Mindfulness for Children - Workshop Shout Out

I want to give a BIG Shout Out to all of the amazing kiddos and parents who attended the Mindfulness for Children Workshop last week, and a huge THANK YOU to Alder Grove Counseling for giving me the opportunity to meet them all.

The children were so interested to learn about my brain - my playdough brain, that is.

They had some great questions and comments about how the different areas of our brain work together to help us stay calm, learn, and make good decisions.

I think the finger puppets deserve a bit of credit in helping to explain some of these complex processes. They definitely helped clarify things for me a bit.

All of the participants blew me away with their pinwheel-blowing skills. Once they learned breathing techniques, it seemed like they could make those pinwheels spin forever! Aside from becoming expert level pinwheel blowers, they were able to learn how to breathe in a way that can calm the mind and body - allowing the learning, focusing, and problem-solving areas of our brains to do their jobs.

One of my favorite activities was the making of the Glitter Jar. They were all so gracious in sharing some of their many different thoughts from the day and adding them to the jar in the form of glitter. All of these glitter thoughts swirling around (happy, sad, excited, nervous, proud, hungry...), helped to demonstrate how busy and distracted our minds can become. However, as we practiced mindfulness of our breathing and senses, we were actually able to watch our thoughts settle and the water (our minds) to clear!

They were all so insightful - and mindful - of the differences they felt in their minds and bodies from practicing these techniques. I hope that they can continue to use and practice them every day.

Thank you so much to all the wonderful parents for bringing your brilliant kiddos. I feel like I learn and gain just as much from the children as I'm trying to teach and give to them. I'm looking forward to presenting more workshops and ongoing mindfulness and study skills workshops!

#Mindfulness #Workshop