Mindfulness Resources for Kids

‘I am Peace’

by Susan Verde

When the world feels chaotic, find peace within through an accessible mindfulness practice from the bestselling picture-book dream team that brought us ‘I Am Yoga’. Express emotions through direct speech. Find empathy through imagination. Connect with the earth. Wonder at the beauty of the natural world. Breathe, taste, smell, touch, and be present. Perfect for the classroom or for bedtime, Susan Verde’s gentle, concrete narration and Peter H. Reynolds’s expressive watercolour illustrations bring the tenets of mindfulness to a kid-friendly level. Featuring an author’s note about the importance of mindfulness and a guided meditation for children, ‘I am Peace’ will help readers of all ages feel grounded and restored. 

‘Take the Time’

by Maud Roegiers

This is a slim little softcover picture book, but there is much to found inside it’s pages. I’d prefer it as a large format hardcover book, but I’ll take it for now! I have read it to Kindy – Year Six students this last week and found it has just worked on so many levels. Preps and ones have contributed leaves to a mindfulness tree and written on these things they do when they ‘take the time’ to stop, listen and experience life. With older grades we’ve talked about why, why. Why we need to slow down and become deliberate with our day-to-day actions and thoughts. Really like this book…super simple and short in some respects, but very child friendly and lots of great conversation starters.

‘Making Mindful Magic’

by Lea McKnoulty

You can read my full review of this book here and see some of the internal images.  ‘Making Mindful Magic’ is by Lea McKnoulty, a former early childhood teacher and founder of a children’s arts festival. Lea is keen observor of the evolution of family life and the postivie benefits of mindfulness for families.

She says: I see mindfulness as threefold. Firstly there is the pure mindful meditation time, when thoughts can dissipate, when real quiet can be found – bliss, really! Then there is the mindfulness that relates to being fully present with whatever you are doing at any particular time; not thinking about what happened in the past and not contemplating what might happen in the future. The third prong is about living a mindful life. This means to me that you are consciously making decisions about what you eat, where you buy your food, what products you choose to use in your house and on your body, the list is endless when you really begin to explore the notion of living mindfully.

Mindful Kids: Mindfulness Cards

by Whitney Stewart and Mina Braun

This boxed card deck includes 50 creative mindfulness games, visualizations and exercises divided into 5 categories to help children feel grounded, find calm, improve focus, practice loving-kindness and relax. Whimsical full-color illustrations on both sides of the cards break down each practice into easy-to-follow steps. Tips on individual cards plus an 8-page instructional booklet show modifications that make these activities inclusive for children of all abilities.

‘Mindful Games’

by Susan Kaiser Greenland

A playful approach for cultivating mindfulness in kids, with fifty simple games to develop attention and focus, and identify and regulate emotions. Playing games is a great way for kids to develop their focusing and attention skills and to become more mindful. Susan Kaiser Greenland has had a lot of success bringing mindfulness to the classroom, and in this book she shares her experience, showing how parents, caregivers, and teachers can cultivate these qualities at home or in a school setting. She includes fifty mindfulness games that develop what Greenland calls the “new A, B, C’s” for learning and for a happy and successful life: Attention, Balance, and Compassion. 

‘Sitting Still Like a Frog’

by Eline Snel

Simple mindfulness practices to help your child (ages 5-12) deal with anxiety, improve concentration, and handle difficult emotions. Includes a 60-minute audio CD of guided exercises. This little book is an introduction to mindfulness meditation for children and their parents. In a simple and accessible way, it describes what mindfulness is and how mindfulness-based practices can help children calm down, become more focused, fall asleep more easily, alleviate worry, manage anger, and generally become more patient and aware.

‘Is Nothing Something?’

by Thich Nhat Hanh

In ‘Is Nothing Something?’ Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh answers heartfelt, difficult, and funny questions from children of all ages. Illustrated with original full-color artwork by Jessica McClure, ‘Is Nothing Something?’ will help adults plant the seeds of mindfulness in the young children in their lives. Beginning with the most basic questions, “What is important in life?” and “Why is my brother mean to me?” and progressing through issues that we all wrestle with, such as “How do I know if I really love somebody?”, “How long am I going to live?”, and “What does God look like?”, each page presents a question with a short answer from Thich Nhat Hanh, appropriate for beginning readers to work with on their own.

‘Silence’

by Lemniscates

What can you hear when you are completely silent? Beautifully illustrated and gently written, ‘Silence’ encourages children to stop, listen, and reflect on their experiences and the world around them. Using qualities of mindfulness, readers are asked to pay attention to what otherwise gets drowned-out in our noisy environment and use those sounds as a means to develop imagination and curiosity, and learn a little more about themselves.

‘A Handful of Quiet’

by Thich Nhat Hanh

‘A Handful of Quiet’ presents one of the best known and most innovative meditation practices developed by Thich Nhat Hanh as part of the Plum Village community’s practice with children. This is a teeny tiny little book, possibly better suited to home use, although I’ve been using it in the library too. Pebble meditation is a playful and fun activity that parents and educators can do with their children to introduce them to meditation. It is designed to involve children in a hands-on and creative way that touches on their interconnection with nature. Practicing pebble meditation can help relieve stress, increase concentration, nourish gratitude, and can help children deal with difficult emotions.

‘The Magic Box’

by Marneta Viegas

Social stories are a wonderful way for children to explore learning and mindfulness. Children love to tell stories, role-play stories and teach others what they learn from stories. Research supports that mindful meditation calms the brain, inspires creativity and enhances cognitive and social-emotional skills. The reflections in ‘The Magic Box’ incorporate simple relaxation exercises and visualizations designed to improve children’s self-esteem and confidence and reduce stress and anxiety. Practiced regularly, these exercises can have a profound effect on children’s mental, emotional and physical wellbeing.

‘Mindfulness and Yoga in Schools’

by Catherine P. Cook-Cottone

A research-based text intended to help teachers and practitioners implement mindfulness and yoga programs in schools. A complete review of the literature on mindfulness and yoga interventions is provided along with detailed steps on how to implement such programs. Training requirements, classroom set-up, trauma-sensitive practices, and existing quality programs are reviewed. Twelve core principles of mindfulness and yoga in schools are woven throughout for the utmost in continuity. As a whole, the book provides tools for enhancing classroom and school practices as well as personal well-being. It is distinguished by its emphasis on research, translation of research into practice, and insight into potential roadblocks when using mindfulness and yoga in schools.