Christmas Mindfulness

Christmas is a stressful time for children and adults. The build up towards the BIG day is exciting and chaotic; so many colours, twinkling lights and sounds fill our environment! Our routines are disrupted and we can all get overwhelmed.

Here are some ideas that can help you to continue to develop Mindfulness that can lead to a quieter, calmer December!

Mindful Positivity

Mindful Christmas Chain
Put a twist on the Advent Calendar! Each day, give each child a link for a Christmas Chain and write one positive thing that had happened that day, decorate it and add it to the ever expanding Christmas Chain. Encourage the children to tell their parents about their Chain link each day (or have them make two chain links and send one home to make a chain at home) and watch positivity about school spiral up in the run-up to Christmas.

Mindful Meditation

Christmas Star Meditation

Breathing is one of the most natural things a person can do and an automatic reflex that is hard wired in our brains. How many times have you heard someone say, “Breathe!”, when someone is upset? What about a deep sigh when one is frustrated. It is purely natural reflex which helps us relax.
This Christmas Star Breathing adds a Christmas focus to a simple Mindfulness strategy.

First, get children decorate their own Christmas star for meditation.

Once complete, have the children place it near where they work. They trace the star and Inhale, hold at the point, exhale and keep going until you’ve gone around the whole star.

Christmas Meditation Music
Playing low music in the background as the children transition to a new activity or as they work diligently on their maths problems and writing, is a way to support behaviour management in the classroom while also supporting children’s learning. Here are some nice Christmas meditation music that allows for a calm, mindful Christmas atmosphere.

https://youtu.be/r-K1t8AZVyI
https://youtu.be/5_2OT7n_V0I
https://youtu.be/fl_XBFfeyh4
https://youtu.be/Uwx3puPyMdA

Christmas Mind Bottle

Create and use Christmas themed Mind Jars. Instructions for making and using the bottles can be found here: https://educationsvoice.wordpress.com/2016/02/23/mindfulness-in-the-classroom-mind-jar-meditation/ use Christmas themed glitter, sequins and colours to go with the season.

Mindful Gratitude
Gratitude is a fundamental feature of Mindfulness. We are able to change synapsis in the hypothalamus which controls emotion by waddling in our thankfulness.

Gratitude Christmas Tree
Decorate a tree or your class with the things you are grateful for. Your class can draw people, experiences, or things they are grateful for on small Christmas shapes. Then add them to your class decorations. The tree and decorations can act as a daily reminder of things that they are thankful for.
https://mothersniche.com/gratitude-lights-for-christmas-free-printables/ (Christmas lights decorations)

Thank you Cards

Create a selection of Thank You cards to take home over the holidays. Their homework is to complete with a message of thankfulness for gifts and time spent together with family and friends and given to them.
https://www.thebalance.com/free-printable-christmas-thank-you-cards-1356274 (free printable thank you cards/notes)
https://teachingmama.org/christmas-thank-you-cards-kids-can-make/ (Hand-made thank you card ideas)

Christmas Yoga

Christmas Yoga
 helps us to recent research, relax and refocus. These yoga poses can be done in class with no extra space. Use it at the start or end of lessons as a transition in lessons or times of the day.

Christmas Tree pose
Children are to:
* Stand up straight and tall. Breathe in and out and feel your feet rooting into the floor. Keeping their eyes focused on one spot.
* They then need to lift up one leg by bending at the knee and placing that foot on the ankle or calf of the other leg.
* Have them Inhale and exhale while in tree pose and imagining they are being covered in decorations or snow.
* Then they lift their arms in the air. Try to hold for 3 slow deep breaths.
* Slowly place your foot back on the ground and repeat on the other side.

Christmas Gift pose
This is a variation on child’s pose.
Have children:
* Curl into a ball , keeping legs and feet underneath the body and feet on the floor.
* Are to focus on breathing in and out slowly, feeling the breath move into the ribs and the back of the body.
* After a few quiet breaths, get the children to slowly rise up on their knees as if the gift is being unwrapped and revealed.

Star pose
Have children:
Get in a full body stretch and feel energized.
* Stand with legs wide apart and stretch your arms out wide, making a star shape. Relax the neck and shoulders and breathe slowly and deeply. Hold for 5 slow deep breaths.

