6 Daily mindfulness activities for students

At a time when pressure from school and family makes it not uncommon to see signs of stress among students, mindfulness plays an important role in helping young people move forward in a positive way. But what is mindfulness?

6 daily mindfulness activities for students

 In essence, mindfulness is a way of being present at every moment, paying attention to what you are going through with compassion and unjudgment. The benefits of mindfulness include more focus and engagement; stronger decision-making skills; and improvements in our attention span, concentration, sleep, compassion, and self-esteem.
 
In the classroom, mindfulness helps to develop a common language between teachers and students, and can be used to overcome student stress or moments of anxiety ("Let's stop and breathe", "Is this a conscious decision?"). Are you interested in adding mindfulness exercises to the classroom? continue reading.
 

Four points to consider before beginning

1.Include yourself in the practice

 
The incorporation of conscious practices in your classroom will be much easier if you are working on them in your own life. Full novices are often useful to associate conscious activities with a particular time of day; As during the trip to work, while doing the dishes, eating or walking to local stores.
 

2.Make it positive

 
In the classroom, strive to cultivate special activities that are different from the usual classroom routines. Don't be afraid of rituals, such as dimming the lights or using bells to signal the beginning and end of the event. The idea is to create a positive feeling.
 

3. Remember: there is no failure

 
This goes for you and your students. Meters will go: the idea is to try again
 

4. Be clear about emotions

A very important part of full attention is to identify and name our emotions. Make a conscious effort to cultivate vocabulary for different emotions, especially when teaching children.
 
The following activities are particularly suitable for young students, however, can be adapted to adapt at any age or level.
 

Mindful activities for learners

 

1.Mindful breathing

 
This activity is very suitable for us to re-understand the importance of breathing. It turns out that when we feel stressed, our breathing is very shallow. On the other hand, deeper "abdominal breathing" concentrates our attention and calms us down. Sitting or standing, let your student breathe deeply for about five minutes. Ask them to count to three when they breathe in, and three when they breathe out. You can suggest that she put her hands on her belly and feel the air coming in and out.
 

2. Color breathing

 
Ask your students to think of a color of relaxation and another color that represents anger, frustration, or sadness. Now ask your students to close their eyes and imagine that they are breathing soothing colors, so that it fills the whole body. When they exhale, let them imagine that the "negative" color leaves their body and dissipates throughout the room.
 

3. The five senses

 
The next activity is a good little exercise when experiencing stress or as a way to reconnect. Relax and ask yourself:
 
What five things can I see?
 Four things I can touch?
Can I hear three things?
Can I smell two things? Can I taste one thing?
 
Young students can only name one thing for each category.
 

4. Body scan                                                                                         

 
When you suddenly realize that your neck, shoulders or back are full of tension, you know that feeling, right? Enter the body scan. When sitting or lying down, ask students to stop and check their physical feelings, do not judge themselves or ask "why". Log questions include:
How is my breathing? Light or deep?
Where do I feel sore or nervous?
How does my (back/shoulder/facial muscles/foot/neck) feel?
When they pass these signals, they respond by relaxing that part of their body.
 

5. Breaktime bell

After being exposed to the practice of full attention for some time, older students can enjoy the opportunity to increase autonomy on the practice of full-minded attention. In this activity, assign a bell to a student at the beginning of the class. During the lesson, they can touch the bell every time they all need a break (decide on a limit of times they can call the bell to make sure they still reach the goals of their lesson).
 
When the bell is Rung, the class carries a short and continental activity (breathing, stretching, check-in with its thoughts, etc.). Following this, the lesson resumes.
 
Note: If you do not think the bell to students would work for your class, you can always call it yourself.
 

6. Daily gratitude

 
Humans are very good at remembering negative things. However, there is not so much in remembering the positive aspects. Being grateful helps us maintain this balance. There is no “right” way to be grateful, but you may want students to write down what they are grateful for in the last five minutes of class, briefly share with partners, or think silently for themselves.
 
Although this requires practice, setting aside time to cultivate mindfulness will reward your students and you as a teacher. As with any new skill (although this may be especially true in this case!), the best way to progress is slowly and steadily.