Mindfulness for

Children
Training Programme

The KEW Training Academy

Mindfulness for Children Training Programme
 Copyright
Copyright © 2015 by: The KEW Training Academy
Cover and internal design ©2015The KEW Training Academy

All rights reserved. No part of this course may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or
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brief quotations in articles or reviews – without the permission in writing from its publisher, The
KEW Training Academy.

All brand names and product names used in this course are trademarks, registered trademarks, or
trade names of their respective holders. We are not associated with any product or vendor in this
course.
 Table of Contents
Contents
Mindfulness for Children ................................................................................................................ 1
Training Program ............................................................................................................................ 1
The KEW Training Academy ..................................................................................................... 1
Copyright ........................................................................................................................................ 3
Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................ 4
Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 5
Getting Ready ................................................................................................................................. 9
Sound Exercises ............................................................................................................................ 12
Touch Exercises ............................................................................................................................ 16
Outdoor Exercises ......................................................................................................................... 20
Exercises in Vision ....................................................................................................................... 23
Meditation ..................................................................................................................................... 26
Drawing Exercises ........................................................................................................................ 31
Be a Superhero .............................................................................................................................. 35
Summary ....................................................................................................................................... 37
About............................................................................................................................................. 38
Additional Courses........................................................................................................................ 39
Mindfulness for Children .............................................................................................................. 44
 Introduction

Welcome to this Mindfulness Training Programme designed specifically as a guide to the

development of mindful awareness in younger children, in particular children aged 6-10 years. In
order for us to be able to facilitate this change in the development of a young mind, we must first
have a full understanding ourselves of what mindfulness actually means.

Mindfulness has really taken off in recent years, it is in fact a buzzword, now gaining greater
popularity with businesses, colleges and schools, all leaning towards students and employees
adopting a more mindful approach in life. Mindfulness is not new, it’s always been with us in the
form of concentration, through focusing and through being in the present but, now more than
ever, companies around the globe are realising the huge benefits that go hand in hand with a
mindfulness practice.
While we tend to think of mindfulness as being effective for adults, there are incredible benefits
that can be gained when children of all ages learn the basics of being mindful. Even those
children who are just starting school can begin to understand what it means and to start to apply
the lessons learned in everyday life. By learning when young, the message of mindfulness is
likely to become an integral part of everyday life thereafter.

In addition, mindfulness can enhance learning, developing awareness and clarity of mind in far
greater depth than might be considered possible. This programme is designed for teachers to
choose the tasks most relevant to their school children but importantly, to have fun with the
lessons. By doing so the tasks can help facilitate and create change in the youngest of minds.

So what is mindfulness?

It could be deemed that mindfulness is the exact opposite of being on autopilot. Our sub-
conscious mind controls much of what we do on a daily basis and while this is perfectly normal,
it does mean that we often live in a distracted state of being. If you have ever taken the same
journey a number of times you will know that you do not concentrate on the whole journey, there
is an integral awareness, a familiarity, and when you reach your destination, you may realise that
you lost track of time and distance.

This happens even when driving because the sub-conscious mind takes over those tasks
committed to memory, leaving the conscious mind to think about other things. When something
changes en-route, a traffic jam, an accident etc. the conscious mind quickly takes over because
decisions need to be made and you need to be alert. It is this alertness/awareness that equates to a
mindful state.

A distracted mind isn’t harmful, we all slip into a daydream state at times but, in a school
environment, as with many others, productivity increases when remaining in the present, and, the
student’s learning capacity increases substantially. A concentrated focus is a very powerful tool
to have especially when it comes to being aware of surroundings or responding to certain
stimulus. This is often referred to as ‘being within your experience’, in other words, you are in
control and are thinking about every aspect of what you are doing. This is particularly helpful in
young children who are learning new tasks even when their attention spans are limited.

Mindfulness is really about being aware and creating a bond between your mind and the task you
are concentrating on. Without a doubt this improves the ability to see situations with greater
clarity and to cope with any emotional changes more easily, often through acceptance. Although
mindfulness cannot eliminate the stresses of life, by having greater clarity of mind, there is the
potential to approach specific situations in a manner that benefits our well-being. This also
means there is less potential to make poor decisions.