Education’s Voice wish you, your class and your family a mindful Christmas!

Find more mindfulness strategies on www.educationsvoice.wordpress.com and in the Bloomsbury book, 100 Ideas for Primary Teachers: Mindfulness in the Classroom by Tammie Prince ( Bloomsbury Link, Amazon Link )

#WeekOfGratitude2021

#WeekOfGratitude2021 is a five day activity to help yourself and your children mindfully focus on the good things in life.

We have been doing this for several years and each year it adds a great focus before the Christmas season begins.

However, this can be done at any time of the year to bring peace, harmony and thankfulness to classroom or family life.

Each day has a different focus.

#WeekOfGratitude

Memory Monday

Thoughtful Tuesday

Whimsical Wednesday

Thankful Thursday

Family Friday

We invite you to join us and share your success with me below, on Twitter or on our Facebook page, Education’s Voice! Use the hashtag #WeekOfGratitude2021.

Autumn Mindfulness for Children

Autumn is an amazing season. The crisp, cool air, the fluttering of leaves falling to the ground and the smell of nature changing as it prepares for winter. Appreciating the world around us allows for a deepening of our mindfulness practice and no one does it better than children. Why not celebrate this change with some of these Autumn filled Mindfulness ideas?

Leaf Meditation Find a place where your class can have a few minutes of quiet space; maybe it is in your school’s nature area, in a local park, a walk through some woodlands or, if all else fails, the classroom with access to lots of newly fallen leaves. Have the children: – Pick up the leaf and lay it in your hands. – Notice the colours, the different in shades of colours and fading of one colour to another colour. – Notice the veins in the leaf, the main stem, the edges of the leaf. – Feel the leaf. Run their fingers over the top and bottom; along the edges. Notice the differences. Rub it against their face or over the top of their hand. Use nerve endings that normally are not used to feel objects. Notice the difference. – Smell the leaf. Note the scent. Inhale deeply and notice the memories it may bring up. Have them close their eyes and take a minute to breathe deeply and allow themselves to be in awe and wonder of the moment they have had with the leaf.

Autumn Nature Walk Take the children on a nature walk. While on the walk, periodically have the children stop and notice one object (flower, stone, stick, leaf, etc) or sound (bird chirping, water trickling, car passing, etc) and spend a few moments appreciating that one moment. Repeat several times. When they get back to class, have them recreate their walk through drawings or doodles while listening to soothing Autumn themed meditation Music. ( https://youtu.be/w0szAwgybZs )

Walking Labyrinths Create Walking Labyrinths using leaves, stick, pine cones, etc for children to walk. How to do a Walking Labyrinth Meditation? 1. Take deep breaths to begin to relax and focus on the entrance to the labyrinth. 2. Children are to slowly walk the path of the labyrinth, focusing on one step at a time taking a deep breath on each step. Once at the centre of the labyrinth, they turn around and return to the entrance. 3. When they are finished, have them sit back, breathe deeply and relax. Observe how you are feeling again.

PlayDough Mindfulness Have children make their own Play Dough adding Autumn themed spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, all spice or pumpkin spice to enhance the smell. Use the Play Dough to create a nature mandala. Find the instructions for making the playdough and creating the mandalas here.

Autumn Meditation Music Set the scene in the Classroom by using Autumn Meditation music like this one: https://youtu.be/w0szAwgybZs . It mixes nice calm music with the sounds of nature. It is useful to use during transition periods, writing or handwriting periods. Happy Autumn everyone!

Find more mindfulness strategies for children and adults here: www.educationsvoice.wordpress.com or for more ideas for teachers, 100 Ideas for Primary Teachers: Mindfulness In The Classroom published by Bloomsbury or 50 Fantastic Ideas for Mindfulness published by Featherstone which is part of the Early Years Series.

REBOOT- Holiday Mindfulness To Do List

Anyone who works in a school knows the full out relief of a long summer break. This has never been more true than this year, one filled with high vigilance to keep and infection at bay while trying to educate a school full of trusting children, jumping at the slightest cough, spinning around into remote learning in a matter of hours, worrisome conversations with anxious parents and, let us not forget, our own personal anxieties about our families and friends. The normal day in and day out strain weighs heavy on the shoulders of each person. However, as educators, it has never weighed so collectively at the same time.

