These fun, simple and effective mindful breathing exercises are great for helping children to calm their minds and their bodies
I love activities that are simple but secretly teach children a deeper message! That’s what I feel mindful activities are all about; they teach our little ones about their emotions, self-regulation, about gratitude and nature and the environment in a fun, simple but impactful way.
Some of my favourite activities that I regularly share with the educators on my program (and which I love doing with my daughter at home!) are based around breathing...
Kids often breathe in and in and forget to breathe out! This creates stressed out, anxious and tense children! By the end of the day they are full of hot air, creating the perfect storm for a huge meltdown. We have to teach our children to breathe properly by taking big breaths in and out!! This helps them self-regulate and calms their busy minds and bodies.
Here's how you can get your children breathing more mindfully...
Bubble splats painting
For this activity, you will need:
Paper
Food colouring
Trays/containers
Bubble mixture
A bubble wand
Method:
Place the bubble mixture into the trays and add different coloured food dyes into each one
Ask your child to dip the wand into the mixture, take a big breath in and then – very slowly – blow a coloured bubble on to the paper
Now, do the same again with the different colours until you have created an awesome painting!
When you've finished, not only will your child be calmer, but you'll also have a new work of art to hang on the wall!
How to get the deeper message through:
At the end, ask them how they feel. Hopefully, they should be calm and relaxed and feeling good – to which you respond, ‘That’s because when you take big breaths in and out, like you did with the bubbles, it makes our body and mind calm!’
Bubble blowing painting
For this activity, you will need:
Tubs/containers
Washing-up liquid
Paint
A straw
Method:
Mix the washing-up liquid with the paints, using each tub/container for a different colour
Ask your child to take a big breath in and then blow through the straw to make bubbles in the tub
When the bubbles rise to the top of the tub, place a piece of paper over the top so that the bubbles imprint on the paper
When finished with one colour, move on to the next
Once again, when you've finished, not only will your child be calmer, but you'll also have a new work of art to hang on the wall!
How to get the deeper message through:
Before they start blowing, ask them to think about something that makes them feel frustrated or anxious. Then when they take a big breath in, say, "It's time to blow that thing away!" Remind them whenever they are feeling frustrated or anxious to think how good they feel when they take a big breath in and out!