Markers, pens, colored pencils

2. Drip Painting

Show your students a few examples of different abstract art, such as Jackson Pollock's drip paintings. Drip painting can be a fun and accessible painting technique for kids to explore different colors and moods simply through dripping paint on their papers. Be creative and have fun!

Materials:

3. Breathing Beads

With some yarn and beads, students can make their own unique breathing beads. After students make their own creation, practice some mindfulness by taking a deep breath for every bead.

Materials:

String, yarn, or ribbon

Beads

4. Mandalas

Provide students with either blank paper to create their own or, if you have limited time, print your own copies and focus students on coloring.

Materials:

5. Mindful Writing

Provide students some time to write. This can be with a writing prompt such as, "write about all the things that make you happy" or open writing with no direction. If you choose to teach a structured narrative writing activity, use one of our writing rubrics.

6. Dance it out!

Did you know when you dance, you are boosting your memory, improving your flexibility and balance, reducing stress and depression, and helping out your heart? There are so many positive benefits of dance. Our friends at the National Dance Institute have a handful of fun dance videos free of charge here. Pick one, press play, and dance it out!

Materials:

Dance on your own with some music!

Or, try one of these videos.

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We put a list together of fun and simple mindful art activities that require very little supplies. Try one, or all, out with your students!

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Going to use this curriculum this year...

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Going to use this curriculum this year...

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A comprehensive guide to helping all learners focus and reach their potential through brain-centered management and teaching strategies! Includes a full-color, innovative teaching poster with fascinating facts about the brain!

This research-based curriculum features 15 lessons that use the latest information about the brain to dramatically improve behavior and learning for all students. Each lesson offers easy strategies for helping students focus their attention, improve their self-regulation skills, build resilience to stress, and develop a positive mind-set in both school and life. The lessons fit easily into any schedule and require minimal preparation. Classroom management tips and content-area activities help you extend the benefits of MindUP throughout your day, week, and year.

Includes a BIG, colorful teaching poster with fascinating facts about the brain!

Research-based and tested in dozens of classrooms
-Transforms classrooms into focused learning environments

Helps teachers motivate at-risk learners so each child can thrive-academically, socially, and emotionally

Kids love learning about how their brains work―and how the can help their brains "grow"!

Includes high-interest activities to connect MindUP learning to all content areas

Fosters a cohesive, caring classroom climate that enhances learning

Correlates with social and emotional learning goals created by the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL)

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Up to 90% off Textbooks at Amazon Canada. Plus, free two-day shipping for six months when you sign up for Amazon Prime for Students.

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https://www.healthykidslearnmore.com/Healthy-Kids-Learn-More/Educator-Resources/Take-5ive/Mindful-Movement-K4-8

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4 practices for grades K4-8

These practices help students quiet their minds by developing a stronger connection to their body through guided movement. Utilizing movement based practices in the classroom can help students reset their nervous system when needed so they are better prepared to pay attention and learn.

Standing Balances

Practice Description: This practice is designed to develop focus, physical coordination, and balance energy. It can be useful before testing, with the introduction of new materials or new situations, and in social settings where a connection to oneself or others is required.
Download Transcript
Reset to Get Set

Practice Description: This practice is designed to reset our mind and body through grounding poses and breathing exercises. It is useful after testing, long periods of sitting, or other demanding occasions.
Download Transcript
Ready, Set, Focus

Practice Description: This practice is designed to energize and focus our attention. It can be useful for activities such as testing, working with others in groups, working independently, or when energy is low.
Download Transcript
Strength and Flexibility

Practice Description: This practice is designed to bring strength and flexibility to ourselves, physically and emotionally. It can be used for times when we need to look at a situation differently, bring an open mind to a situation or person, or pay attention to the challenges of a friend or relative.
Download Transcript
Dance for the Sun

Practice Description: This practice helps students warm up their bodies and strengthen all major muscle groups. The flowing movement and breathing are set to Kira Willey's "Dance for the Sun". It can be used to develop focus, as an indoor recess or to create a playful sense of community. Visit KiraWilley.com for more.

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These practices help students quiet their minds by developing a stronger connection to their body through guided movement. Utilizing movement based practices in the classroom can help students reset their nervous system when needed so they are better prepared to pay attention and learn.