Most of us knew about the normal stresses before we even enter the profession. NO ONE prepared us for a pandemic!

So, it is very important that we take the time during this summer break to look after ourselves and start developing habits that will support us through the next academic year.

It is time to REBOOT!

Holiday Mindfulness To Do List

1- Gratitude– In the hustle and bustle of the school year, we can sometimes forget to bask in the success that have been achieved and there have been MANY this year. They may not have always been the usual successes we have had but that makes them no less of a success. Take some time to write out all the wonderful things you can think have happened this last year.

2- Meditations– Meditating is a habit. When forming a new habit you must:
* Set a Reminder– the trigger that initiates the behaviour. I suggest an alarm on your phone early in the day (after you know you will be awake but before you would go out for the day) that goes off daily.
* Make a Routine– when the alarm goes off stop whatever you are doing and begin your meditation. An overview of meditations can be found here.
* Reward– Once you have finished your meditation, smile and give yourself a mental pat on the back as you recognise how you are feeling in those first moments following the meditation.

A number of guided meditations can be found here:  https://tinyurl.com/EducationsVoiceMeditations

3- Mindful Walks– We all know that walks can clear the cobwebs and make use feel better. We have used them OFTEN over this pandemic. However, during this holiday, when you take the walks, focus on one aspect of the walk. For example, decide on a colour you want to notice. As you walk, look for that colour. When you see it, use it as a reminder to take a deep mindful breath and focus on the object with the colour and the characteristics of that object. If other thoughts, like work, come to mind, allow them to float past you like a cloud and not allow yourself to wallow in the thought.

4- Learn Something New– Studies suggest that adult learning has a positive impact on self-esteem and self-efficacy when the learning provided meets the needs of the learner, and when the learner is at a stage in their life when they are ready and receptive to benefit from it. So, basically, if we learn something we want to learn and not because we have to learn it, the positive benefits support our well-being. What will you learn to do this holiday? Knitting, crocheting, making tissue flowers, baking?

5- #RAK – Pledge to do one Random Act of Kindness each day. It doesn’t need to be big. It could be to allow a car to go ahead of you in a traffic jam or it could be paying for the person behind you at the coffee shop. Maybe it is to give a lonely looking person a sincere smile or leaving little positive notes in high traffic areas a rays of sunshine for other people.

During this break, make your well-being a priority. No one can do it for you. YOU have to do it!

Attitude of Gratitude

It is New Years Eve. Today is the day when we should take stock of the year pass and make plans for the year ahead.

Most of us would never have guessed that 2020 would have been a whole humankind rubbish year. Most have had to put their lives on pause and forego all the things that make life bearable: hugs, kisses, get togethers, travel, simple human connection. Most would agree we have lost control of some of our lives either by choice or social duty directive.

Despite this, no matter how we are feeling at this moment, we have survived to this point. As 2021 is only hours away, we still need to take stock of the positives, no matter how small: spending more time with your most immediate family, learning to cook or bake, gardening, spending time in nature, tackling technological challenges to be able to connect on some level with loved ones, taking care of our neighbours more, coming to the realisation of what is most important in life.

We need to end 2020 with gratitude. If we don’t, than it has beaten us. We have the power to not let this happen.

We need to start the new year with gratitude as well. Have the attitude of gratitude in 2021.

Here are some Top Mindful Gratitude Strategies:

1- Guided Meditations: Some people have a hard time starting a practice of Mindful Gratitude. Our negative thoughts push away the positivity or we just don’t know where to begin. Start the day with a Guided Meditation for Gratitude. Allow the meditation to guide you through your exploration of gratitude. Here are some nice Gratitude Meditations: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL76Tcrfnqwv5Mxt47DEZaZ1s6Ps3L3tL6

2- Make a List… one thankful thought at a time. You don’t have to make a long list to develop gratitude. You don’t even need a fancy sheet of paper or notebook. Just start a list. Begin each day by writing one thing you are grateful for. You can make a rule that you always have to write something different or you can repeat things. It doesn’t matter. But, at the end of the year, you will have a list of 365 things that brighten your life.

