This quote was recently introduced to me by one of the Mindful Minis Advanced Training graduates – thanks Nini! It is a wonderful way of explaining to children the concept of being in the present moment. Simply just be where your feet are – in body and mind! A great mantra to repeat to oneself during the day.
In exploring this mantra, we focused on our feet in this week’s lessons. We had lots of fun playing Mexican toes. Essentially it is a Mexican wave around a circle, but with toes. There is no doubt in my mind that none of the children were thinking about anything else other than moving their toes! Great practise for focusing one’s attention in the present moment.
We also spent some time in “Legs Up The Wall” pose. This is a wonderfully restorative pose for children and adults. It helps to slow down the body and settle the mind. And of course, great for swollen or tired feet.
The 7 – 8 year olds convinced me to include a quick game of Sleeping Dragon in their lesson. They love this spin on a mindful walking exercise. So much fun! And it was also interesting for them to notice what feelings came up during the game. Anger at the dragon for waking up? Frustration at yourself for not reaching the key? Irritation that your turn finished too quickly? Pride that you almost reached the key? Excitement that you are playing the game? It was a great opportunity to assure the children that all feelings are welcome – comfortable and uncomfortable. It is what makes us human. We welcome them, sit with them and sooner or later they leave.
The 9 – 11 year olds enjoyed a game of pom pom toes. The children had to pick up pom poms with their toes and then return to mountain pose when the music stopped. Lots of focus and concentration was needed in this exercise but so much fun!
The younger and middle groups listened to the beautiful guided visualisation from Relax Kids called “The Fairy Garden”. Some of the children asked me please to tell their moms which visualisation it was – so moms, this is the memo! 😊
And then a lesson would not be complete without some mindful artwork. The younger and middle group worked with the boards and arts and crafts materials from last week. Totally amazing how different the creations were to last week. The older children worked on the backgrounds of their beautiful mosaic pictures – nearly done!
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