6 Simple Ways Teachers Can Bring Mindfulness To The Classroom

The human mind is a magical thing, capable of feeling happy, sad, excited and scared; sometimes all at once. I’m sure we can all agree that it can get quite hectic up there.

Managing such a huge range of emotions can be difficult for a child. As they get older and start to experience the day-to-day challenges of life, learning healthy ways to manage their emotions will be critical for their mental well-being.

Practising mindfulness, a calming mental state achieved by focusing on the present moment, is a great technique for helping children acknowledge, understand and control their feelings.

In celebration of Mental Health Awareness Week, let’s take a closer look at mindfulness and the different ways teachers can bring it to the classroom.

Wind them down with a breathing exercise

Breathing is a simple but effective way to help children destress and refocus.

A breathing exercise is best introduced when energies are running high and you’d like to click the reset button. After a playground break, for example, to calm them down before their next lesson.

Ask the children to imagine smelling a flower, taking a deep breath in through the nose, right down to the bottom of their lungs, before slowly “blowing out their birthday candles” to release it.

Explain to the children that taking in oxygen will help slow their heart rates down and stop their minds from racing.

The next time they experience a burst of energy, whether it’s caused by excitement, anxiety or any other emotion, they will be better equipped to deal with the situation in a healthy way.

For another breathing exercise, download our free calming cards.

Build them up as superheroes

Children are mighty and strong! Introducing an exercise that makes them feel powerful will set them up for a day of learning, whilst having a positive effect on their overall confidence and self-esteem.

Ask your pupils to muster all the strength they have and put it into their best superhero pose. With their chins held high and their fists in the air, there’s nothing they can’t achieve.

Encourage creativity and self-expression

Self-expression in the form of art is a proven way to improve mood, behaviour, function and cognition.

There are lots of different activities you can bring to the classroom to encourage self-expression.

By introducing a drawing task, for example, where the children are asked to sit silently, absorb their surroundings, and draw a picture of something in the classroom they haven’t noticed before.

Mindful colouring is another great way to nurture a child’s creativity and improve their focus.

Ask your pupils to carefully colour within the lines, whilst taking inspiration from things they can see. Is it raining outside or is it sunny? Is the classroom dull or bright? Are there any plants or trees in sight?

There are no right or wrong colours in this task. The aim is to get the children to choose colours based on their perceived surroundings.

We have lots of free colouring resources that you can download from our website, with more being added every day.

Introduce a mindful jar

In this activity, you will need a mason jar filled with water. The clear liquid will represent their mind. Then, throw in some glitter to represent their thoughts.

Give the mason jar a shake to demonstrate how thoughts can become muddled when there’s a lot going on. With lots of sparkly glitter floating around, the clear liquid will become cloudy.

Set the jar down for a few minutes and watch the glitter settle. The children will notice that the water has become clear again.

Just like the glitter, emotions can feel overpowering but they eventually do settle. When young people feel overwhelmed, the best thing to do is wait until their emotions are at bay.

Helping them understand how the mind works will enable them to deal with any situation more rationally.

Encourage reflective journaling

Jotting your thoughts and feelings down onto paper can free up space in the mind. In this activity, your pupils will be asked to write something, anything they like.

It could be a letter to someone, an experience, or even something simple, like their favourite or least favourite food.

Using their favourite food as an example, will trigger memories of times they ate that food and inspire their writing. Revisiting an experience helps young people reflect on a deeper level.

Guide your pupils in meditation

Guided meditation is just like regular meditation, except your pupils will be led by your voice.

For this activity, the children need to be in a calm, peaceful environment. Consider taking them outdoors.

Ask them to sit in any way they feel comfortable before reading out a guided meditation script. Read the script in a calming voice, at a slow pace.

A quick internet search will bring up lots of guided meditation scripts you can use, make sure to pick one that’s suitable for the age group you are teaching.

The art of mindfulness is growing in popularity amongst children and adults alike – and it’s easy to understand why.

Being consistently mindful can help reduce stress and anxiety, whilst lowering blood pressure and helping you get a good nights’ sleep. It is a powerful mental health tool that children will benefit from throughout the entire course of their lives.

Do you have any mindfulness tips or tasks for school children? Let us know using the hashtag #JamChat