5 Mindfulness Classroom Games
As the new school year approaches, more than a year and a half into the pandemic, it’s never been more important to help your students be focused, compassionate, and engaged. Whether you are teaching in an educational classroom or teaching yoga to children— mindfulness practices are amazing tools for both you and your students.
Mindfulness is a life skill, no matter your students’ ages. When we are mindful, we are aware of our present attention (thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and movements). We are actively involved in the activity with all of our senses rather than our wandering minds.
Here are five circle games we like to incorporate in our classrooms:
Balloon or Scarf Float
Material Needed: Balloon or juggling scarf. Students work together to keep the balloon or scarf from dropping on the ground. Students can use their hands or breathing but must move mindfully and be aware of each other. Challenge them to stay quiet except for communicating about who is moving toward the balloon or scarf. Consider breaking into small groups for this activity if you teach a large class.
2. Bean Bag Toss
Material Needed: Bean bag. This game helps students learn names. Have students stand in a circle and share their names. Let them know that you are going to play a game where they practice each other’s names. The first student says the name of another student, makes eye contact, and tosses the bean bag to them. The second student picks someone new and repeats. The goal is to make the game faster and faster. That’s when it gets fun. To motivate them, you could tell your students that the bean bag is snow that is going to melt or sand that is going to fall through their hands (tie it to a theme if you want).
3. Glad Gratitude
Take a moment to explain gratitude and what it is— identifying that it doesn’t necessarily mean to be thankful for things, and that we can be grateful for people, places we’ve been, things we get to do, etc. The first student begins with, “I’m grateful for…” and identifies what they are grateful for, then the next person shares their gratitudes. Optional: Pass a ball, chime, or other item to guide who speaks.
4. Pass the Chime
Material Needed: Chime. Explain the game before you begin. The goal of the game is to have students ring the chime once, get the chime around the whole circle and back to the person who started without the sound completely ending or being stopped by someone touching the metal part of the chime. Talk about how mindfulness is focusing on the sound, but also being aware of how we move our bodies, and how this helps us be in the present moment.
5. Quarter Pass
Material Needed: Quarter. Students pass a quarter around the circle using only the backs of their hands (or only their flat palm). Allow students to figure out different strategies, and encourage them to focus on mindfulness: what is happening in the now? Can they watch the quarter, feel the quarter, etc. If it falls, can they let it go? Allow students to pass it around a few times and see what they do.
(COVID: choose your activities wisely to limit exposure risk of students if teaching in person.)
Students who practice mindfulness perform better on tests, engage longer in lessons, and complete more assignments. Your classroom can become quieter, friendlier, and more connected.
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