The 51 Mindful Summer Challenge
Are you ready to take on ‘The 51 day Mindful Summer Challenge?’
One activity for every day of the school holidays.
These mindful summer activities are mindful in the
sense that they are helping our children learn to pay
attention (to their bodies and their minds) and to
understand their feelings. You don’t even have to use the word
mindfulness — make it a fun activity and the learning will happen
organically!
How many challenges can you complete as a family this summer? I
would love to see photos so these can be shared when we return to
Balliol in September. Please send them to
[email protected]
1. The Ice Lolly Challenge
When you eat an ice lolly/ice cream, challenge your kids to
be silent until their ice lolly/ice cream is entirely gone.
Encourage them to really notice all the different tastes (one of
those ice lollies/ice cream that has different flavours would be
great for this).
2. Sky Study
Spend at least 10-15 minutes studying the sky — and notice how
the clouds gently move along. Notice how the cloud that first
looked like a pig now looks like a cat. This is a great way to
introduce the idea that our minds are kind of like the sky —
thoughts float through on their own, and they change on their own.
We can watch our thoughts in our minds like we watch the
clouds!
3. Create your own Pose
Think about different poses you can make with your body. Can you
create your own yoga pose? Take a photo and name it.
4. Slow-Fast-Slow
With mindfulness, we practice slowing down, so we don’t feel so
rushed all the time. The next time you’re at the playground, try
playing “Slow-Fast-Slow.” Whatever your children are doing —
playing in the sand, running through tunnels — have them try to do
it slow, then fast, and then slow again.
Talk about what it felt like to do something slowly. Did it feel
different?
5. Mindful Reading
The next time you read a story with your children, take some
time to engage in conversation about the feelings of the people (or
animals) in the book. It can be hard for children to talk about
their own emotions, so sometimes it’s easier to talk about
fictional characters. You can ask questions like, “What do you
think the girl is thinking about?”; “Why do you think he is sad?”;
“How do you think you would feel if that happened to you?” or,
“Have you ever felt like that before?”
6. Make Mind Jars
Using glitter and water, you can make a “mind jar” — the glitter
represents all the thoughts and emotions in their minds (and when
the jar is shaken they go crazy!) But if you stop moving it and
breathe for a few moments, the glitter settles and the water
becomes clear.
7. Organise Your Photos or Make a Scrapbook
Have your children help you sort through old photos. This can
spark some great conversations about their favourite memories, and,
if you’ve seen Inside Out, you could ask kids what they think
their “core memories” are. Create collages that represent core
memories or the different “islands” that make up their
personality.
8. Colour
When we colour, we focus our attention on a single
activity, and that can feel really pleasant.
Join your kids in colouring time, perhaps with a cool mandala
colouring book or one with intricate designs.
(Colouring Sheets enclosed)
9. Dance Party!
Crank up the tunes and dance! Get out of your head and into your
body. I love dancing with kids — there’s no self-consciousness.
It’s just pure movement and joy and self-expression. We can learn a
lot from them!
10. Listen!
Listen carefully with your eyes closed to any sounds you can
hear. After one minute, open your eyes and tell someone everything
you heard.
11. Feather Drop!
Ask someone to drop a feather and watch it very closely as it
floats to the ground.
12. Listen and Draw
Listen carefully to a piece of music and draw a line on a piece
of paper which matches the feeling created by the music.
13. Tummy Movements
Lie with your back on the floor and place a soft toy on your
tummy. Breathe in and out slowly and deeply and try to concentrate
on the way your toy rises and falls with your breathing.
14. Smell!
Find something with a strong and pleasant scent e.g. lavender or
orange peel and place it close to your nose. Try to concentrate
just on the smell for a whole minute.
15. Rainbow Pose!
(Yoga)
16. Blowing Bubbles!
Tell children to focus on taking in a deep, slow breath, and
exhaling steadily to fill the bubble. Encourage them to pay close
attention to the bubbles as they form, detach, and pop or float
away.
