This week in Mindful Minis we focused on the 4th colour of the rainbow which is green. Green represents self-love so we discussed the different ways in which we can show love to ourselves. We spoke about being kind to ourselves. We spoke about encouraging ourselves when we feel disappointed if we don’t do well in something. We spoke about using positive words, not negative words when speaking to ourselves. We recognised the importance of loving ourselves and how by loving ourselves, we are then able to show love to others.
I asked the children to pass around a mirror. Everyone got a turn to look at themselves in the mirror and tell themselves something that they love about themselves. It was wonderful to see how each child looked at themselves in the mirror and acknowledge a positive trait about themselves. And then we all enjoyed giving ourselves a great, big bear hug!
We spoke about how the colour green is prevalent in nature. It is often the most dominant colour in a garden. So, for the guided visualisation, I led them through a beautiful garden filled with colourful flowers and interesting insects. They then came to rest under a very large tree. It was no ordinary tree. It was a super special tree. This tree had feelings! Half of the tree was very happy and the other half was very sad. I asked the children to notice what the happy half looked like e.g. did it have lots of ripe fruit or flowers. I then asked them to pay attention to what the sad half looked like e.g. was it barren with rough bark for example. After giving them some time to notice in their minds what their tree looked like, I asked them to think about what made the sad side of the tree so sad and what it needed to make it happy again. I gave them some time to think about this.
This is a safe way for children to think about any sad or upsetting feeling they have. It is easier for them to bring the feelings to the surface when they are transferred onto the tree. It allows the children to look at their feelings from a distance without being overwhelmed by them. In the story, I then explained that the rain came and washed away all the sad and unpleasant feelings from the tree. The ground absorbed the negative feelings. This helps the children to know that they can let go of the difficult feelings. They can allow them to wash away and in doing so, feel refreshed and lighter.
It was lovely to hear afterwards all the different types of trees the children had visualised. Some with apples and bananas, some with pumpkins, some with only white flowers. My favourite was a Candyland tree that was full of candy floss! I definitely would like to have one of those trees in my garden 🙂
It was a fun class exploring the wonderful, rich colour, green and the concept of self-love.
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