Camp Tuku’s Mindfulness Practices for Kids…and Their Grown-ups!

You’ve landed on this page because you’ve heard or read about how great mindfulness practices are for kids (and their grown-ups). In our last blog post, we told you about the amazing benefits of mindfulness on kids’ emotional wellbeing. In this post, we offer tips to help you begin a mindfulness practice with your child…and share videos of our favorite Camp Tuku mindfulness practices for you to try at home.

3 Tips for Beginning a Mindfulness Practice with Your Child

There are many different ways to bring mindfulness into your day. When it comes to teaching children about mindfulness it’s important to start small, have fun, and keep the practice simple and in tune with the child’s age and developmental needs.

  1. You can present mindfulness practices to a child as either a brain break or a quiet time for the mind and body. It’s helpful for you, and the child, to view mindfulness practice as an open-ended question: What would it be like if your mind was still and calm for five minutes? What might you discover?
  2. Use the sounds of nature, music, a candle, a night-light, or other simple focal point to harness the child’s attention. Try to make the experience immersive, comfy, and imaginative for the child. Whenever possible, make meditation a family experience!
  3. Keep mindfulness practices short (just a few minutes at first) and build them into different parts of your child’s daily routine. For example, the bath or bedtime routine, while eating or even while brushing their teeth.

 You’ll soon discover that mindfulness is a state of mind involving awareness and acceptance, that you can do in the midst of any activity. Speaking of which…below are a few of Camp Tuku’s favorite mindfulness activities to help your kids develop awareness of their inner world–mentally, physically, and emotionally.

 

3 Amazing Mindfulness Practices for Kids from Camp Tuku

Kids Mindfulness Activity #1:  Drop the Monkey

This mindfulness activity teaches kids how to notice their thoughts and let them go as a means to becoming more observant and less reactive. Check it out: 

 

Kids Mindfulness Activity #2:  Snow Globe Mind

This mindfulness activity uses a snow globe to help kids understand the difference between a calm mind and a mind overwhelmed by a “flurry” of thoughts and emotions. This is a great activity to help kids identify when they feel mentally overwhelmed, find words to communicate, pause and reset. 

 

Kids Mindfulness Activity #3:  Rock-a-Bye

After using one of the previous two mindfulness activities, Rock-a-Bye is an excellent way to help kids quiet the mind and relax the body.  

 

Would you like your child to be immersed in a mindfulness-based summer camp experience? Learn more about Camp Tuku’s unique summer camp experience in the Catskill Mountains in July 2023.

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