The human mind is very easily distracted and none more so than in children, so there is an
obvious benefit to increasing focus. Not only does this help the child to understand what they are
doing in a deeper way but it also helps them to experience life in the full. In modern day life, we
are all under pressure to cope with rising workloads and never-ending tasks, we often overlook
the good things that happen in the here and now, and can easily end up focusing on the areas
which are less than positive. In fact, some people continue this pattern throughout life, so you
can see how important it is to introduce mindfulness to younger school children and to create the
foundations of a mindful approach at this point.

The origins of mindfulness.

Mindfulness almost certainly has its origins rooted in very ancient meditation, but it became
more popular in the 1970’s when a man called Jon Kabat Zinn formed a stress reduction clinic.
Since then, over 18,000 people have taken part in his mindfulness-based stress reduction
programme. In essence, mindfulness has been used in many different therapy based programmes
including counselling and psychotherapy and, even life coaching. In fact, mindfulness exists
anywhere where concentration and clarity are of benefit. It is just that the word itself was not
used as much until we started to recognise exactly what mindfulness is.

Mindfulness plays a particularly important role within children’s education as it helps to

facilitate change and growth in respect of learning and development and over time, awareness of
mindfulness can slow down or eliminate background noise and brain chatter. This can allow the
child to explore the present moment as it really is and to increase their levels of concentration on
the task in front of them. By doing this, they not only learn at a quicker rate but they understand
the task on a deeper level too. So, from this we hope you can see just how important it is that
mindfulness is introduced into their education.

It is worth mentioning at this point that as an educator you will introduce mindfulness into a
child’s life in a non-judgmental way. What this really means is that any distractions are not
viewed in the negative but focus is gently brought back in a positive way. There is no right or
wrong, just effort and understanding.

Mindfulness is equally as important for the teacher so to be able to deflect other thoughts that
exist and distract and we strongly recommend that you practice a mindful approach so to be able
to teach with some authority on the subject. Through regular practice, there is less stress, greater
balance in life, improved well-being and health and increased productivity. Changes are often
noticeable.

During this course, you will see that it is designed to help you as the teacher to choose the tasks
that are most relevant to help the children in your care. The tasks have been specifically designed
to enable children to become more mindful in a fun and caring way. Children may respond in
different ways to the exercises and some may focus on certain tasks with a greater degree of
success than others. This is not as important as generating an understanding of the principles of
mindfulness. If children begin to believe in being mindful and approach it with enthusiasm, the
foundations are created for a mindful approach throughout life.

Note: You do not have to work systematically though the course, it is more beneficial to read
through and then select various tasks that you feel match the children’s needs. If you are ready to
proceed, review the various exercises throughout and determine your starting point in the
classroom environment.
 Getting Ready

Mindfulness is a complicated word for young children to understand, so it’s important to explain
to them the essence of the process which ultimately is awareness in life. So that every part of
every day is experienced in full. We all daydream and tune out of the moment and although this
is impossible to prevent (and neither should we) it’s possible to learn the techniques of bringing
the mind back to the present in a gentle but firm manner.

If we spend too much focus on what is happening tomorrow or think too much about the past we
forget about the here and now which means all the experiences around us are missed. The focus
has to be on the present as this is the place of certainty. There’s little point worrying about the
future or being wrapped up in the past, it’s in the here and now that life exists and changes are
created through actions, thoughts and feelings.
Another important issue is to be aware of what you can expect from the results. Children who are
responsive will automatically begin to understand the sensations and feelings gained through
different experiences, they’ll learn acceptance of situations but recognise their feelings in a
healthy way. They’ll also gain communication skills, and will be able to analyse a situation,
developing healthier responses. In due course, although this programme is very much an
introduction to mindfulness. In addition, they’ll gain a better understanding of the given tasks as
their concentration levels and focus will have increased. The result being that students learn
more quickly than before.

This is not about changing children and detracting from their joyful personalities. It just helps
them to live fully and to experience life in all its glory – the good times and bad times and helps
to shape how they react, think or feel. This is a wonderful way of being able to impart positive
messages which will help them through life. It will not eliminate behavioural problems such as
tantrums or general naughtiness. We have to understand that children are still going to be
children.

It is also worth noting that no lesson should be forced upon the pupils.

Mindfulness will become a way of life naturally and instinctively if children do not view it as a
chore. This is why we endorse the principle of learning mindfulness through fun tasks. It will
certainly be more memorable as a result. Each child is unique and will be defined through their
own experiences and information gained, when life is enjoyable and productive, we learn that
anything is possible. We encourage expression and creativity during the tasks and for a non-
judgmental approach.