3- Gratitude Jar: Get a Jar. Decorate it if you like. But, you don’t have to. Each week, write a little note with the date and what has made you grateful and put it in the jar. When you are feeling low, take out the jar and read your little notes and remember there is good in your life.

4- Thank You Notes/Cards: Each week, choose one person or group of people that have make a difference in your life (big or small). You can do this anonymously if you like. It doesn’t matter. Just write the note and ensure they get it. Expressing gratitude makes both you and the receiver feel better.

5- #AttitudeOfGratitude– Join me periodically on Twitter or my Facebook page ALL YEAR and share your moment of gratitude or read the moments of gratitude of others using the hashtag #AttitudeOfGratitude. It will uplift your spirits and the spirits of others to see the positivity even on the darkest of days.

How do you keep yourself doing any of these things? Set yourself an alarm on your phone. A simple daily or weekly alarm that reminds you to take that moment now to be grateful, to find the positives of the day, week or life in general and reflect on them for at least a moment. They will become little miracle moments where we can bask in positive thoughts despite the storm blowing around us.

Life will not always be a bed of roses and 2021 will continue to have some of the same challenges 2020 gave us.

How you react to those thorns in the bed of roses will set the scene for your everyday life. Mindful gratitude reminds us to appreciate the scent of those roses.

Mindful Gratitude During a Pandemic

Ok, let’s be honest! 2020 has been rubbish!

There really isn’t any way to get around that. It started out so promising as we rung in the new year but it quickly turned out to be one that was going to challenge the whole world when the COVID-19 Pandemic reared it’s ugly head.

The stress and pain it has caused to everyone was not what anyone was prepared for. Our usual resilience quickly began eroding as we have been faced with challenges we never even contemplated or planned for. This is the basis of best selling novels and movies. Not actual life!

However, here we are heading towards the end of 2020 and we are living in a time like no other.

It is easy to get caught up in the negativity that the pandemic has brought with it. We start to focus on what we can’t do, what we lost and what we want back in our lives. We forget that negativity feeds negativity but TODAY you can change that.

Pledge to show mindful gratitude today. Use this time to find the things you are thankful for in your life no matter how big or small that may be.

Positivity begets positivity and with that a positive mental attitude that fortifies the resilience we will need to stay strong in the mist of adversity.

How can you have Mindful Gratitude?

1- Guided Meditations: Some people have a hard time starting a practice of Mindful Gratitude. Our negative thoughts push away the positivity or we just don’t know where to begin. Start the day with a Guided Meditation for Gratitude. Allow the meditation to guide you through your exploration of gratitude. Here are some nice Gratitude Meditations: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL76Tcrfnqwv5Mxt47DEZaZ1s6Ps3L3tL6

2- Make a List… one thankful thought at a time. You don’t have to make a long list to develop gratitude. You don’t even need a fancy sheet of paper or notebook. Just start a list. Begin each day by writing one thing you are grateful for onto the list and each day read the list in it’s entirety.

3- Thank You Notes/Cards/Emails/Social Media Posts: Choose one person or group of people that have make a difference in your life (big or small). You can do this anonymously if you like. It doesn’t matter. Just write the note and ensure they get it. Expressing gratitude makes both you and the receiver feel better. Why not do this every day or week?

Life will not always be a bed of roses, as we know. There will always be a thorns along the way.

How you react to those thorns will set the scene for your everyday life. Mindful gratitude reminds us to appreciate the scent of those roses.

Autumn Mindfulness- Recharge

Stop! Take a deep breathe and look!

For those who work in education, the start of this school year has been like none before. The COVID-19 Pandemic has challenged schools and the people who worked in them in ways that causes daily stress and concern. Everyone is hyper vigilant in order to keep our school communities as safe as possible. However, with that, we are having to work within strict protocols, quickly changing situations and unknown territory that has made 7 weeks feel like 36 weeks.

Across most of the UK and half-term break is finally here. It is time to recharge our batteries and soothe our battered emotions.

With Autumn upon us, the air has a new crispness, the trees are undressing themselves as the technicolor leaves whip around and fall to the ground as the wind blows around you. There is a new earthy scent. We can get outside, fill our lungs with fresh air and give ourselves much needed TLC.

Stop! Take a deep breathe! Autumn is here!

Take five minutes now to take part in this lovely Autumn Mediation to help you relax and find peace within your Mindfulness practice.

