IDEA! Mini Mindful Movement

Kids are wriggly, especially lower down the school so sometimes some mini mindful movement can encourage focus and 'being in the moment'. Before a handwriting lesson in my class, I have always encouraged the children to do some little exercises to warm up their hands to get ready for their best writing! We have recently been calling it mindful movements. We start by twisting our wrists round 20 times followed by 'piano fingers' and stretches. 'Witches fingers' is always a fun one! (They stretch fingers out as much as they can and move them like a witch casting a spell!) You can come up with as many different variations as you like. They key is guiding the children as you go along to help them really think about how the movements feel physically and focusing their mind solely on those feelings. Afterwards we always discuss what we notice. As you guide the children use words like 'notice' and 'be aware'. This is nice to set the tone for the lesson but is also really good as you transition between different activities. Try it - I'd love to hear how you and your 'mini mindful movers' get on!