When was the last time you felt disconnected from your surroundings, caught up in your thoughts, and unable to be mindful of the moment?
Mindfulness is the act of placing all your attention on the present moment and calmly accepting your surroundings, feelings, thoughts, and sensations without judgment. Practicing mindfulness helps reduce stress, improve performance, and enhance self-regulation. For children, it empowers them with awareness and peace at an early age, reducing the likelihood of them taking on unhealthy habits to deal with the stresses of everyday life. This blog post will explore simple and practical ways to enhance mindfulness in children through playing with the 5 senses.
Sight
Imagine walking through beautiful scenery but being too distracted by your thoughts and your phone to notice your surroundings. When you finally take a moment to look around, you realize how much beauty you are missing. Being aware of what you see is likely the sense most people struggle the least with, but having great observation skills and a sense of curiosity about the world around you will pay great dividends.
Exercises:
Peekaboo, I See You
Take a walk in nature and look at the surroundings have children spot things out.
Choose a color, and have children find objects around them that match that color.
Hearing
Imagine sitting in a busy cafe, the noise of conversations and clinking dishes inhibiting your ability to concentrate. Focusing on a specific sound, like the hum of a coffee machine or white noise playing through your headphones can help you center your mind and get you back on track. Being mindful of hearing helps develop children’s ability to focus and listen attentively.
Exercises:
Find a quiet spot or use a recording of nature sounds, and have children identify and describe each sound.
Play different sounds and ask children to match them to pictures of the objects making those sounds.
Have a few minutes of silence where children focus on and then discuss the various sounds they can hear.
Touch
Look back at a time when you were on the beach, sitting down and feeling the sand slip through your fingers. The sensation can be grounding and can be surprisingly attention-capturing. This is often, the sense we think the least of in everyday life, improving awareness of it can help kids feel more connected to their environment. Â
Exercises:
Provide materials like play dough, sand, and fabric for children to feel and describe.
Teach children simple acupressure points on their fingers to help them relax and focus.
Place objects in a bag and have children guess what they are by feeling them.
Smell
Imagine walking into your parent’s home and being enveloped by the scent of the home-cooked meals you grew up on. That smell is nostalgic and can evoke emotions. Being mindful of smells can enhance mood, promote relaxation, and help children connect with their experiences.
Exercises:
Use different scented items like flowers, spices, and essential oils for children to smell and describe.
Have children close their eyes, smell an item, and describe what it reminds them of.
Make playdough with different scents and have children play with and identify the smells.
Taste
Think about savoring a piece of chocolate, paying attention to its sweetness and not rushing to eat the next one without thought. Awareness of taste can come easily when sitting down at a restaurant but can be forgotten when eating everyday meals or binge eating, mindful eating promotes a healthy diet and can make mealtime more enjoyable.
Exercises:
Provide a variety of fruits and ask children to taste each one, focusing on the flavor, texture, and aroma.
Pair different flavors and have children match them to their corresponding fruits or foods.
Choose a small snack and guide children through a mindful eating exercise, paying attention to each bite.
Mindfulness is all about being present and fully engaging with our surroundings, and our five senses offer powerful tools for achieving this. By paying attention to what we see, hear, touch, smell, and taste, we can enrich our daily experiences and foster a deeper sense of connection. Encourage kids to explore their senses through simple activities, and watch as their mindfulness grows. For more posts on mindfulness, play, and creativity check click here!
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