Autumn Meditation

For this mediation, you will need a fallen Autumn leaf.

Find a space where you can have five uninterrupted minutes. Maybe it is in your back garden, in a local park, or a walk through some woodlands. It may even be that you collect a leaf while out and about and complete the meditation within the comfort of your home. It really doesn’t matter as long as you have your leaf.

– Pick up the leaf and lay it in your hands.
– Notice the colours, the different in shades of colours and fading of one colour to another colour.
– Notice the veins in the leaf, the main stem, the edges of the leaf.
– Feel the leaf. Run your fingers over the top and bottom; along the edges. Notice the differences. Rub it against your face or over the top of your hand. Use nerve endings that normally are not used to feel objects. Notice the difference.
– Smell the leaf. Note the scent. Inhale deeply and notice the memories it may bring up.

Close your eyes and take a minute to breathe deeply and allow yourself to be in awe and wonder of the moment you have had with the leaf.

Proceed with a new found calmness and appreciation.

Happy Autumn!

5 Minute Mindfulness

As a new school year begins in what we know will be a challenging year following a challenging summer term, we are all keen to support the mental health and well being of our children and staff.

One way to support our school community is to develop mindfulness for all. Mindfulness skills are a number of strategies that allow the person to shift focus to the present and take control of how they react. The strategies are not a one size fits all. What will work for one person may not work for another person.

I had this in mind, as well as the lack of time teachers have in the classroom, when I put together the 5 Minute Mindfulness Calendar for the first part of Autumn Term for my school. The calendar, along with 5 minute videos teach basic mindfulness strategies to use in the classroom for both staff and class to learn and practice the strategies together everyday.

I know that many schools and teachers may find this useful and I want to share.

Here is the calendar I made for my school. However, there is no real need to start or finish on the same days I have on the calendar. The videos, which can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLp3WNwYP2umKrBYZ9Wn7ViFp9fUazpy_f , are identified as Day 1, Day 2, etc. (Be patient in the beginning as I will upload over the next few days and weeks.) So, as long as you follow the day sequence, all is well.

The strategies do not need any resources besides the video except for one.

I am happy for you to share this resource and videos and hope that it can support positive mental health and well being in your school.

I only ask that you feed back to me about how it is working for you, your class or your school.

Have a great school year everyone!

Holiday Mindfulness

And BREATHE!

Anyone who works in a school knows the full out relief of a long summer break and the relief has never been more needed than it has been this year. Many of us have not had any breaks since February half-term or more with the dedication of schools and their staff caring for key worker and vulnerable children and continuing to teach remotely!

The day in and day out the strain of the overwhelming responsibility weighs on the shoulders of each person. Some loads are heavier than others but they all put a relentless stress during school time.

Most of us know all about this before we even enter the profession. We are warned and told the horror stories. However, over the years the stresses of continued curriculum changes, societal changes, ever increasing expectation and accountability as well as a full on pandemic puts our health and well-being at risk.

So, it is very important that we take the time during to summer break to look after ourselves and start developing habits that will support us through the rest of the year.

Summer Mindfulness To Do List

1- Gratitude– In the hustle and bustle of the school year, we can sometimes forget to bask in the success that have been achieved. Take some time to write out all the wonderful things you can think have happened this last year.

2- Meditations– Meditating is a habit. When forming a new habit you must:
* Set a Reminder– the trigger that initiates the behaviour. I suggest an alarm on your phone early in the day (after you know you will be awake but before you would go out for the day) that goes off daily.
* Make a Routine– when the alarm goes off stop whatever you are doing and begin your meditation. An overview of meditations can be found here.
* Reward– Once you have finished your meditation, smile and give yourself a mental pat on the back as you recognise how you are feeling in those first moments following the meditation.

A number of guided meditations can be found here:  https://tinyurl.com/EducationsVoiceMeditations

3- Mindful Walks– We all know that walks can clear the cobwebs and make use feel better. This holiday, when you take the walks, focus on one aspect of the walk. For example, decide on a colour you want to notice. As you walk, look for that colour. When you see it, use it as a reminder to take a deep mindful breath and focus on the object with the colour and the characteristics of that object. If other thoughts, like work, come to mind, allow them to float past you like a cloud and not allow yourself to wallow in the thought.

