I can’t believe that this is my 8th mindfulness for kids lesson plan! It took me couple of minutes to start writing. I’m planning to have 2 more plans for May and June, that’s all… Time – passes – so – fast. Period.
Last month we have studied and questioned “why and how mindfulness can help us.” It isn’t easy to talk about these kind of abstract topics if you are a language teacher; that’s why I always get help from pictures, flashcards or any material which can transfer my message to kids. So, I prepared a lovely “I can Pause and…” poster with my Bitmoji avatar, showing kids what to do when they feel down.
Check out last month’s plan to download the “I can Pause and…” poster: HERE.
April Mindfulness Lesson Plan
This month I will introduce my kids another great story “Breathing is my Superpower” written and illustrated by Alicia Ortego.
“Breathing is My Superpower teaches children to regulate their emotions, especially if they are feeling upset, angry, or stressed. Sofia has some trouble with controlling her anger. Her mom teaches her about the Five Breathing exercise which changes everything! Sofia will show your little ones how to control their breathing in various situations, whether at school, at home, or on the playground”.
This book is perfect for language classes like all the other books I’ve used in my previous lesson plans. Easy to follow content, familiar word families and situations, cute drawings. These elements take an abstract topic from the space and brings it down to earth.
If this is your first time in my blog, let me tell you that I’ve been creating “story puppets” for every story book we have read. I simply take images from the book and create a printable document. You can print them our and use them for your story “retelling” sessions, drama activities or hang them somewhere in your classroom.
If you want to read more about how I use these mindfulness and yoga stories in my lessons, you may wanna check my previous posts.
By the way, last month I also taught kids to sit in Lotus Pose. Next year I will teach this definitely the second month of the school year (like November.) It was a game changer. Most of the kids loved it but some of them didn’t like it as they wasn’t feeling comfortable. So, it is better to start teaching it at the beginning of the year to get their muscles use to that kind of flexible seating style. If your body isn’t as flexible as it should be or if you haven’t tried it before, you are definitely not gonna like to sit in Lotus position. 😀
I hung this cute picture in our classrooms as reminders. You can also use it while teaching how to sit in this position.
Mindful Eye-Masks Freebie
Let’s skip to this month’s printable activity: Mindfulness Eye-Masks. I saw this wonderful idea in Pinterest and created my own version. If you wanna buy that one I saw on Pinterest, you can check The Counseling Teacher Brandy’s TPT store.
I’m planning to color some samples for the kids to show them before the lesson. I will try to demonstrate / dramatize how to use these mindfulness eye-masks when you feel down, need some alone time or just wanna relax.
These eye masks can be used as some mindful break time tools. When you feel you want to be alone or feel alone, you can wear these masks and practice some breathing activities. You can also use them when you want kids to close their eyes: it would be nice to use these masks during breathing activities. These masks are perfect for little ones as they will embody the abstract concept of mindfulness.
Then, simply open some soft background music and let kids color their masks. Before that, of course I will have kids choose one they like the most.
While doing mindfulness craft activities, mandala or any table-top activities our classroom rule is: “No Talking Allowed” and I mean it. 🙂 Normally, I am a loud teacher and I like loud classrooms; but this is my only “no talking” time throughout whole school year. 😀
Have you seen our Mindfulness Bitmoji Classroom? You can check it out and / or download a copy here: 7 different bitmoji classroom designs.
You can visit my Linktree and see all the other freebies I’ve uploaded <3
or you can visit it in preview mode to view the latest changes without downloading a copy to your computer.
That’s it for now. Thank you for being here. <3
