Tag Archives: mindfulness for children

Holiday Mindfulness Activity Ideas

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by Lisa Wzorek, OTD, OTR/L

It is officially holiday season, which although for many is a joyous time, it can also be a time of sadness and increased stress for others.  This year brings more of a challenge to celebrating the holidays while living with the COVID-19 pandemic.  Even though we have been living with the pandemic since March, and the related closures and recommendations for social distancing, it can be upsetting and unsettling to not be able to celebrate holidays the way we normally would.  And this can be harder to understand for our children.  Spending time with our immediate families on some mindfulness activities can help alleviate the stress we are feeling.  Doing a stroll around the internet, I found a variety of activities and resources that may satisfy this need to take some breathes, acknowledge how we all are feeling, and find the gratitude in what we do have in this time of pandemic.  One of my favorite mindfulness activities this time of year is taking an after-dark walk in the neighborhood to enjoy the lights and decorations that people have put up.  Bundle up, make some hot cocoa and grab flashlights for this activity with your family.  Wishing all a safe, healthy and peaceful holiday season!

Christmas-related Mindfulness Activities:

  1.  From the website Counselor Keri, follow the link for instructions and activities.  I like the breathing exercise called Breathe Like Santa, the listening activity called Shake the Bells, and make your own snow globe or a “snow” mindfulness jar.  https://www.counselorkeri.com/2019/11/29/christmas-mindfulness-activities/
  •  From the blog Education’s Voice, follow this link for activities and instructions.  I like the
    Christmas Advent Chain and the YouTube links to Christmas meditation music, which are listed below:

https://educationsvoice.wordpress.com/2017/11/19/mindfulness-in-the-classroom-christmas-mindfulness/

Hanukkah-related Mindfulness Activities:

  1.  From Stress Free Kids, follow this link for activities such as a Light the Menorah medication:  https://stressfreekids.com/13199/hanukkah-with-kids/
  •  On this webpage by Swami Mommi, this is a great article about teaching about diversity and a variety of mindful Hanukkah activities:
Don’t Be left in the Dark: Teach Kids About Diversity with Mindful Hanukkah Activities for the Curious.
  •  This link has a free, printable Menorah coloring page:

https://www.bigactivities.com/coloring/hanukkah/menorahs/menorah2.php

  •  This link contains a simple craft activity, making a paper plate Menorah:
Paper Plate Menorah

Kwanzaa-Related Mindfulness Activities:

  1.  If you celebrate Kwanzaa or would like to learn what Kwanzaa is about, check out this website that discusses the five traditions of Kwanzaa:

https://people.howstuffworks.com/culture-traditions/cultural-traditions/5-kwanzaa-traditions.htm

  •  Kwanzaa-related crafts and information at this website.  I like the Kwanzaa wreath using hand cut outs and the Kinara place mat. 
30+ Kwanzaa Crafts and Activities for Kids
  •  Other link for Kwanzaa crafts and information.  I like the crafts using corn kernals and the African drum idea: 

https://www.activityvillage.co.uk/kwanzaa-crafts

Mindfulness Activities for All!

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by Lisa S. Wzorek, MA, OTR/L

I wanted to share a few activities that can be done to help our children (and ourselves) practice mindfulness, based on last week’s post.  One activity is a tried and true one in my family, and the other is a new one that we tried over this past week.

One thing that I loved doing as a shy and introverted kid to be calm and away from my loud family was building a fort.  It was usually a small, dark space but it was my own space and a great getaway.  Lots of people and classrooms these days use tents as a “calm corner” for our children to have a place to be calm.  When my son was younger, I discovered a fun and easy way to make a tent without the need to purchase another item:  simply putting a sheet over our table!  Then we would pile blankets, pillows and stuffed animals inside.  Calm and relaxing!  The one we made in the picture below is using a lighter sheet.  You can make use a dark sheet or blanket to make the space darker.  You can also put your child’s favorite toys, books, light up toys and wands, and flashlights.

Screen Shot 2020-05-28 at 11.18.51 AM

Another activity is making a Mindfulness Jar.  You can google this and find different names for it, such as Calming Jar, Meditation Jar, Time-Out Jar, etc.  I found two simple recipes that work really well and, if you are a crafter, you may already have all of the ingredients at home.

Screen Shot 2020-05-28 at 11.19.13 AM

 

For the calming jar, you can use an empty plastic bottle or a glass jar.  If you have a child that tends to throw objects, the plastic bottle may be your best option.  You can use white glue if that is what you have, too.  This activity is, in itself, very calming!  Fill your container about 1/3 of the way with glue, add about 2 tablespoons of glitter (or however much you want!), then fill the rest of the way with warm water from the tap.  At this time, you can add 1-2 drops of food coloring into the mix if you like.  Cap it and shake it up until all of the ingredients are mixed together.  Here are some of our finished products:

You may be wondering…what do you do with the jars and how do they work?  Sit with the jars when you need a calm moment and give them a good shake.  Set the jar down and watch the glitter swirl.  Focus on the movement of the glitter and take some nice, deep breaths.  Focusing and breathing helps to calm our brains and our bodies.  Do this until the glitter settles down; then do it again, if you like!  When you do this with your child, describe what is happening in the jar.  This will help them to focus just on the movement of the glitter and to be mindful.