There is no right or wrong way of being mindful, just

greater connection and productivity. The process of
learning is just as important as the end result.

Although this course is designed for the ages of 6 to 10, there is of course a big difference in the
mind-set of a 6-year-old in relation to a child who is 10 years of age. This will alter the way that
you introduce mindfulness to them. Most of the exercises in this programme can be modified in
some way or other to incorporate the different age groups and it is important that you have the
flexibility to do so as you know the children involved.

In general however, we have tried to include tasks that can be fitted or modelled to cover the
whole age span.

It may be difficult to sit and explain to a class of children the exact concept of mindfulness and
using examples of their everyday life and experiences will help them to comprehend on a more
personal level. Discussion and class interaction is encouraged as this alone will increase
mindfulness and help the children to learn through practice. The techniques here will also
enhance their understanding in a new but fun way.

You will find that most children really enjoy this kind of interaction and the various practices
that we introduce in this programme so it will be fun not only to teach but to watch as the
children naturally develop a mindful approach going forward.
 Sound Exercises

Sound may not seem an ideal task for being mindful when it is often the sounds around us that
distracts us from our tasks. But if you consider that when we love a song, we focus on the lyrics
and the sound of the musical instruments, we connect at a deep level and by being in the
moment, we are mindful.

So mindfulness is all about focusing on the singular, and certain sounds can be really valuable.

Pre-task

A great way to start a mindfulness session is to introduce children to a mini relaxation session.
This may be new to them and so they are likely to be enthusiastic as to what is to follow. At this
stage, it is useful to practice breathing techniques – enabling them to focus on the breath as it
comes in and out of their bodies. It’s important to keep it simple. They focus as they inhale
through the nose and focus as they exhale through the mouth. Breathing inside the classroom and
outside will be very different as the air may be warmer, cooler or moist. This brings awareness.
This is a short but relaxing technique used in meditation and is equally as beneficial to children
as for adults.
We suggest only 3-5 minutes so as to engage even the most distracted of minds but this should
set the scene ready for the next exercise.

Task

The bell

This exercise is all about sound and it is useful to have a variety of different sounds available
because some children will respond to sounds in different ways. The use of a small bell is a great
way to start this exercise and we suggest a small bell simply because you do not want the sound
to be heard in other classrooms.

 Ask the children to settle and to be quiet for a moment, the breathing exercises should
have helped with this, if not, repeat the breathing exercise.

 Ask the children to listen to the sound of the bell and nothing else.

 After doing this several times and increasing their concentration of the whole sound, you
then ask them to raise their hands when they think the sound has gone completely.

 Hands will shoot up into the air within split seconds of each other but there will be a
differential as we all hear things slightly differently. This exercise is really great at fine
tuning those focused listening skills.

This simple exercise can be used with a variety of different instruments and works well with
anything that has a resonating sound. The xylophone and the glockenspiel all do the same thing,
you just need an instrument which allows the note to linger in the air.

Another great variation of this exercise is to use the metronome as this works in a slightly
different way. The metronome has an almost hypnotic quality about it because of its rhythm and
this of course works very well in focusing attention in an accurate way. Children love it because
it looks mysterious and it is not an object that they see every day. This in turn helps them to
focus.

 Ask them to become aware of the sound and the rhythm and gradually get them to block
out all other sound and distractions as they concentrate for just a few seconds each time
on those sounds.

 It is advantageous to keep these exercises short in the beginning because there is less
chance of their losing focus. However, gradually over a period of time they will be able
to focus for longer periods.

The idea is to fine-tune their ability to concentrate and so using a note from a musical instrument
is a wonderful way of doing so. You can also take advantage of background noise. Now this may
sound like it’s the opposite of mindfulness because we are trying to eliminate anything other than
the sound we are concentrating on, but in reality, we can turn this to our advantage. So when the
sound from the bell disappears and children raise their hands you can ask them what other
sounds they can hear in the background. This enables them to move from a focused state to one
in which they can differentiate other sounds and then they can move their attention at will.

Now you can bring their attention to other sounds – a ceiling fan or noise from another
classroom. Either way, by transferring the focus from one sound to another in a concentrated
fashion is a successful way of introducing mindfulness and showing them their abilities to focus
quickly.