4- Learn Something New– Studies suggest that adult learning has a positive impact on self-esteem and self-efficacy when the learning provided meets the needs of the learner, and when the learner is at a stage in their life when they are ready and receptive to benefit from it. So, basically, if we learn something we want to learn and not because we have to learn it, the positive benefits support our well-being. What will you learn to do this holiday? Knitting, crocheting, making tissue flowers, baking, sign language?

5- #RAK – Pledge to do one Random Act of Kindness each day. It doesn’t need to be big. It could be to allow a car to go ahead of you in a traffic jam or it could be paying for the person behind you at the coffee shop. Maybe it is to give a lonely looking person a sincere smile or leaving little positive notes in high traffic areas a rays of sunshine for other people.

During this break, make your well-being a priority. No one can do it for you. YOU have to do it!

Quick Mindfulness Strategies for Dealing with Anxiety and Stress- Part 4 Everyday Activity Mindfulness

Getting your day off to a great, mindful start is important for a mindfully successful day.

Many times when I speak to people about practicing mindfulness, they say they “just don’t have time”. That seems even more so during this pandemic for Key Workers. While part of the country went into lockdown, schools around the world continued to care, teach and support the children and families with child care in school, sorting food deliveries, creating and teaching online lessons, creating home learning packs, answering emails from parents and children, advising parents on approaches to take, speaking to children and families on the phone, safeguarding the most vulnerable and caring for their on children and families, their schooling and health and more. We have had to learn, very quickly, how to do new things with incomplete systems at the drop of a hat. While some have been bored, most educators have been anything but bored.

So, time has been at a premium.

Actually, people who practice mindfulness express that they actually gain time over the day the more mindful they are during the day. The reduction of stress, the reduction of energy and time spent on the past/future thoughts and increased periods of calmness allows for more effective time management.

We need to consider how we can bring mindfulness into our morning routines that don’t require extra time or divert us from our normal routines.

Top Morning Mindfulness Tips:

Brushing Teeth

It is simple really. It is about being in the present moment from the preparation of your toothbrush to rinsing your mouth. Here are some prompts to be mindful of while you are going about this everyday task.

– How does your tooth brush feel in your hand? How does it weigh in your hand? Is the grip smooth or rough?
– How does the balance change when you put the toothpaste on the brush?
– Smell the toothpaste. What does it smell like?
– Begin brushing your teeth. How do the bristles feel against your teeth? Your tongue? Your cheek and gums?
– Notice the foaming of the toothpaste in our mouth and how it feels.
– Once finished, how does your tongue feel against your freshly brushed teeth? Can you still smell or taste the toothpaste? How you you feel now that your teeth are brushed?

Shower Meditation

Many people spend their time in the shower thinking about the day ahead. Instead, use this as a mindful time to become present in the moment.

Enter the shower with mindful intention.

-Take a few deep, mindful breaths as the steam begins to rise around your body.

– Allow the warm water to fall against your skin, paying attention to how the water feels on each part of your body, similar to a body scan.

– Then lather up your cloth, sponge or body scrubber and pay attention to the smell of the soap and the feel of the bubbles.

– Take time to notice the feel of the soap against your skin as you slowly clean your body.

– Finally, pay attention to the feel of water and soap you rinse off, paying attention to the sense of well being and warmth of the moment.

Water Meditation

– Pour yourself a glass of plain water. (It can have ice.)

– Sit down with your water and allow yourself to be aware of drinking the water.

– Take a sip. Allow the sip to linger in the mouth. Notice the temperature of the liquid against your tongue, cheeks, gums and palate. What can you taste? Is there a sweetness, bitterness, acidic or even slightly salty taste?

– Notice the sensations of the water being swallowed and flowing down your throat and into your stomach.

– Continue to be mindful of each sip; allowing yourself to be in the very present moment of drinking your water.

Drink at least three glasses of water like this today.

Top Tip

Use what might seem like everyday mundane activities to be present. Don’t allow your mind to wander. Be in this very moment and enjoy the sensations of activity. Allow yourself to be aware.

Quick Mindfulness Strategies for Dealing with Anxiety and Stress- Part 3 Hand Washing Meditation

Many psychologists believe that our emotions begin with a physical sensation, positive or negative. When we focus on positive sensations that are calming, we can emotionally become calm.