17. Hot Floor!
Tell children that the floor is hot and the balloon will burst
if it touches the floor. The aim of this game is to keep the
balloon off the ground, but have them move slowly and gently.
18. Taste!
Give children a starburst, skittle (something similar) and ask
them to put it in their mouth and really take in the taste,
texture, smell etc…
19. Heartbeat
20. Emotion Bottles
Create your own emotion bottle characters using different
shapes, sizes and colours to represent the different emotions.
21. Mindful Scavenger Hunt!
(Sheet enclosed)
22. Rainbow Walk
Go for a walk and take in the colours around you. Can you take a
picture of things that are the different colours of the
rainbow?
23. Mindfulness Safari
24. Texture Box
Put a selection of objects with different shapes and textures
into a bag. Get the children to take turns putting their hands in,
feeling one of the objects and describing it to the others (without
looking at it) in as much detail as possible.
25. Kind Quotes
Get children to create pictures and send them to close family
and friends.
May want to add positive quotes, e.g. Your Amazing! Smile! Never
Stop |Believing!
26. Memory Jar
Every time an activity is completed at home that children / the
family have enjoyed write it down and pop it in a jar.
After a few days / weeks go back and have a read of all the fun
activities completed and talk about what you remember.
27. Squishy Balls
This fun craft has the added benefit of giving your kids an
excellent mindfulness tool. Take colourful balloons and insert a
funnel in the neck. Help your kids carefully pour in the filling of
your choice. Try flour or sand for squishy balls. You can also use
dry rice or birdseed for a firmer texture and a less messy
experience.
Once the balloons are filled, tie them up and let the kids
decorate the outside with paint or stickers. Squishy balls allow
kids to physically relieve any negative feelings with just a
squeeze.
28.The Squish and Relax
Whilst the children are lying down with their eyes closed, ask
them to squish and squeeze every muscle in their bodies as tight as
they can. Ask them to start with their toes and feet, squish the
muscles in their legs, squeeze their stomachs, then their hands
into fists and raise their shoulders up to their heads. Ask them to
hold themselves squished up for a few seconds and then fully
release and relax.
29. Hugs
Take a moment to hug a family / friend. How does it feel? Could
you feel your heart beat?
30. The Name Game
This game is simpler than Eye Spy and yet it can be a powerful
tool to curb spiralling thoughts.
First, look around you and name three things you can hear, then
two things you can see, and finally one sensation that you
feel.
31. I am Amazing!
Stop and think about all the positive things you can do. Share
these with someone else.
You could complete attached sheet ‘I am an Amazing Person!’ to
show how amazing you are.
(I would love to see them).
32. How do you feel?
Take a moment to think about how you are feeling. Which words
would describe how you are feeling? Can you trace back the origins
of those feelings?
33. Pen Walk
Take a pen/pencil for a walk on a piece of paper. Colour,
decorate each section created.
34. Positive Comments
Get every member of your house a jar and every day everyone has
to write a positive comment about someone else in their family. At
the end of the summer holidays open your jar up and read all the
positive comments your family have written about you.
35. Wiggle and Freeze!
In this game you wiggle, bounce around, or dance until you say
"Freeze!"
"Then everyone freezes and takes a moment to notice what they
can feel in their body — perhaps movement, tingling, heat, shaking,
buzzing, or something else."
36. Snake Pose (Yoga)
37. Cook a Meal
Cook a meal together and take in the smells created when
cooking.
38. Be Helpful!
Do one thing to help around the house.
It may be help with the washing/washing up, read a story to a
sibling, tidy your toys/room etc…
39. Nature Collage
Visit the woods, collect lots of natural items and create a
nature collage.
Explore the different textures and colours in your collage. Can
you describe them?
40. Daisy Chains
Find some daisy chains and see how long you can make your daisy
chain.