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Visual Art Mindfulness Activities for the Classroom ...

https://artsintegration.com/2017/06/01/visual-arts-activities-mindfulness

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Discuss different celebrations and the feelings that may be associated with them. Validate a diversity of emotions and experiences.

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Discuss different celebrations and the feelings that may be associated with them. Validate a diversity of emotions and experiences.

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Surveys and Graphing related to Mindfulness practice. Also calculating heart rate (how many beats per minute? or How many breaths per minute) Compare results before/after physical activity or mindfulness practices. 

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Surveys and Graphing related to Mindfulness practice. Also calculating heart rate (how many beats per minute? or How many breaths per minute) Compare results before/after physical activity or mindfulness practices. 

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Written by Cassie (Teach Starter)

Put simply, mindfulness is "to pay attention, on purpose, to the present moment" (Grossman, 2016).
Make your classroom buzz! Subscribe to Teach Starter and access thousands of curriculum-aligned resources and digital learning tools. Get Started

The positive benefits of teaching mindfulness activities to children have been proven across a number of studies. Incorporating mindfulness into everyday classroom activity is becoming more and more common. A five or ten-minute daily mindfulness practice can see students reduce stress and anxiety, increase concentration and engagement, sleep better, improve social skills, and develop problem-solving and decision-making skills.

5-10 Minute Mindfulness Activities for Kids

Here are 18 quick and effective mindfulness activities for kids in your class. These activities are also available as a printable teaching resource, Mindfulness Activity Task Cards.

If you have never practised mindfulness before you may like to:

Breath Awareness Activities

These are the first stop on your students' journey to mindfulness. Their breath is the one thing that will always be with them.

Explicitly teaching mindful breathing is providing students with a skill that will be with them for life, in every situation they will ever encounter.

Is that not one of the most powerful lessons you can ever teach?

Students can stand or sit for this activity.

Ask students to put both hands on their belly.

Students should close their eyes, or look down to their hands.

Guide students in taking three slow deep breaths in and out to see if they can feel their hands being moved.

You may like to count "1, 2, 3" for each breath in and "1, 2, 3" for each breath out, pausing slightly at the end of each exhale.

Encourage students to think about how the breath feels, answering the following questions silently, in their mind.
- What is moving your hands? Is it the air filling your lungs?
- Can you feel the air moving in through your nose?
- Can you feel it moving out through your nose?
- Does the air feel a little colder on the way in and warmer on the way out?
- Can you hear your breath?
- What does it sound like?

If you'd prefer not to wing it, download and print our Mindful Breathing Guided Meditation Script.

#2 Pinwheel Breathing
(5 minutes)

Providing students with an object to focus on is a great way to encourage concentration during mindfulness activities for kids. Use pinwheels in conjunction with the mindful breathing exercise above, making the pinwheel spin with every exhale.

We have created a beautiful pinwheel template that combines mindfulness colouring with this simple craft activity.

#3 Belly Buddies
(10 minutes)

Ask students to bring in a small stuffed toy, or provide a class set of small, light-weight objects such as small bean bags or wooden blocks.

Students lay on their backs and place the toy or object on top of their belly buttons.

Take students through the guided breathing activity above, asking them to watch the object as it moves up and down with their breath.

#4 Shark Fin
(2 minutes)

Coined by former Mindful Schools co-founder Laurie Gossman and Mr Musumeci's Grade 5 class of the book "Master of Mindfulness: How to Be Your Own Superhero in Times of Stress" fame, the Shark Fin is a fantastic tool that you can use during any quick moment in your day. It will help to calm your class, or individual students, when their minds and bodies may be fighting against them.

Place the side of your hand on your forehead, with your palm facing out to the side.

Close your eyes.

Slide your hand down your face, in front of your nose.

Say "shhh" as you slide your hand down your face

If you are sitting down, you do the 5 S's while you move your hand: Sit up straight, sit still, sit silently, soft breathing, shut eyes.

If you are standing do the same but you are standing straight, still, silently, using soft breathing and shut eyes while you move your hand down your face.