These exercises should always be fun and if any children do not respond in the way that you
hoped, it is important to remain non-judgmental as they may respond to alternate tasks in a more
positive way. For those who do not focus as well, they must be aware to not become judgmental
about their own abilities. Mindfulness, after all, is very much about acceptance.
It is important for children to understand the exercise but to not feel that they have to achieve. It
is the natural flow of awareness and comprehension that we are after and it is enough that you
suggest mindfulness to them and allow it to naturally occur.
 Touch Exercises

The sense of touch is a wonderful resource to aid concentration especially when other senses are
taken out of the frame. For instance, if you close your eyes, place your hand on your leg, then
focus only on the sensation of the hand on this part of your body, this feeling will magnify. You
can also switch your attention to the chair on which you are sitting or even, the floor beneath
your feet.

So the focus of the mind can easily be transferred.

Task

If the class are a little boisterous or distracted, use the breathing exercises task to calm them
down.

In this lesson, we’re going to use three things that the children will sit on. This may vary
depending on what you have available but for now, we will use a chair, a beanbag and the floor.

 Starting with the chair, ensure that all the children are seated and ask them to close their
eyes, focusing on the sensation of the chair beneath them. Encourage them to feel the
pressure of their bodies on the chair, maybe they can feel the backs of their legs touching
the chair. You can also mention their arms and how they feel resting on the chair, and
then allow them to concentrate on different areas of the body for just a few seconds at a
time. This gives them a renewed focus but helps them to not lose attention. Only do this
part of the exercise for a minute or so, because fidgeting will occur thereafter.

 Once this part of the exercises is finished, ask the children how it felt sitting in their
chair. Interaction is encouraged as it engages their attention and creates more willingness
to join in each time. It is also important to explain that we all feel things slightly
differently than each other and that there is no right or wrong way. You may wish to
emphasise that it’s fun to understand that we are all different at times even when we are
doing the same things.

 Now ask the children to sit directly on the floor maybe cross-legged for comfort
purposes, and once again you lead them through the same scenario where they close their
eyes and feel the floor against their body’s and note now the pressure of the floor. They
need to focus on the difference between sitting on the floor and being in the chair. After
one minute, ask them questions and create an interactive session.

 It’s always good to finish off with the beanbag because the beanbag is perceived as much
more fun, and with the beanbag children are able to sit in it or, to lay down. This means
 that some children will experience different sensations than others and this makes the
interaction even more fun. Don’t suggest anything at this stage, just ask them to close
their eyes and to understand the sensation of touch as they sink into the beanbag.
Afterwards, you can make suggestions. Did it feel like a cloud? Or can they describe the
sensation as they sat in it? Once again this interaction is really important. The focus
though on each exercise is to create a point of concentration where only the feeling of
touch is experienced.

Another great exercise that works really well in introducing mindfulness with touch is by getting
the class to handle different objects. The preferred method is always with the eyes shut because
this eliminates at least one other sense and so lessens distraction. With an adult, this exercise
would be conducted with a blindfold and earphones as well but with young children it is
advisable to ensure they have their eyes closed so to avoid any sensation of panic. Remember,
this must be fun.

 Select a variety of objects and shapes. Round smooth objects work exceptionally well
such as a ball and the child should hold the ball in both hands and you then encourage
them to think about how it feels. They should be identifying textures, angles and shapes.

 Use objects that are not easily broken so plastic items such as plates or even toys are all
acceptable and, after the lesson is over, create the interaction again by allowing the
children to specify what they remember from each object

The sensation of touch and practising mindfulness with it can also be taken outside. A warm
sunny day is perfect and children can sit on the grass and feel the blades of grass beneath them.
They can describe if the grass tickles them, the length of each blade and the sensation of a clump
of grass in their hands. You can then switch their awareness to the warmth of the sun on their
skin or if there is a breeze, how this feels. It’s important to focus on one thing at a time.

As long as these lessons are kept fun then their awareness will increase as each lesson is
practised. Introduce a variety of objects – some everyday objects and even some that feel
strange, or where the shape is obscure. You can also turn it into a guessing game which increases
interaction.
 Outdoor Exercises

Introducing outdoor tasks in mindfulness can be really fun and provides you with the opportunity
to extend the sensory information experienced. Exercises need not be extreme of course as any
outdoor projects provide new sensory information and will engage the children.

