This week has been the final class of the year for each Mindful Minis group. It was a culmination of all the affirmations we have been working on for the past 7 weeks. The children have filled up their mindfulness toolkits and are ready to brave the holidays and 2019!
We spent some time going over each colour and affirmation. Each child was given a rainbow with the affirmations on for them to stick up in their bedrooms at home or in a journal. The kids really seemed to love learning a new affirmation each week and I hope these will help carry them through the first few weeks of school next year, which can sometimes be a bit daunting.
The highlight of the classes this week was a taste test. I blindfolded the children and then offered them a variety of fruits and vegetables to taste. I explain that the point was not to guess correctly what I gave them, but rather to describe the taste – sweet, sour, crunchy, soft, juicy, etc. I had a few unusual fruits (such as kiwi fruit) that the children were not familiar with which forced them to describe the flavour instead of naming the food. I could see some of them were desperate to name the food correctly so I simply asked them to notice that tendency and to rather try focus on describing the flavour. It always amazes me how in the taste tests that I do, I usually get one or more children telling me that it is the best food they have ever tasted. It happened again this week when one little girl told me it was the best plum, she had ever tasted in her entire life. It is incredible how different food tastes when we close our eyes and concentrate on the flavours.
We did a bit of yoga in the classes this week using the beautiful I Am yoga cards from Blissful Kids. These cards can be purchased via the Mindful Minis website. A nice festive season gift idea!
I then guided the children through a lovely, peaceful visualisation set near the ocean. The visualisation gave the children a chance to offload their “backpacks” that were full of worries, concerns, angry and other uncomfortable feelings. It gave them a chance to simply breathe and be, smelling and listening to the calming ocean.
And then finally it was time to hand out the beautiful mosaics that the children have been working on all term. They turned out so well! If your son or daughter hasn’t shown you their creation yet, I think it might be coming to you as a festive season gift. Don’t say you heard that from me!
I wish you all a happy holiday. Term 1 starts again Wed 23rd January 2019.
Thanks
Bianca