I still can’t believe that this is the 5th one of my “Mindfulness Activities for kids” in the classroom series! This has been a peaceful journey for both me and my students. After 4 months I can tell that, It is a challenge to handle mindfulness in online lessons but despite this, we have been learning so much.
It is much easier and doable in face to face lessons, of course. Because all the breathing techniques, stories we have been reading and yoga poses need more of a close contact experience with the young kids. You need to be there, next to them, showing what to do and breathing the same air in the same room while leading them.
Plus, sometimes something happens in the class and instantly it turns into a great opportunity to practice mindfulness in the classroom. During online lessons, it feels more like a “lesson” than real life situation. That’s why stories and visuals work better in online lessons. When kids see a picture on the screen or in your hand, it becomes easier to handle things.
January Mindfulness Lesson Plan
2 weeks later we will have a 3 week Semester break, that’s why I wanted to prepare a “Morning and Evening Mindfulness Routine” for my kiddos. Till the break, I’m gonna practice these routines in my lessons and just before the break, I’m gonna print the posters and send them home with my students. For the ones who stay at home and attend online lessons, I’m gonna send the posters to parents and ask them to print and hang them in their rooms or wherever they want to.
If you have read my previous lesson plans you will realize that kids have already learnt all of these moves and breathing techniques before. So instead of teaching new vocabulary, this month we will revise previous ones and by putting them in a sequence, we’ll be able to create one more chance to adapt mindfulness in our lives.
Morning Mindfulness Routine
When you practice this routine yourself, you will see how I wanted to create a harmony by starting and finishing with the same pose which is the mountain pose. Then we slowly bend, then rise, then bend again and start to stretch our muscles by feeling the ground and then we slowly start to rise again and finish the sequence by standing on our two feet.
I’ve been practicing this routine for a while and did many changes to find the perfect one for the kids. It is not tiring but definitely energizing; plus it has a melody itself as all the moves feel somehow connected to each other.
If you hold each pose for 10 seconds, it will only take 130 seconds! I think we can have 130 seconds for ourselves in the morning, right? 🙂
Evening Mindfulness Routine
As it is before bedtime, it should be more of a calming activity than an energizing one for sure. I could have used calming yoga poses; but I preferred to go with a combination of some breathing techniques I thought my kiddos and 3 new yoga poses as a transition between the breathes.
Unlike the morning routine, you need to be sitting during this one. You can either sit on the floor, on a cushion or even on a chair. As long as you can relax your muscles, it works.
If you wonder how you’re gonna do these breathing techniques, you can check my October Mindfulness plan. Watch the read aloud video of “Breathe with me” learn them and also print out the pictures I’ve prepared for these breathing techniques.
Download: Morning and Evening Mindfulness Routine Posters
App: Super Stretch
This is a fun yoga app for kids and parents. Super Stretch is a super hero who introduces us his animal friends and their yoga poses. Animals and yoga! Omg! Couldn’t be better! There are 12 animals and yoga poses you can learn with this app. It is free by the way <3 I’m gonna send it to the parents, some of them are really into mindfulness and send me feedback all the time. This app will be perfect for them.
Have you seen our Mindfulness Bitmoji Classroom? You can check it out or download a COPY here: 7 different bitmoji classroom designs.
You can visit my Linktree to see some of my other freebies!
or you can visit it in preview mode to view the latest changes without downloading a copy to your computer.
Thank you for being here…