Simply by sitting still in a garden area or, taking a walk into the countryside brings a whole new
level of awareness. Under supervision, the sensation of water through splashing or swimming
brings an additional set of delights. Of course, when outside, there will understandably be more
distractions, but by keeping lessons or tasks short and straight to the point, it should be perfectly
manageable.

Task
  Sit the children in an area where they are surrounded by flowers, and ask them to close
their eyes and listen for the sound of bees as they buzz from flower to flower. If there are
other noises around, explain to the children that they have to focus as hard as they can on
just the sound of the bee. This action really narrows down focus and is so simple and
enjoyable to do. Ask the children to say whether they found the task difficult or were able
to do so easily. There are no right or wrong answers. Just the effort of trying embeds the
need to be able to focus when required. If there are other noises around, the sound of bird
song for example, you can ask them to switch their focus and to listen to the bird song
and not the bees instead.

Task

 We can of course also bring vision into these tasks by focusing on just one object such as
a flower. The children can examine the flower in great detail. You can direct their
attention by asking them to think about the colour, the scent and the shape of the petals or
the leaves. By directing their focus, you lead them naturally towards a mindful state.

A whole series of these exercises can be introduced in just one session, in fact, as previously
stated, by making sure the individual tasks are short this will keep all children focussed and away
from distractions although it is impossible to completely engage their minds. If you do notice a
child becoming distracted, explain to them that this is called being unmindful and that it happens
to everyone but the lesson is to keep re-focusing the mind back. They can visualise the mind
being turned back or pulled back as if wearing reins if need be, this keeps the thought of
mindfulness strong.

It’s important to keep a non-judgmental stance if the children find these tasks difficult. Make it
fun and they will soon pick up the techniques. Try out different sensory tasks and all will begin
to respond in their own way. This way, no one is left out and everyone gets to absorb some of the
benefits of mindfulness.
So vision is covered easily by allowing the class to concentrate on single objects such as flowers
or stones or perhaps, a part of a wall or a tree. You can also cover sound by listening to bees or
birds or the sound of a plane flying overhead. Touch is covered through the children touching
flowers, grass, or pebbles and so, the choice is endless. Each new object provides sensory
experiences. Scent is obtained through flowers or the aroma of cut grass as an example but do
check if any of the children have pollen allergies first.

Turn this practice into another game where the children have to come up with words that
describe certain objects. They will still be mindful as they have to study the object well – so a
plant might have a variety of descriptive words used including:

 Green
 Hairy
 Colourful
 Yellow
 White
 Big
 Small
 Smelly etc.

So in one outdoor session, you are able to cover three senses and to introduce mindfulness to
children and show them the wonders of nature around them.

Teaching mindfulness in this way is not only extremely beneficial to children but it is fun too
and so children are much more likely to learn if they are enjoying the session.
 Exercises in Vision

Although we have covered vision very briefly in the outdoor session, we will include additional
tasks which you may find useful. Visual exercises can be done in the classroom or outside, it
depends on the location, weather and facilities. Always keep the sessions fresh and sound
enthused when you introduce mindfulness tasks, as this will make a big difference in how the
children view the prospect of mindfulness.

Let’s start with a classroom scenario.

As previously, it may be useful to use the breathing exercise to help calm the children down and
to reduce the chance of their being distracted.
Task

 Hold an object of choice up or place it on a desk so that all of the children can see it
easily. In this example, we will use a globe which can usually be found in the classroom.
Spin the globe and ask the children to keep watching as it spins around. Eventually, as it
stops spinning, point out a country facing them and asked them to focus all their attention
on that spot. This is a really fun exercise. You can also ask them to draw the shape of the
country on paper and see how much they remember.

 Try to make the session interactive. Ask whether they were able to just focus on that one
country or, if they saw the whole globe or if their minds wandered. There’s no right or
wrong answer, it just brings mindfulness to the fore. Some children will be able to recall
more information than others but as long as they all try, they will still be learning the art
of mindfulness.

Vision exercises can also be done with pictures or even photographs. Try to make the image
within as dominant as possible as photos with detailed images or backgrounds can distract. This
exercise works best if you ask the students to concentrate on one section of the image for
approximately 30 seconds. They can then describe what they remember. Young children may
benefit from trying to draw the image. Quality over quantity works best.

Outside the classroom, vision exercises become a whole new thing. Apart from the simple
exercises that we mentioned in the previous section, there are many more opportunities to
explore ways in which we can introduce mindfulness.