"Master of Mindfulness" (Grossman & Alvarez, 2016)
This activity is similar to the first mindful breathing activity, however it uses visualising colours as a means to increase focus and awareness. You may like to download our printable Breathing Colours Guided Meditation Script.

Ask students to think of a relaxing colour. It can be any colour they like, as long as it is one that makes them think of relaxation.

Ask students to think of a colour that represents stress, sadness or anger. Whichever of those emotions is most relevant or suitable for your class group to explore.

Students imagine breathing in the relaxing colour and visualise it filling their lungs.

Students then imagine breathing out the stress, sadness or anger colour.

Your spoken instructions may be along these lines:

1. Imagine you are surrounded by the relaxing colour. No longer is the air clear, it is the relaxing colour.

2. You can still make out shapes, but your world is now a different colour.

3. Imagine that as you breathe in, you breathe in this colour too.

4. See the colour filling up your lungs.

5. Imagine as you breathe out, that your breath is the colour of stress.

6. See the stress colour mix into the relaxing colour around you. Watch the stress colour slowly disappear.

7. Breath in your relaxing colour.

8. Breath out the stress colour.

#6 Breathing Hands
(2 minutes)

Spread one hand out like a star.

Use the index finger on your other hand to trace the outline of your star hand.

Take a deep breath in as you move to the top of your thumb.

Breathe out as you move down between your thumb and first finger.

Take another breath in as you move to the top of your first finger.

Breathe out as you move down between your first and second finger.

Repeat until you have taken five slow, deep breaths.

#7 Back-to-Back Breathing
(10 minutes)

Students work in pairs for this partnered breathing activity.

Sitting tall, with their back resting against their partner's back, begin the mindful breathing from activity #1.

Encourage students to notice their partner's breath.
- Is it shallow or deep?
- Fast or slow?
- Can they feel their partner's back moving as they breathe?

After a little while, students may find that their breath falls into sync with their partner.

Or it may not! These are all talking points for bringing awareness to the breath, in the present moment.

You could incorporate your Mindfulness Pinwheels into this activity too.

(Jennifer Cohen Harper, Little Flower Yoga)
This is a fantastic activity that students can "take home" with them. It can be particularly useful to do a body scan to help relax before sleep. Download our printable Body Scan Guided Meditation Script to use with your class.

Students lay on the floor, with their eyes closed if they are comfortable (or they may prefer to look at the ceiling).

Encourage students to pay attention to their feet for 5 or 10 seconds.
Questions to ask during a body scan:
- How does this body part feel?
- Is it cold or warm?
- Does it feel tight or relaxed?
- Is all or part of that body part touching the floor?
- Or clothing?
- What does that feel like?

Move on to their toes, then ankles, then calves and knees. Continue body part by body part until you reach the head.

Question how each part of the body feels to bring students' awareness to their body in the moment.

If there is tightness or stress, imagine breathing the stress out of that part of the body with each exhale.

Practising Active Mindfulness

Mindful breathing is arguably the most important skill you can teach your students when it comes to mindfulness. However, being able to incorporate into everyday activities the calm and focused state of mind that the breathing activities practise can be viewed as a more tangible end-goal.

The following 'active' practices help to hone the skill of mindful action. Some students who struggle with the 'still' mindfulness activities may be more likely to feel successful during active practices.

#9 Mindful Eats
(5 minutes)

This is a great activity to bring attention to how mindlessly we sometimes eat! Whether sitting in front of the tv, chatting to friends at lunch, or scrolling through something on the internet or social media, we often "switch off" when eating because it is such a familiar action.

Mindful eating can combat over-eating, it helps bring our attention to the flavours and tastes of different foods and helps us to realise what effects different foods have on how our bodies feel.

Students need something small to eat for this activity. Often a square of chocolate is a fun "challenge", although you could provide a piece of fruit or any food item that you feel will work with your class. Be sure to take any allergies into consideration!

Begin this practice with three deep breaths, or the Shark Fin activity (#4 above).

Direct students to take small nibbles or bites of the food.

Bring awareness to the sensations of eating.
- What is the taste like? Is it sweet or savoury?
- What does the food feel like on your tongue?
- Do you need to crunch it between your teeth, or can you slowly dissolve it in your mouth?
- Try taking a slightly smaller or slightly larger bite.
- How does this change the way eating this food feels?
- Notice which muscles in your mouth, neck and body move as you swallow the food.
- Pause between each bite and notice any changing sensations in your mouth or body.

