Family Mindfulness Activities

The word “mindfulness” is becoming a growing trend these days, and with great reason: people are seeking ways to calm their bodies and minds from the hustle and bustle of daily life. With distance learning, big adjustments to daily routines due to COVID restrictions, children are also strongly affected by the changes in the world and are having a harder time keeping their little bodies and minds as calm and regulated as possible.

The basic definition of mindfulness is being present or in the moment. In times of crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, it can be easy to get lost in the new demands of distance learning, remote work from home, and the need to be indoors just to keep our families and ourselves safe. Engaging in calming and relaxing activities through mindfulness activities can help children AND parents during these trying times.

The positive effects of mindfulness include:

• Boost physical and mental health
• Improve self-control
• Increase attention and focus
• Promotes patience, kindness, and compassion

Here are some mindfulness techniques that can help us all feel calmer and more relaxed, activities that can be completed alone or together. 

1. Positive self-thought: take turns describing 5 things you like about yourself, or write the list down
2. Big Slo-mo bubbles: focus on exhaling slowly to make large bubbles on the wand
3. Muscle squeezes: tighten muscles for 5-10 seconds and release. Focus on specific muscles at a time, going from feet to neck or in reverse.
4. Heartbeats: close your eyes and listen to each other’s heartbeats, focus on the rhythm for 2 minutes.
5. Mindful snack: eat a snack and describe the snack with all your senses: taste, texture in hands, texture in the mouth, smell, temperature, etc.
6. Nature walk: take a walk around the block or explore your backyard by getting down to the ground and touch different textures, look closely at different colors, and describe what you see and feel.
7.  Cloud watching: lie on the ground and look at the clouds. Find as many shapes and images as you can find.
8. Calm music: Wear headphones and listen to calm music with low tones and no lyrics. Close your eyes and focus on the instruments and/or tones.
9. Watch your breath: Focus on deep breathing with a virtual image/shape: https://www.mondaycampaigns.org/destress-monday/intro-to-deep-breathing
10. Dance break: choose an upbeat song to dance around to! Jump, twirl, and take turns making moves to imitate with each other. Follow with some deep breaths before going back to work.
11. Guided meditation: listen to a guided meditation video or audio together

Some fun books that address concepts of mindfulness:

1. Breath Like Bear – Kira Willey
2. I Can Handle It- Laurie Wright
3. I Will Be Okay!- Laurie Wright
4. Mindful Monkey, Happy Panda- Lauren Alderfer
5. The Magic of Me. My Magical Words- Becky Cummings
6. My Magic Breath. Finding Calm Through Mindful Breathing- Nick Ortner
7. Alphabreaths- The ABC’s of Mindful Breathing- Christopher Willard
8. Sitting Still Like a Frog- Eline Snel