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Mindful Kids, Meaningful Growth: Strategies to Guide the Learning Journey
Getting kids to slow down and focus can feel like trying to catch lightning in a bottle. The pressures of school, a packed schedule of activities, and constant screen time make it clear that children today are bombarded with more distractions than ever.
Mindfulness offers a simple yet powerful way to help them. This remarkable practice supports children in relaxing and managing their emotions. Nurture UK adds that it helps children navigate challenges like school anxiety, trauma, or stress.
This practice gives children a way to pause and notice how they feel. It helps them respond to situations with greater calm and clarity.
That said, here are some engaging mindfulness activities that can help bring calm and focus into your child’s world.
#1 Glitter Jar Magic
A glitter jar might look like a sparkly craft project, and it is! But it also works like a calming visual aid for mindfulness.
The swirling glitter represents chaotic thoughts, and its settling symbolizes the mind finding calm. Watching glitter swirl and settle in water provides a concrete, visual way to understand abstract feelings. It helps children understand and manage their emotions.
Making a glitter jar is easy. Find a clear jar; plastic is safest for kids. Fill it about three-quarters full with warm water. Add one to two teaspoons of glitter to the jar. Click HERE to check out our glitter jar tutorial.
You can use different colors for different feelings, like red for anger or green for calm. Next, add five drops of clear glycerin. This helps the glitter fall slowly to the bottom.
When your child feels overwhelmed, gently shake the jar to make the glitter swirl. As the glitter slowly settles, encourage them to take slow, deep breaths. Remind them that their mind can settle just like the glitter.
#2 Bubble Breathing
Bubble breathing is a super fun way to practice deep, calming breaths. It helps kids slow down their bodies and minds.
To do bubble breathing, get a bottle of bubbles and a wand. Tell your child to breathe in slowly through their nose, filling their tummy balloon with air. Hold their breath for a count of four. Then, slowly blow out through the bubble wand, making the biggest bubble they can.
This activity teaches breath control without feeling like a lesson. Kids quickly discover that rushing doesn’t work; they need to breathe slowly and steadily to create bubbles that actually float.
You can try this, too. Deep breathing like this can help ease nerves in the most challenging situations, like before medical procedures. Consider the example of Paragard, a non-hormonal implantable contraceptive that has been in the news for the harm it has caused to women.
Many have filed lawsuits, and the hefty Paragard IUD lawsuit settlement amounts indicate the scale of harm. The procedure itself is scary, and needing additional surgery for removal can cause even more anxiety.
Back to the context, deep breathing helps people when they feel anxious, including children dealing with stress for any reason.
#3 Mindful Coloring
Never underestimate the power of putting crayon to paper.
Coloring engages kids in what psychologists call a flow state. It’s that wonderful zone where they are completely absorbed in what they’re doing.
Unlike many activities that demand quick responses or multitasking, coloring encourages slow, deliberate movements and sustained attention.
The repetitive motion of coloring naturally calms the nervous system, similar to how knitting or other rhythmic activities soothe adults.
Mandala coloring books work particularly well for mindfulness because the circular patterns draw attention inward. An article published in NLM found that those who color mandalas focus their attention on the present. That is why it’s considered a mindfulness-based practice.
Other coloring books work, too. The key to success is encouraging kids to color slowly and really notice what they are doing. Ask them to pay attention to how the crayon feels in their hand, the sound it makes on paper, or how different colors make them feel.
You can learn more about the benefits of mindful coloring in This Blog Post. You can also download our FREE mindfulness coloring book in that blog post.
Here are a few other blog posts you’re going to love:
Check out our Zentangle course!
Are you trying to find ways to incorporate self-care and creativity into your life? Would you like to introduce the Zentangle Method to your children or students but you’re not sure how?
If you answered yes to any of these questions then you’re going to love our new course. If you haven’t had a chance yet to watch the course overview video, check it out below!
#4 Five Senses Scavenger Hunt
This is a fun game often called the ‘5-4-3-2-1 method’. This activity encourages children to explore their surroundings using all five senses: sight, hearing, taste, touch, and smell.
This is why, according to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Denver, it can be helpful for kids when they need to calm their minds. It’s especially great if they are feeling a bit scared, worried, anxious, or stressed.
To begin, have your children take three deep breaths to help them ground and focus. Then, ask them to:
- Look around and name five different things they can see
- Touch four different things and describe how they feel
- Listen closely and name three sounds around them
- Take a sniff and identify two different smells
- Notice any taste in their mouth, or take a tiny sip of water
This activity works anywhere. Try it in your yard, neighborhood, or even inside your home.
Final Thoughts
These activities might seem simple. But they are powerful tools to help children navigate their feelings and build focus for learning and playing.
They equip children with the necessary coping strategies to face life’s demands with confidence and calm. These practices contribute directly to the development of cognitive and performance skills.
So go ahead, pick an activity, try it out, and enjoy a moment of mindful magic with your little one today!
Here are some other activities that you’ll want to check out!:
Looking for even more ways to keep your kids engaged? You might be interested in our 30 FREE owl coloring pages. Just click HERE or on the image below to learn more.
If you love zentangles as much as we do, you’re going to love our zentangle pyramid activity. Click HERE to check it out or click on the images below.
If you’re looking for more activities designed to encourage mindfulness and spark creativity, check out my printable resources below or visit my shop!
Don’t forget to download our free 15 page Mindfulness coloring book to help add a few mindful moments to your child’s day. Just click here or the image below!
