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Early Years Blog Post - Early Years Staffroom

Mindfulness In The Early Years

3rd March 2023

“In today’s rush, we all think too much – seek too much – want too much – and forget about the joy of just being”

(Eckhart Tolle)

What is mindfulness? 

When do we have time to just reflect about the joy of just being? It appears that now more so than ever engaging in mindfulness activities has become more widely talked about and practised. When looking deeper into mindfulness, I found that it dates back around 2500 years, originating from ancient eastern and Buddhist philosophy and inspired by many.

As I child brought up in the 80’s, mindfulness was not a term I was familiar with.  I clearly remember enjoying calming activities such as colouring which for me was beneficial in many ways.  Not only did it help with fine motor control, I remember really paying attention to the detail of colouring within the lines of the picture.  It also allowed me to think, ponder about things and most importantly – relax and slow down. Mindfulness only really started to become more widely influential in the 90’s. It’s integration with Western science was a crucial aspect in helping mindfulness gain its widespread popularity in the West. Psychologists have found that mindfulness meditation changes our brain and biology in positive ways, improving mental and physical health and reducing stress and anxiety.

According to the NHS, mindfulness involves paying attention to what is going on inside and outside ourselves, moment by moment so that we can understand ourselves better and the world around us more.

It can be a useful tool for reasons such as :

  • increasing happiness and wellbeing
  • minimising anxiety and relieving stress
  • helping children to become more aware of their emotions
  • can be used as a technique to treat children with ADHD and autistic spectrum disorders, depression and anxiety

Being mindful means having your mind on what you are doing – it’s the opposite of rushing or doing too many things at once (slowing down and taking your time) so how can we incorporate it into our busy classes and routine?

 

What can mindfulness look like in the Early Years? 

Mindfulness activities can be practised individually or as part of a group and they can come in many different forms.  You may already have some form of reflective or nurturing time, but perhaps you want to increase the amount of calming activities you have on offer or provide the children with different techniques they can use to manage their emotions, self-regulate or ease anxiety during transitions.  Having a designated area or ‘calm zone’  can be helpful. Pick a suitable time to introduce your first mindfulness activity – it is unlikely to work well if the children are already highly engaged in their play or are bursting with energy. Equally, children should be comfortable doing mindfulness activities and should always have the choice to opt out.

If you are using a particular mindfulness programme be sure to adapt activities for the development stage of the children and for the needs of the group or individual as some can be too structured for young children due to their developing concentration skills. Children may need concrete examples for example using a balloon to gain a sense of how it feels i.e. light, floaty etc. This facilitates the child’s understanding when using the balloon, as part of a mindfulness experience.

Mindfulness activities can be used to support Development Matters – The activities listed below can be linked back to the areas of the curriculum.

Types of Mindfulness activities for children and links to areas of the EYFS

  • Yoga sessions – Yoga teacher created plans, using yoga cards, a book, posters and videos such as Cosmic Kids. Not only does Yoga calm the mind and is good for self-esteem, it is also a great physical activity that incorporates stretching, strength, balance and co-ordination (Personal, Social and Emotional Development and Physical Development)
  • Mindfulness early years planning, download mindfulness meditation apps -appropriate for age (Communication and Language)
  • Practice intentional breathing, including a body scan. This is the building block to all mindful practises (Counting breaths – Mathematical Development, Personal, Social and Emotional – managing emotions)
  • Gardening and planting seeds (Understanding the World)
  • Colouring or creating mandalas (Physical Development, Expressive Arts and Design)
  • Blowing bubbles (Understanding the World)
  • Playing with balloons (Understanding the World and Physical Development)
  • Texture bag, sensory activities or tuff trays (Communication and Language and Understanding the World)
  • Blowing pinwheels (Personal, Social and Emotional Development, Physical Development, Understanding the World)
  • Laying down and noticing the cloud formations and shapes (Understanding the World)
  • Gazing up at the stars at home in the evening (Understanding the World)

 

You can introduce ‘The Mindful Jar’ activity which involves taking a clear jar and filling it with water (almost full) and glitter, or glitter glue.  The glitter swirl can represent how our minds work “When you’re calm your thoughts start to settle and you start to see things clearer – deep breaths can assist.”  In addition, looking at different emotions using the Mindful jar such as ‘anger’ can help children understand how that particular emotion can make us feel.

 

 

 

What about us? 

Remember to give yourself time for relaxation.  Mindfulness meditation is a skill that can be developed through practice. Distraction by your thoughts can sometimes be inevitable, however the key is to bring yourself back to the practice without judgment and continue with your method or intention. The Early Years Staffroom have a series of three videos to practise mindfulness in your own time. Find out how you can implement simple changes to gain real benefit and calm in to your day. By becoming present and bringing awareness to the moment you are in changes start to take place and it’s from here that you gain focus, calm and enjoyment in each day.

 

“Self-care is giving the world the best of you, instead of what’s left of you.” (Katie Reed).