The act of “doing” with both of these activities has both strengthening and healing components.  We’ve already pointed out the aspect of mindfulness and calming.  But making our tent and our jars also taps into problem-solving, motor planning, visual motor skills, visual perceptual skills and fine motor skills.   Maybe even some math if you are able to work on measuring with your child.  If your child cannot participate in building the tent or making the jars, talk out the steps you are doing and bring them into the activity in this way.  Talk about the colors you are using, the textures (sticky, wet, warm, messy) and help them to experience it, too.  Maybe you can try different positioning with your child inside the tent to read books together and play flashlight tag.  Hope you enjoy these mindful activities!

Mindfulness

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by Lisa S. Wzorek, MA, OTR/L

A positive mental health strategy many of us are hearing about these days is mindfulness practice.  Personally, I have been exploring it myself, and am feeling the benefits that are being touted for this simple activity – better focus and concentration, positive mental health, etc. (Ackerman, 2020).  But what exactly is mindfulness, and importantly, can we teach this to our young children and our children with special needs?

Mindfulness is defined as “creating space for ourselves – space to think, space to breathe, and space between ourselves and our reactions (Mindful.org, 2018).”  Being mindful means that one is aware of sensations and feelings in the moment without passing a judgment on it – it is noticing without judging.  Googling how to practice mindfulness leads to an abundance of sites that instruct adults on how to practice…mostly sitting quietly, eyes closed, focusing on the breath, noticing our thoughts but not judging or trying to chase them away.  So, can we help our young children to be mindful?  Turns out, we can! And we don’t have to make them sit still to do this.  We can guide our children in a mindful practice on nature walks, listening to music or sounds, or moving their bodies.  Mindfulness activities can be customized to what will work best for your child.  It can involve yoga poses but doesn’t have to.  Some ideas to help our children with special needs practice mindfulness are as follows:

  1. Take a nature walk with your child.  Tell your child that it’s time to look for a given object, for example, birds.  Model looking for birds in different directions for your child by labeling and pointing (ex. “look to the right” while you point).  Limit your talking but focus on the birds.  If your child has a communication device, perhaps you can place a photo of the object you are looking for so that they can activate the icon when the see (or hear) the object.  Or, if your child uses picture exchange communication cards (PECS), you can have them point to the picture as they see/hear the object.  You can do this with flowers, insects, leaves, rocks, etc.  Choose something that will interest your child the most.  If a nature walk is not their style, but vehicles are, you can do the same with cars and trucks.
  2. Blowing dandelions, bubbles or pinwheels. Help guide your child to focus on taking a deep breath in and blowing the air out of their mouths.  As the air hits the dandelion, bubble or pinwheel, guide them in watching it until you can no longer see the dandelion seeds/bubble floating in the air or until the pinwheel has stopped.  If your child has a communication device or PECS, perhaps you can access pictures of these objects for them to activate or point to before you begin.
  3. For our kiddos that are movers, try guiding them into a pose that they hold. For example, standing tall like a tree with hands on the hips (or if more motivated by a character, use superman/batman etc.).  Guide them to taking a nice deep breath and hold for a few seconds in the pose.

Some tips to remember:

  1. Start practicing when your child is happy and feeling good. Once they get it, then you can start using mindfulness to help them to feel better and more organized.
  2. Use pictures as a visual aid if you are focusing on a particular object or action as you begin the activity and show them each time that you see the object.
  3. If your child has a visual impairment, try listening for sounds instead of locating an object with sight. For example, when outdoors you can listen for birds or cars going by.  Indoors, you can play calm music or a bell and focus on that sound as it begins and fades.
  4. It’s ok if you have to help your child to activate the icons on their communication device or locate the correct PECS. Guiding them in this will help them to understand the activity.
  5. It’s ok if your child can only do this for a few seconds at a time. The key is not to judge the activity as a success or a failure, but to continue practicing.  Recognize your own thoughts during the activity but let them go.
  6. Be the model for how to be mindful for your child. Guide them with your actions.  Give lots of praise when it is over for participating.
  7. Use the internet! If you have access to the internet and a tablet, computer or phone, there are many YouTube videos that can guide both adults and children through this practice.  Here are several you can check out:

 

Friendly Wishes guided meditation by Cosmic Kids Yoga  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtYIQiXyrsE

Be the Pond Meditation by Zen Den  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wf5K3pP2IUQ

Fading Tone Meditation (Bell tone) by My Life * help your child to hold their hand over their heart during the sounds   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzuaKhkwskw

Enjoy experimenting and share your experiences with the Easterseals community!!

References:

Ackerman, C.E. (2020).  25 fun mindfulness activities for children and teens.  Retrieved from https://positivepsychology.com/mindfulness-for-children-kids-activities/

Mindful.org (2018).  How to practice mindfulness.  Retrieved from https://www.mindful.org/how-to-practice-mindfulness/