#10 Mindful Steps
(10 minutes)

This activity is best completed outdoors and if suitable, students may like to walk barefoot.

Give students a clear boundary for where they can walk during this activity.

Each student selects a small area where they can walk in a line for about 5 or 6 steps and back then back to where they started without getting into another person's way.

Begin this practice with three deep breaths, or the Shark Fin activity (#4 above).

Take 5 or 6 steps in one direction, turn slowly and then take 5 or 6 steps back to where you started.

While walking, students bring their awareness to their breath and their body.
- What does the ground feel like under your feet?
- Which part of your foot touches the ground first when you take a step?
- Does your body feel heavy or light today?
- Are you slouching when you walk?
- Or, is your back up quite straight?
- Try not to change the way you walk, but instead just notice how your body naturally moves.

#11 Mindful Sounds
(2 minutes)

For this mindfulness activity, you will need something that makes a bell sound. There are some great meditation apps that have recorded bell, meditation cymbal and singing bowl sounds, however, if you can have one of these small instruments in real life, the sound is much better!

Begin this practice with three deep breaths, or the Shark Fin activity (#4 above).

Give the following instructions before ringing the bell:
- When I ring the bell concentrate on the sound that you hear.
- Pay attention to whether you hear it louder in one ear than you do in the other.
- Keep your eyes closed until the sound is completely gone.
- If you notice your thoughts wandering, just bring your attention back to the sound of the bell.
- After you open your eyes, remain silent until you hear my voice again.

Students close their eyes, while the teacher rings the bell.

The activity is finished when the sound has completely dissipated.

#12 Spidey Senses
(5 minutes)

Karen Young from Hey Sigmund has a beautiful collection of mindfulness activities for kids on her blog. Spidey Senses is a fun way to frame this traditional mindfulness exercise. Our five senses poster and graphic organiser can be useful resources for teaching the senses to younger students.

Ask students to switch their senses up to a superpower level, just like Spiderman.

In this moment,
- What can they hear?
- What can they see?
- What can they taste?
- What can they smell?
- What can they feel?

Guide students as they stay in this Spidey state for 2-3 minutes.

#13 Gratitude Practice
(5-10 minutes)

Students use a notebook or a folder and paper to make a Gratitude Journal.

Practise gratitude journaling at a regular time each day, perhaps first thing in the morning, after lunch or just before the end of the day.

Take five minutes to think of something that you feel grateful for today. Here are some topics or ideas you can use to guide your students:
- Something that someone else did for you that day.
- A person in your life that you appreciate.
- An activity or hobby you are grateful to be able to do.
- A positive quality of someone that can sometimes be hard to get along with.
- A skill or ability you have.
- A part of your body you are grateful for and why.
- An item that you love.
- Something that made you laugh.
- What you have learnt from something that was hard.

Another beautiful idea is for each student to put their day's thanks into their own Gratitude Jar, or to create a Gratitude Tree where each day's thanks is written onto a 'leaf'. This could either be on a notice-board or be hanging on a string from the limb of a real plant or tree branch. (Mayuri Gonzales, Little Flower Yoga)

#14 Glitter Bottle
(5 minutes)

Use this familiar sensory bottle concept as a mean to explicitly teach how mindfulness can help to calm us when we are feeling stressed, anxious, sad or angry.
Preparation

Fill a bottle or jar with water, leaving 2-3 cm of space at the top.

Add a generous amount of glitter glue to the bottle (or a combination of PVC glue and regular glitter).

Seal the bottle well!

You may like to make one large bottle to use as an example for whole-class instruction, or a set of bottles that can be used by individuals or for small group rotations.

Directions

Shake the bottle well to mix the glitter, water and glue.

Share the following words with your students:

"'Imagine that the glitter is like your thoughts when you're stressed, mad or upset. See how they whirl around and make it really hard to see clearly? That's why it's so easy to make silly decisions when you're upset - because you're not thinking clearly. Don't worry this is normal and it happens in all of us (yep, grown-ups too).

[ Now put the jar down in front of them.]