If you have a tree in the school grounds, ask the children to stand underneath and to look up at
the sprawling branches. Oak trees are wonderful for this type of exercise but any established tree
will do. Point out the texture of the bark (initially just by looking), turn the children’s attention to
the branches, the twigs and the leaves overhead. Talk about the size of the tree, the age (if
known) and what might live in the canopy or under the bark. Sound can be added instead of
vision and you can tell the children to shut their eyes and to focus only on the sounds around
them, this could be the leaves rustling or a bird sitting in the tree above them. Afterwards, they
will be able to switch off their focus for the sounds around them and instead, tune into touch,
holding the trunk of the tree or tracing the patterns of the bark.

As you can imagine, you can use a variety of objects and include guessing games into the
sessions as well as using descriptive words etc. Take a flexible approach, considering the needs
of the children and you will find that they very quickly become engaged.
 Meditation

Getting young children to relax is not the easiest thing in the world to do. As a teacher, you will
be all too aware of how easily they can be distracted. Some short meditation sessions can help
with this and it can be introduced before starting any of the tasks set out in this course.
Meditation can also be a standalone exercise.

A relaxed mind and body will provide many benefits. It also helps with a mindful approach and
so, it is important that through introducing meditation, children see it as an asset in their lives
and very quickly learn to embrace a relaxed state of being.

Always start with a breathing technique prior to talking the children through their meditation as
this helps them to calm down and to focus. Although some children will struggle to meditate, the
principles and benefits of doing so will become a part of their understanding and they are more
likely to practice it as they grow up than by not introducing it.
There are many experts that say one minute of meditation for each year of the child’s life is quite
feasible, but in our experience, it can be difficult to ensure a child of six years of age, retains
their focus for a full six minutes while trying to meditate. As we have specified throughout, it is
better to provide short tasks requiring intense focus rather than undertaking a more prolonged
session. It is possible over time that you could extend these pure meditation tasks further. As the
teacher, you are in a far better position to judge whether your class is ready for such. This will
depend on the individual’s within and their age.

Try to make the sessions enjoyable.

You can clarify the benefits of meditation for children which will help them to focus. Benefits
include:

 Harnessing the monkey mind (stopping mind chatter).

 De-stressing (avoiding worrying about school tests).
 Changes through growing up (making or breaking friendships or problems at school or
home).
 Develop emotionally (tuning into how they feel and learning to deal with the influx of
emotions).
 Reach their full potential (having a clear mind and an ability to develop confidence and
self-awareness).
 Improve learning ability (being able to focus on the lessons).

As always, make the session fun, children respond to games far better than they do to a straight
lesson.

Task

 Ask the children to stand up straight and then suggest that they move their shoulders up
and down and then relax their shoulders and arms so that they feel loose. You can
 enhance this more by asking them to pretend they are a tree and the wind is blowing and
making their arms shake. When they stop, their arms should be relaxed.

Now suggest that they sit down on a chair or on the floor and talk them through several rounds of
a breathing technique. They should breathe deeply at first but slowly. Teach them abdominal
breathing (correct breathing) where they can feel their tummies extend as they breath in and then
feel the tummies draw in when they exhale. To facilitate this, they can place their hands on their
tummies and see if their hands move as their tummy goes out and then in. This method of
breathing is actually taken from ancient Indian meditation practices.

Task.

 The following type of breathing exercise often amuses children but it will also help them
to be mindful and to relax.

 Ask them to breathe in deeply and exhale. Then, they will breathe in and out using only
one nostril. To do so, they place a finger over one nostril closing it and then breathe in
using the other nostril. They must concentrate as they do so as once they have filled their
lungs, they will place one finger over the open nostril closing it and then remove the
finger from the previous closed nostril, breathing out now. Once they have exhaled fully,
they breathe in through the now closed nostril (by removing the finger) and then out
through the other, swapping fingers as they do so. This forms one round of the Alternate
Nostril breathing technique. It will take time for them to learn this and they should only
practice it for a few minutes, but it’s a wonderful technique to use if they feel tense,
irritable, tearful or confused as it alleviates headaches and even stress.

 Afterwards, ask the children how they felt by doing this technique. Did they feel the air
going into the nostril and out the other? Allow them to explain in their own words and
once again make it clear that there are no wrong or right answers. In fact, everybody is
right because they are all different and so may feel things differently.
These simple exercises are really a great way of introducing mindfulness through breathing and
lead easily towards meditation. Children who practice this method on a regular basis, often find
themselves deep thinkers and users of meditation in adult life.

