Enjoy The Moment
The art of mindfulness is being present and in the moment.
This month the Sea Turtles have been practicing the art of being Mindful.
Mindfulness is being aware and paying attention, with kindness and patience, to what’s going on inside and outside of you.
A goal of mindfulness practice it to calm the constant chatter happening in one’s mind.
Each Tuesday’s Resilience session is a combination of a guided mindfulness activity, yoga and/or breathing exercises and an opportunity for individual reflection through art.
One of the classrooms most used resources is our Mindful Kids cards. 50 activity cards divided into five categories; staying grounded, finding calm, focus, open you heart and rest and relax.
How does mindfulness look in our classroom?
On one particular Tuesday the weather was a bit on the chilly side and the children were all eager to go inside.
I suggested that we keep our jumpers on and have a picnic in the sunshine instead.
While the children ate their delicious fruit salad, I introduced the a focus card “Mindful Munch”
Before eating, the children were asked to:
- Take three deep mindful breaths;
- To sniff the food and think about what it smelled like;
- To look at their piece of fruit carefully, noticing the texture;
- Did it look crunchy? or Soft and munchy?
Next they took one bite of the fruit:
- Is it sweet, bitter or Sour?
- Did the taste change as it was chewed?
- After swallowing the food the children were asked to describe what sensations they felt in their tummy.
Art of Appreciation
After everyone had eaten i highlighted all the benefits of being outside.
The sun felt warm and bright, the air smelt fresh, we could hear the birds happily chirping in the trees.
The children were then asked to identify what they could see, hear, feel and smell.
This was also the perfect opportunity to bring out the bubble wand, find out which direction the wind was blowing and watching the bubbles have races over the fence and across the road.
I spoke to the class about looking for the best in every situation.
The class then participated in a Yoga session.
Using a Yoga dice the children took turns to roll it across the ground.
They then led the class in performing the identified pose.
After each child had had a turn, i invited the class to lay on their mats with their eyes closed and soak up the glorious sunshine.
To extend on this experience the children were asked to identify a type of Weather condition and what they enjoy doing in that weather.
The children then used a combination of water colours and felt markers to make a representation of their enjoyment.
Providing the children with the opportunity to;
- Focus,
- Stimulate their brain,
- Build concentration and
- Sharpen their sensory awareness
changed the direction of the day and reminded the class that every day is a good day.
That’s all from us ( Miss Patti and the Pingins) – see you again next month
Also please follow our Facebook and Instagram Pages and stay up to date.