Today, our mindfulness practice will focus on positive physical sensations to mindfully be in the moment and anchor us in the present. We are going to do it while taking part in what the medical profession says is the #1 infection control method, washing your hands. However, we will do it mindfully.

Washing Hands Meditation

When we wash our hands in warm water, it opens the blood vessels and tricks your brain out of a stressful state.

– When you go to wash your hands, be mindful of the sensation of the water and soap as your rub your palms, between your fingers and on top of your hands. Breath deeply allowing your breathing enhance the feel of water and soap.

– How does this moment feel?

– How is it making the rest of your body feel?

Repeat every time you wash your hands today.

Quick Mindfulness Strategies for Dealing with Anxiety and Stress- Part 2 Mindful Object

Recently, our days seem to be filled with thoughts flitting between lamenting what has happened in the past to what may happen in the future. Our lives have been turned upside down both at work and at home. The endless decisions and changes are putting us at constant high alert and anxiety.

Mindfulness is returning your attention to this present moment; not worrying about the future and not lamenting the past, just appreciating this very moment and appreciating the breath.

We need to give ourselves a reminder and can do this through the Mindful Object Meditation.

Mindful Object Meditation

Once you are dressed for the day, choose an object you are wearing or keeping in a pocket to be your mindful object. It can be a ring, your id badge, necklace, tie, shoes, your watch, a button on your shirt, an item in your pocket, etc. It doesn’t matter what it is as long as it is something you will see several times.

During the day, at any point you notice your mindful object, touch it, take 3 *deep mindful breaths paying attention to the air flowing in and out your body.

*Deep Mindful Breath- Inhale for a count of 5, hold for a count of 1 and exhale for a count of 8.

This simple meditation takes only seconds but it gives mindful focus for those few seconds and calms the mind so that you can be the best person possible.

Quick Mindfulness Strategies for Dealing with Anxiety and Stress- Part 1 Shoulder Relaxation

I woke up early this morning. It really was too early. I had an odd night with odd dreams and awoke in an equally odd world.

Being a Headteacher of a primary school during a pandemic has been the hardest thing I have had to do in my 12 years doing the job. I am not alone in this statement. Educators around the world have been thrust into the unknown without a parachute and have had to adapt and learn to fly. The mental health and well being of school staff have been pushed to breaking point.

To be honest, most of society is at breaking point. We are angry, tired and fed up. We see this manifesting in the ways that society as a whole has begun to behave and react which, in turn, puts us in more danger.

It is during these challenging times that I realise how important mindfulness is in my life. The little mindfulness strategies have been the best as I have been dealing with the anxiety over a pandemic and keeping children, families, staff and my own family safe. So, I thought I would share some Quick Mindfulness Strategies for Dealing with Anxiety and Stress.

Developing your own mindfulness will be good for your health and well-being and will support the health and well-being of your children.

Mindfulness is an integrative, mind-body based approach that helps people change the way they think and feel about their experiences, especially stressful experiences.

Many of us hold stress in our shoulders. As the day becomes more stressful, our shoulders become more tense and creep up towards our ears. It is like a primitive form of contracting our muscles to spring into the fight or flight mode. During the day, take a moment, without judgement, to relax your shoulders and accept the feeling of restfulness that accompanies the moment.

Shoulder Relaxation

– Breath deeply and, on the exhale, allow your shoulders to drop towards the floor as if someone is pressing them downward.

– Continue to breathe deeply for five breaths, allowing your shoulders to slightly rise on the inhale and then completely drop on the exhale.

– Recognise how the muscles feel in the shoulder and neck. Remember, do not judge the tension. Just recognise it is there and release the tension.

Do this at least five times during the day.

This is particularly useful technique to use when having to deal with situations that are escalating into an argument or emotional situation. I also encourage shoulder relaxation in basic deep breathing as part of the everyday practice.

Top Tip: If you think you may forget to practice this strategy, set five gentle sounding alarms on your phone for the day as a reminder to give yourself a time out.

Day 30- #MindfulnessForChildrenChallenge

Congratulations! You have made it to the last day of the #MindfulnessForChildrenChallenge! Today we will end on a positive note and show gratitude!