There are of course many other ways in which we can introduce meditation into their
mindfulness training. Here is another simple task that you can introduce.

Task:

In a seated position, ask the children (after practicing a breathing technique) to imagine that a
beautiful blue light is entering their body’s as they breathe in. This light is healing and
wonderful. It is warm. As they inhale, the light travels all around the inside of them healing and
make them feel wonderful, then as they exhale, they breathe the light back out. The light then
forms around them as they then breathe normally.

Task.

 Place a light book on each child’s head and ask them to walk across the room without it
falling off. It is best to do this in small groups as if it’s done individually, shy children
often feel uncomfortable being in the spotlight. Treat this is as fun and that it doesn’t
actually matter how far they walk across the room without the book falling. Tell them
they must try to move slowly, gracefully and keep their head still. They should also focus
on the sensation of the book against their heads. This is a fun way of focusing and is a
meditation walking task.

Task.

 Go into the garden or on a nature walk and allow the children to each bring something
back of interest - a stone or a feather for example. When back in the classroom, place all
the objects on the floor together and now gather the children round in a circle, the objects
should be in the middle. Ask them to stare at the objects and think about what they once
were or where they came from. The chances are that the children will all stare at the
object that they personally brought back but this does not matter. The exercise is to
enable them to focus on the objects avoiding any external distractions. Afterwards, you
can ask them what they felt or thought when they were doing this task and to discuss
where these objects originated. This can be a great way of getting the children to think in
a more focused way.

You will find that all ages of children enjoy this because it is highly interactive.
 Drawing Exercises

“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.”
Pablo Picasso

Children are captivated by the thought of exploring ideas through their own creativity.
Essentially, children are not self-critical and this works in our favour if we wish to use drawing
or colouring in as a means to focus and to become aware.

Art can enable them to have the freedom to express themselves in a completely non-judgemental
way, and each piece of work that is completed can be viewed as if it were a masterpiece and in
its own way it is, because it came from a place of creativity that is unique.

The actual act of drawing or colouring in introduces mindfulness in a very natural way. When
you watch children as they do so, you will see absolute concentration and involvement even in
the simplest of tasks. Often, you will see the child tilting their head slightly to the left and this is
a sign that they are really thinking about what they’re doing.
As adults, when we pick up a pencil or pen we tend to expect a certain scenario to appear, in a
way, we need to have a certain outcome. This actually makes us very critical of ourselves as
often we are not able to create the exact scene that we anticipated. Children rarely work this way
as they just tend to pick up the pencil and draw without thought and often the first few strokes of
the brush or the pencil dictate what the end work will be or represent.

This is so lovely because it is completely non-critical and means that they can enjoy the task
without any hidden agenda undermining their success. Clearly, it is up to us to allow this to
continue and we can do so by being non-judgmental and encouraging them to freely express
themselves. In this case, the actual process of creation is as important as the end result.

Task.

 For this task, children will use a pencil but it would be equally as effective to use paint or
crayons. There are two ways of doing this task and you can try both of them out when it
suits.

 The first method enables the children to draw or paint whatever they feel like and as a
result, they will end up with a variety of different subjects. Your only instruction is to
encourage them to really think about what they are creating, to consider the colour or
shade and the feel of the pencil rather than creating in an unmindful fashion. For the most
part, the children are left to just create.

 As the children finish, ask them to put up their hand to let you know and then sit down
with each child individually to discuss what they are working on. After picking out some
points so to complement them, ask them to concentrate on just one area, adding more
details in that one place. As an example – drawing extra hair if they have drawn a figure,
or additional leaves if they have drawn a tree. These should be simple additions. When
they have finished this, it is very important that you tell them how well they’ve done and
how by concentrating they have been able to achieve something so wonderful.
 Although this task is much more time-consuming, it is extremely rewarding for the
children. It does increase mindfulness as it requires concentration and focus and each
child will naturally block out much of the noise of the world that surrounds them. It is a
healthy exercise that encourages all of the things that we are trying to impart upon them.

The other method for this task is to ask the children to draw something specific like a house or a
tree. You could offer them a choice of three painting topics. Once they have completed it, they
once again have to focus on one area and make it more in-depth. This encourages them to
consider detail in a different way and enables them to remain mindful throughout.

Task.