41. Yoga Video
Follow one of the yoga videos on this link:
https://awakeandmindful.com/best-kids-yoga-videos-on-youtube/
42. Pennies!
You will need a basket/pot of pennies. Everyone gets a penny and
a minute to study it in detail. The pennies are then placed back in
the basket. Each player has to pick their penny out of all the
pennies and say how they knew it was theirs. This game can be
played with different objects.
43. Through the Window!
Sit and look out of one of your windows for 10 minutes. What do
you see? Who did you see? Did you see any cars? Can you remember
what you saw?
44. Hand Tracing
Sit quietly and take a few slow, deep breaths.
Stretch out your fingers on one hand.
With your other hand, slowly trace around your thumb. Breathe in
as you trace up one side of the thumb, and breathe out as you trace
down the other side.
Do the same for the other four fingers, tracing up and breathing
in, tracing down and breathing out.
Switch hands and do it again. This time, pause slightly at the
top and bottom of each finger.
Think about which method you prefer today: with or without the
pause.
45. Bug Watch!
Find an old piece of log, branch or lift up an old plant pot.
Take a few minutes to watch the creepy crawlies and describe what
you see.
46. Make a Splash!
Splash in puddles or dance in the rain. How did it make you
feel?
47. Tree Pose (Yoga)
48. Blow!
Blow a dandelion and watch the petals float away. Where do you
think they will land?
49. Colour Mood
Ask children to identify different colours to represent
different moods/feelings.
Talk about what makes them feel that colour and what colour they
are feeling each day or at different times of the day.
50. Doughnut Time!
Eat a doughnut without licking your lips.
Think about the taste of the doughnut and the texture of the
sugar on your lips.
51. Noticing Walk
Go for a walk in your local area and ask your children to try to
notice 10 things they’ve never really paid attention to before
— perhaps the colour of the neighbour’s car/front door or the
flowers in the area. You could also try to listen for new sounds,
too. Ask them why they think they’ve never noticed them!
Other useful websites / Apps:
· Smiling Mind App – Free
· Practice your daily meditation and mindfulness exercises from
any device. Smiling Mind is a unique tool developed by
psychologists and educators to help bring balance to your life.
· https://www.cosmickids.com/mindfulness-activities-kids/
· Breathe, Think, Do with Sesame
· This app teaches skills such as problem-solving, self-control,
planning, and task persistence. The research-based app helps your
child learn Sesame’s “Breathe, Think, Do” strategy for
problem-solving. Children enjoy silly learn emotional vocabulary, a
calm breathing technique, personalised encouragement, and more!
· Go Zen
· https://gozen.com/category/mindfulness-meditation/
· Go Noodle
· https://family.gonoodle.com/
Books:
· Matt’s Swirly World by Madeleine Matthews
· An adorable journey featuring a mother and her young son, this
book is a great reminder about how all emotions are accepted and
that proper behaviours can be learned by kids and taught by
caregivers.
· What Does it Mean to be Present? by Rana DiOrio
· Follow a group of friends at school, at home, and at the beach
as they experience just what it means to be present.
· I Can Handle It! by Laurie Wright
· Parents and teachers are amazed when children start saying 'I
CAN handle it' almost immediately after reading this book! In
tough situations that usually cause meltdowns, kids start to
realize they can problem-solve solutions and likely 'handle' the
situation themselves.
For further information / support regarding SEND and Pupil’s
Emotional Well-Being:
Bedford Borough Advice / Support:
https://localoffer.bedford.gov.uk/kb5/bedford/directory/advice.page?id=DIOI7rT1-n4
This website has lots of useful information and leaflets about
‘Returning to School’, ‘Policies’, ‘Referrals’ (for further
support, e.g. Speech and Language) and useful advice supporting
children with SEND.
Parent Carer Forum:
https://www.bbpcf.co.uk/
Young Minds:
https://youngminds.org.uk/
Enjoy your mindful summer activities, have a wonderful
summer and we all look forward to seeing you in September!