Now watch what happens when you're still for a couple of moments. Keep watching. See how the glitter starts to settle and the water clears? Your mind works the same way. When you're calm for a little while, your thoughts start to settle and you start to see things much clearer."
(by Karen Young of Hey Sigmund)
#15 Mindful Safari
(10-30 minutes)

Another beautiful child-friendly reframing of a traditional mindfulness practice is to take your students on a Mindful Safari.

Instruct students to remain quiet, calm their thoughts and move slowly while on safari.

Ask students to turn their sense of sight, touch and sound onto high.

Search for beautiful natural objects to explore.
- What does it look like?
- What colour is it?
- What does it smell like?
- Can I touch it?
- What does it feel like?

Search for mini-beasts and other creatures that move.

When they find a creature, encourage students to watch the creature in silence for as long as they would like to.
- What does it look like?
- How does it move?
- What colours can you see on its body?

#16 Sense Countdown
(5 minutes)

A great one for older students, this is an extension of the Spidey Senses activity that can be used to help calm a busy mind and bring our awareness to the present moment.

Think of:

5 things you can see

4 things you can touch

3 things you can hear

2 things you can smell

1 thing you can taste

#17 Heartbeat
(5 minutes)

Our heartbeat is an amazing representation of our emotions. Like our breath, it is always with us. So, we can use our heartbeat to connect with the present moment in times of difficulty or stress.

You might like to begin this practice with three deep breaths, or the Shark Fin activity (#4 above).

Students place their fingers or hands over the part of their body where they can best feel their pulse.
- on the side of their neck, under their jaw
- inside their wrist
- or, over their heart

Ask students to close their eyes and notice how quickly or slowly their heart is beating.

Encourage them to think about their current state of emotion and consider if this might be connected to how quickly or slowly their heart is beating.

Direct students to stand and jump up and down on the spot ten times.

Students return to sitting and feel their heartbeat again, noticing any changes.

Students may like to close their eyes and focus on their heartbeat until it slows back down.

#18 Add a Touchy Feely Focus
(5 - 10 minutes)

Saving the best for last, Shakti Burke gives these great tips for helping wiggly kids begin to master mindfulness. Burke suggests:

Restless minds are magnetised by the sensation of touch: we can't think and feel at the same time. The stroking and feeling itself (when using a prop to help children focus) becomes the meditation, in place of the breath awareness focus.

You might like to begin your class journey towards mindfulness with some of these more tactile activities.
Provide students with a prop to hold, touch, balance or focus their eyes on during one of the above activities.

small soft toys

small bean bags or beany pillows

stress balls

pieces of furry fabric

There you go! 18 amazing activities to help teach mindfulness in your classroom. Mindfulness truly is a skill that will benefit your students as individuals, long after they leave your classroom for the final time.

Check out our beautifully illustrated Mindfulness Activity Task Cards that you can use to support mindfulness practice with your students.

Whole Class Daily Mindfulness Activity Tracker

Track your class' progress to superhero status with these beautiful Mindfulness Activity Tracker Charts can be used to note each day of whole-class practice.

The charts are available in three formats:

Each download comes with a page of illustrated markers that can be stuck onto the chart. The black and white downloads of these trackers are also fantastic for students to use for their personal mindfulness practice.

If you are new to mindfulness for children, take a look at our post "Why You Should Be Teaching Mindfulness to Improve Student Learning" for practical tips and tricks to begin your class mindfulness practice routine. You can also download our Mindfulness Information Sheet for Teachers with eight succinct and actionable tips.
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5 Minute Classroom Mindfulness Activities for Kids | Teach Starter

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Written by Cassie (Teach Starter) Put simply, mindfulness is "to pay attention, on purpose, to the present moment" (Grossman, 2016). Make your classroom buzz! Subscribe to Teach Starter and access thousands of curriculum-aligned resources and digital learning tools. Get Started The positive benefits of teaching mindfulness activities to children have been proven across a number of studies.