 Colouring-in is always popular and so when handing out a pre-drawn sheet to each, ask
them to colour in the image carefully, ensuring they do not go over the lines. Remind
them that they must think about what they are doing and take time and care.

Remember they are not being judged on how well they have done but it is more about the focus
required to complete satisfactorily.

Task.

 This is a very simple task that is highly effective. Give each child a blank piece of paper
and pencil and ask them to draw a very straight line. Ask them to do it very slowly and
once again it doesn’t matter if the line is not really straight but just encourage them to see
if they can create a line. This can be frustrating for very small children and so it’s
important to keep this exercise quite short and it is perfect to lead into one of the other
tasks. You can also ask them to draw other shapes.

Children can also paint their hands and make lots of patterns on paper. As an additional task, you
could create a class project where they work in small groups and add their hand prints to a large
sheet of paper. The results can be taped or pinned up on the walls around the classroom. Children
love to be creative and it’s a great way to encourage mindfulness.
 Be a Superhero

In this section, we are going to ask the children to imagine that they are a superhero. This is a fun
task that children love and they can use any one of the popular super hero figures that we hear
about all the time. Both girls and boys can join in on this task very easily as there are feminine
and masculine superheroes in all of the comics, in books and on television. Give them 5 or 10
minutes to consider who they wish to be. They must also think of a super power that only they
would have. This is an interactive session and one that is often very lively but mindful.

Task:

Staying with the super hero theme, we will choose Spiderman for this next task. By allowing the
children to think of themselves as a superhero for a few minutes, we allow them to escape from
the reality of the world around them. They should then write down or call out what situation their
superhero power could be used for.

This helps to facilitate the change we require in the way they are thinking. It aids concentration
and focus through activating their imaginations and will appeal to children of all ages. This is a
simple way of making them concentrate on something that they can only create through the
power of imagination and it certainly is going to appeal to small children in a fun way too.
Task.

For this next task, ask the children to consider the type of powers that Spiderman has that the rest
of us do not. This enables them to become interactive within the class.

For the next part of this task, ask them to describe what they imagine walking on the side of the
building to be like. Or how it would feel to be swinging on the sticky web that Spiderman shoots
out so to be able to get from one building to another. Each time they answer, ask them to focus
more by saying what it would feel like if it was icy, or windy. Let them think about this for a
while and then ask them what the side of a building would feel like on their hands or if they
could climb up onto the ceiling – what would it look like from there? Keep the questions to
things that they can relate to on a sensory perspective.

Do allow this task to become interactive by giving the children the opportunity to provide
feedback but always make sure that they have time to think and consider after each question.
Children will love this lesson but do make sure that they know not to try to climb up high or to
emulate this super hero.

Task

Variations include enabling them to imagine themselves as an animal – whether a wolf howling
at the moon, or a deer running through the forest, or becoming a lion in Africa. This evokes their
imagination and offers opportunities to think about vision, sounds, scents and their feelings too.
 Summary
Now that you have read through this Mindfulness Programme for Children, you will be able to
see that it is possible to incorporate a sense of mindfulness into the minds of the very young.
While doing so, the emphasis must always be on fun because children learn more this way and
look forward to other creative learning sessions thereafter. Although there is a big difference
between a 6-year-old and a 10-year-old in terms of practical tasks and learning ease, it is
relatively easy to adapt most of the tasks within this program and to make them fit either the
individual child or for groups of children in a specific age-group.

Adaptation may be as simple as changing the tone of voice or explaining things at a slightly
deeper level.

Results will always vary from child to child but because the tasks are also varied and allow room
for preference and choice, you should see some positive results from most if not all of the
children.

It can be advantageous to place children into groups if there are some very clear divides and mix
up the sessions so that they engage on a different level. It makes sense that some children
respond better to touch and some to using vision or to let their imaginations run wild.

By creating mindfulness in young children, you are opening the doorway to a better way of
learning and understanding and this is extremely rewarding within a teaching role. It is proven
that children who are taught mindfulness will absorb information at a greater level than other
children, they also seem to appreciate and value life differently too.

Deeper thinking and greater concentrated focus in the here and now will increase their awareness
and understanding of life generally and this can lead to their adopting higher values. Often
children develop their skills even further as a result, and will display a calmness and detail
oriented approach. As the teacher, you will be the one to facilitate these changes.
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 Credits

All other photos are kind courtesy of Pixabay.com

 Mindfulness for
Children
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