It is an odd time for everyone right now and it can heighten our anxiety levels and leaves us as a world of moaners. Whinging and moaning about everything from the weather to government is a favourite pastime of the young and old alike. We focus on the bad and are surprised by the good. This leads to a vicious cycle of negativity which then becomes the focus of our attention and anything positive is seen as just a fluke or fleeting moment.

By taking the time to be grateful and lingering in the grateful moment, we start to be mindful of the good things in the world. We start to see more positive things; positivity breeds positivity. We start to see the good in people, we crave it and, when we see it, we want to repeat even more good.

This MUST be modeled to children so that they can see the positive effects that gratitude can have on their personal lives.

Today, the challenge is a FAMILY challenge. I declare today, #RandomActsOfKindness Day!

We get caught up in the hustle and bustle of everyday life; mindlessly moving through the day without a real thought to what is happening to others around you. Today, our mindfulness practice with our children will focus on others. We will do this through random acts of kindness.

During the day, have the family randomly do some form of kindness for another person. It does not require any money, only your own free act of kindness.

If you are finding it hard to come up with some ideas, here are some to get you started.

• Make a Thank You card for someone thanking them for their love, caring, help or any other thing that person has done for you.
• Do a chore for a sibling or parent without asking.
• Smile at a stranger that is looking sad as you take a daily walk.
• Tweet or Facebook message a genuine compliment to three people right now.
• While you’re out, compliment a parent on how well-behaved their child is.
• Write a positive note and leave it in a random place to be discovered by one or more people.
• Email or write to a person who has made a difference in your life.

Have each family member try to do at least three RAKs during the day.

I hope that these past 30 days have given you and your child and opportunity to develop mindful practices that are having a positive effect on your lives.

Don’t forget to share your child’s mindfulmoment and successes by using the hashtag #MindfulnessForChildrenChallenge in the comments, on Twitter @Ed_Tmprince or on Facebook at Education’s Voice – Mindfulness ( https://www.facebook.com/educationsvoice/ ).

Please let me know how you are getting on over time.

Day 29- #MindfulnessForChildrenChallenge

Hands-on and creative mindful activities that involve both tangible objects and nature allows for a playful and fun activity that encourages mindfulness. Thich Nhat Hanh developed this specific meditation, Pebble Meditation,  for children that engages the mind, develops gratitude, relieves stress, increases concentration and helps children deal with emotions.

How to do a Pebble Meditation:

1. Have your child collect four pebbles, rocks or shells before the meditation. (This could be part of a Mindful Walk.) Ensure that have something to store their pebbles in so that the meditation can be redone as often as desired.
2. They are to sit up straight and relax; placing the four pebbles in front of them.
3. The child picks up the first pebble and says, “Breathing in, I see myself as a flower. Breathing out, I feel fresh. Flower, fresh “(3 breaths). The words “flower, fresh” are repeated quietly for three in and out breaths. Repeat with the three other pebbles.
4. “Breathing in I see myself as a mountain, breathing out, I feel solid.”Mountain, solid. (3 breaths)
5. “Breathing in I see myself as still, clear water, breathing out, I reflect things as they really are.” Clear water, reflecting. (3 breaths)
6. “Breathing in I see myself as space, breathing out, I feel free.” Space, free. (3 breaths)

Top Tips:

• You can start and end the meditation with the ringing of a bell or chime.
• As your child learns the meditation, they can lead the others in the meditation.

Further resources to go with the Pebble Meditation can be found here:

• Pebble Meditation Booklet- https://mindfulkids.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/pebble-meditation.pdf
• Pebble Meditation Cards- https://mindfulkids.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/pebble-meditation-cards-all-in-one2.doc
• Pebble Meditation Practice Sheet- https://mindfulkids.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/pebble-meditation-practice-sheet.pdf

• After they become confident in this meditation, encourage your child to come up with their own meditation for the four pebbles, ie loving kindness, gratitude, friends, etc.

Don’t forget to share your child’s mindfulmoment and successes by using the hashtag #MindfulnessForChildrenChallenge in the comments, on Twitter @Ed_Tmprince or on Facebook at Education’s Voice – Mindfulness ( https://www.facebook.com/educationsvoice/ ).