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Mindfulness, in a nutshell, is defined as:

"Bringing one's complete attention to the present experience on a moment-to-moment basis" - Marlatt & Kristeller, (1999)

Mindfulness can powerfully enhance performance; indeed many successful people use it, such as athletes, entrepreneurs, actors, and musicians. If you are learning something new, you want to listen mindfully, you want to practice mindfully, You want visual stimulus, you want to absorb the new information and the new skills as efficiently as possible. Mindfulness can be used to enhance your performance as a language learner. Just 10-20 minutes language learning a day using mindfulness can make you more productive than 40 minutes unfocused language learning using gadgets.

Language acquisition is about the memorization of words and grammar rules. If you can start by memorizing keywords that you need to know, you are already half-way there. Mindfulness is well-known for its ability to help you retain new information. When I was learning French at school I found it really hard to remember the vocabulary I was learning. since being more mindful I have found this process a lot easier. Studies have shown that you need to see a fact several times before you can remember it. However, mindfulness speeds up this process so you can remember it without having to be exposed to it several times.
In addition to improving your memory, mindfulness can help you to focus for longer periods of time too. You can't just focus for a few minutes a day when learning a new language. It would take years just to reach a basic conversational level. If you plan to succeed, you need to study regularly for at least 30 - 45 minutes per day. The problem is; the average concentration time is decreasing rapidly. Some studies have shown that younger generations can only focus for 8-9 seconds. Yes, our attention span is now less than that of a goldfish!

Here are my top 10 tips for mindful language learning:

1. Shut it down or turn it off...

In a world full of gadgets, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, cat videos, fidget spinners... distractions are everywhere! Before studying turn off all distractions. Multi-tasking is the ability to perform lots of tasks at the same time. Some people even list this as a skill on their CV. However, in reality, this isn't healthy for us and we are actually more efficient when we focus on just one thing at a time.

2. Just Breath

Take a few deep breaths, now focus your attention on your breath. If you have any distracting thoughts don't try to judge or control them. Bring your attention back to your breath. It takes practice. It's important to get those deeper breaths and enable more oxygen to your brain.

3. Strech it out

Just about to have a Skype tutorial? Take a few moments to stretch out. Release any anxieties you may have by touching your toes or just swinging your arms about your waist. This will allow for a better flow before you start your language study.

4. Keep Going and don't judge

Don't worry about getting things wrong. Stay in a state of non-judgment of yourself.

5. Self-Compassion

Be kind to yourself. As any beginner knows, it is only through our mistakes that we truly learn. Stay in the moment and treat yourself with respect and care you deserve. Remember Rome was not built in a day.

6. Let go of mistakes

It's okay to make mistakes. Notice them, and learn from them, but do not judge yourself harshly.

7. Be more self-aware

Be aware of the progress you are making, but without judgment or comparison with other learners.

8. Use your Senses to regain focus

Use all of your senses in language learning and fully immerse yourself in the culture.

9. Smile

Studies have shown that the act of smiling can bring on authentic feelings of well-being and reduce stress levels.

10. Notice a wandering mind

If you notice your mind keeps wondering, acknowledge and label the distracting thoughts. for example ' worrying', ' planning'. ' judging'. It's up to you to either act upon that thought and become distracted or let it go and focus.
Remember Mindfulness takes practice, but with consistency, you will be able to maintain your focus for longer, learn vocabulary faster and enhance your listening skills. This means you will vastly improve your ability to learn a new language.

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10 Simple Tips for Mindful Language Learning

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Mindfulness, in a nutshell, is defined as: "Bringing one's complete attention to the present experience on a moment-to-moment basis " - Marlatt & Kristeller, (1999) Mindfulness can powerfully enhance performance; indeed many successful people use it, such as athletes, entrepreneurs, actors, and musicians.

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(PDF) Mindfulness Resources for Primary Students RMIT ...

https://www.academia.edu/36756423

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5 Minute Classroom Mindfulness Activities for Kids | Teach ...

https://www.teachstarter.com/au/blog/classroom-mindfulness-activities...

1. Mindful Breathing. (5 minutes) Students can stand or sit for this activity. Ask students to put both …

2. Pinwheel Breathing. (5 minutes) Providing students with an object to focus on is a great way to …

3. Belly Buddies. (10 minutes) Ask students to bring in a small stuffed toy, or provide a class set of …

4. Shark Fin. (2 minutes) Coined by former Mindful Schools co-founder Laurie Gossman and Mr …

See full list on teachstarter.com