Hello everyone,
I just wanted to make you all aware of our new mindfulness sessions at nursery and the reasons why we felt it would benefit our children at Lammas Green.
Mindfulness in early years is something that I have been very interested in for a long time and I have been visiting other settings who have introduced these sessions into their weekly routine and discuss how it has impacted on the children and team’s well-being.
As this term leads us into lots of new transitions for many of our children, some going onto new schools, others increasing their days and some having new babies at home we felt that this would be a good time to start and to incorporate activities to support our children with the many different transitions they face.
We are very aware that the brain develops faster during the first two years of life than at any other time, so it is important that children have a clear sense of identity and self-worth, have the ability to recognise and manage emotions, learn to play, enjoy friendships and relationships and deal with difficulties.
We had a trail session two weeks ago and was amazed at the level of interaction the children displayed during the half hour session. The session has twelve children each time and is held in a quiet space. Each child has their own space (mat) to sit on and the idea is that each child has a chance to speak about what makes them feel good about them selves and each other.
We speak about kindness to ourselves and to others and what we think would make us and others feel happy. We discuss feelings and how some emotions make us feel and that it is ok to feel these emotions.
We use a variety of activities to teach children the principles of control and emotional resilience. Mindfulness can be a fun and calming way for children to experience the world around them and process their thoughts and emotions. Plus, mindfulness can increase concentration making it a valuable tool for education purposes.
We practice our breathing and how to use this when we feel angry or upset and practice the ‘five finger starfish, tracing up and down each finger slowly with the pointer finger from their other hand.
We practice asking our friends permission if it is ok to sit next to them in their space and that is fine if their friends say no they do not want them in ‘their space’.
We practice saying nice things about ourselves (team included), which is so important for our self-esteem as taking complements can be very difficult for some children as they get older and as adults this can often make us feel uncomfortable and embarrassed.
The children are never forced to take part in these sessions and are asked each time if they would like to take part.
The children who have taken part over the last two weeks have really enjoyed these sessions and have said some lovely things about themselves, their friends and their families.
If you have any questions about the sessions please do not hesitate to ask the team or email me on the nursery email and I will happily answer any questions you have.
Many thanks
Lynette