Keep calm and carry on breathing! (deeply).  I’m off to get the colouring pencils out.

 

Further Reading:

Check out our other related blogs at earlyyearsstaffroom.com:

 

What Is Wellbeing – Early Years Staffroom Blog
Hygge – What is it all about? Early Years Staffroom Blog

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Useful websites

https://positivepsychology.com/mindfulness-for-children-kids-activities/

For adults: https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/drugs-and-treatments/mindfulness/mindfulness-exercises-tips/

https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/self-help/tips-and-support/mindfulness/

 

Blog written by Sarah Detheridge ( EYS )

 

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05/31/2022
Yasmine
United Kingdom
These are beautifully made and really useful for extending my more able.
05/28/2022
Emma B.
United Kingdom
This training was fantastic. Really made me think and reflect on ways to improve. Just brilliantly honest and straight to the point.
05/19/2022
Charlotte K.
United Kingdom
This is great we have printed it out and we use daily for the Nursery children for a short Phonics activity. It has saved me loads of time and is really well thought out and each activity is clearly explained so the staff know what to do. Each time they teach Phonics they are becoming more...This is great we have printed it out and we use daily for the Nursery children for a short Phonics activity. It has saved me loads of time and is really well thought out and each activity is clearly explained so the staff know what to do. Each time they teach Phonics they are becoming more confident with presenting.
05/08/2022
Miss G.
United Kingdom
This is so helpful to give to parents. A great help. Thanks
05/01/2022
Mary
United Kingdom
This is so amazing thank you so much for making plans appropriate for Early Years!
03/14/2022
jane
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Very please with my purchase, brilliant phonics activities.
01/03/2022
amy
United Kingdom
Really helpful planning - good ideas.
11/23/2021
Jill.R
United Kingdom
Great Book, really helpful phonics planning. Would definitely recommend when teaching phonics to children.
09/20/2021
Mrs C.
United Kingdom
Highly recommend this informative phonics book. Everything you need to know about phase 1 and explained in good detail.
08/06/2021
Jayne
United Kingdom
This was absolutely brilliant, thank you x
04/30/2021
Candela M.
United Kingdom
I love this! Thank you very much, I was wondering if there was an editable version for this please? Does it have all of the development matters objectives?
10/22/2020
Mrs C.
United Kingdom
gREAT PLANNING FOR DIWALI, ESPECIALLY THE MUSIC THAT WE CAN PLAY DURING OUR PE LESSON OR PLAY WHILST WE MAKE OUR RANGOLI PATTERNS OR DIVAS. THANK YOU , A GREAT RESOURCE.
10/02/2020
Claire H.
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This training is superb! Such an important message that all schools need to hear with regards to behaviour management! The science of how the brain works really helps to show how crucial it is to build strong nurturing relationships and how we as adults need to self regulate before we can support...This training is superb! Such an important message that all schools need to hear with regards to behaviour management! The science of how the brain works really helps to show how crucial it is to build strong nurturing relationships and how we as adults need to self regulate before we can support children to do the same. Some powerful thought provoking messages about how we need to respond to children's emotions and behaviours and some great tips to try to support children's wellbeing. Thank you for this fabulous training.
09/16/2020
Mary S.
United Kingdom
I am an NQT and in Reception for the first time, this is so helpful for me to teach my children the basics and ease gently into phonics to ensure all of my children are ready before we start phase 2. Thank you so much for making my life easier!
08/26/2020
Debbie
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This PPT is great. Could you give me an idea of the tune to the goodbye song please. Thank you, Debbie
08/25/2020
Jill
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Great resource
03/27/2020
Jorgia H.
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I loved this and enjoyed making something for the birds in the garden. We watched them eat it and used the bird spotting sheet to see which type of birds they are.
03/11/2020
Jane
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This is a really helpful display.
03/07/2020
Claire
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Thank you for creating these. They look perfect for exploring pattern and loose parts play. I will be printing these to use in my class asap. I love the patterns use loose parts as well as natural resources too!
03/06/2020
Lisa
Hong Kong SAR China
Great sound mat. good detail
03/05/2020
Claire
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These statements are fab for using on display and save teachers so much time! I will be printing these and getting them up in my new displays asap!
01/17/2020
Rebecca
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Lovely handout to give to parents , every parent should read this ! Thanks.
12/13/2019
Bonnie
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I love these cards, lovely pictures and great for my children to use with sentence writing.
11/28/2019
Zoe.H
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Thanks. Going to use these cards today.
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Rachel
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Thanks for creating this Bingo resource. Any plans to create more suffix word resources ?
10/23/2019
jenny
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Just download, got some great planning ideas. Thanks.
10/01/2019
Sara-Jayne
These are an excellent resource, as you can adapt for what you need in your setting. thank you.
08/28/2019
Miss G.
These are great, just what I've been looking for.
08/26/2019
Heather R.
would highly recommend this resource to any year 1 teachers. It's got everything you need.
08/26/2019
Zoe M.
Just printed this off, thanks - just what I was looking for.
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