Objectives
- Describe ways to use the five senses to be mindful.
- Give examples of being mindful of internal feelings.
Info to Know
The lessons in this unit help kids understand and practice mindfulness. Mindfulness is to purposefully pay attention to your breathing, feelings, senses, or actions in the present moment. When a child is mindful, they increase their ability to regulate emotions, manage stress, and self-motivate. You can vary the ways your students practice being mindful each day. Some of the many fit resources available for daily mindfulness practice include:
Set The Stage
Describe an item in your classroom using your five senses. Can the students guess what you are talking about?
Share the video 5 Senses in 5 Minutes A Grounding Exercise for Kids to get kids thinking about how they can uses their five senses to be mindful.
To use this with your students click here.
Captivate
Five Senses and Feelings
Present the slideshow to guide students through a mindful activity using their senses. Allow ample time between slides to encourage mindful thoughts.
Educate
Identify Mindful Actions
Tell students that whenever they pause and pay attention to something on purpose, they are being mindful. When they looked carefully at the picture, they were being mindful. Discuss how they used their senses to be mindful when they observed the forest picture.
Check for Understanding: How can you use your senses to be mindful? (Pause and think about how something looks, sounds, smells, tastes, and feels.)
Activate
Use Your Senses
Imagine you are in the forest pictured on the coloring page. Think about what you would see, smell, taste, touch, and hear as you color the picture. How do you feel?
Close the Lesson
Today we took a moment to be mindful and looked carefully at a picture. When can you pause to be mindful and use your senses later today?
Grade: K-2
Time: 20 Minutes
What You'll Need
Resources
- Using Your Senses to be Mindful - Slideshow
- Sensory Scene - Printable
- Mindful Moments: 20 Printable Mindfulness Activities for Kids - Printable
- 5 Senses in 5 Minutes: Grounding Exercises for Kids - Video
- 5 Senses in 5 Minutes: Grounding Exercises for Kids (Español) - Video
- My Keep Cool Cards: Printable Coping Strategy Cards for Kids - Printable
- fitFlow Yoga Cards - Printable
- Grow Your Flow: Simple Yoga Poses for Kids - Printable
Materials
- Markers
- Poster Board or White Board
- Slideshow
Health Education Standards
- Standard 1: Core Concepts–Promote Mental and Emotional Health
- Standard 4: Interpersonal Communication
- Standard 5: Decision-Making
- Standard 7: Practice Health-Enhancing Behaviors
Social and Emotional Learning Competencies
- Self-Awareness
- Self-Management
- Responsible Decision-Making
Extend the Lesson
- Listen to the fit song, Taking Care of My Mood, to help yourself to be mindful of your mood and choices
- Play Greetings from the fitGames series for kids to practice ways to be mindful when greeting one another.
- Read about Breathing Techniques to help your students relax and become more mindful of their choices.
- Read about how you can help kids be more mindful of their choices with the cue "Think fit. Be fit!"