Our Mindful Summer

Let's continue our preparation for a mindful summer.

This week we are focusing on ourselves. The last couple of weeks we had activities for our students to help them reflect on the year and prepare for a mindful summer. This week we need to take some time for us. 

Engage in self-care.

I have create two Summer Mindful BINGO sheets. They are full of ideas to keep us in the moment and be mindful. 

Print  a bingo board or two and see how many bingos you can get over the summer. Set goals and rewards for yourself. 

Reward Ideas:

Go out for ice cream.

Spa day.

Have a drink of choice. 😉

Allow yourself to take a day off from cooking. Order food. Go out to a restaurant. 

Go out for coffee with a friend. 

Find something fun and positive.

Over the summer it is important to rest, reset and recharge to be ready for the fall. 

Making sure we have a mindful summer helps us with our own lives but also helps us with our students. In the fall we can share the ways we made sure we were mindful over the summer. We can encourage mindful behavior by sharing our own mindful behavior.

Have fun. Be mindful. 

Planning a Mindful Summer

 To follow last week's blog, we have another worksheet we can use to be mindful as the school year closes out.

Last week we had the Rose, Thorn, and Bud, to reflect on success, struggles, and desired growth. This week we are going to think about how to plan a mindful summer.

Below is a link to three versions of a worksheet. One is a clean and simple version, for our students that like minimal distractions, and other two are fun and inspirational.

Mindful Summer Vision Board

Our Mindful Summer Vision Board is a fun activity to help students plan out a positive and mindful summer. 

The board has spots for; people they might see (or want to see), foods they want to eat, mindfulness they can do, new things they want to try, places they might go, goal to accomplish, and a free space to share anything planned for summer.

I find that when I ask students about summer I get a lot of, "I don't know" or "play on my phone/tablet/video games." 

Not all parents are around in the summer. Not all parents encourage activity, reading, outside time, mindfulness, and exploration. For a lot of children summer is spending time sleeping in, staying up late, and playing endless hours of video games.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics on average children spend nearly 8 hours a day on screens. In contrast children only spend 4-7 minutes a day outside. 

We can help our students think about things to do over the summer and encourage them to explore screen free, outdoor activities. 

The sad reality is, our students have been handed screens too young and are often not encouraged to do much of anything else. We need to be a force for good and encourage them to pick up a book, ride a bike, draw with sidewalk chalk, run through a sprinkler, go on walk, spend time outside taking deep breaths, watch nature, etc. 

We need to spark an idea. We need to help our students see summer in a different light, preferably the sunlight not the light of a screen.

In the free space we could encourage them to think about what time they will go to sleep and wake up. We could encourage them to set a summer reading goal. If you aren't familiar with the Ypsilanti libraries they do a summer reading program with lots of fun rewards. Barns and Noble also has a summer reading program that encourages reading with rewards or stickers and a free book.

Take some time during these last few weeks and explore a mindful summer vision board with your students. Encourage positive, mindful habits to help prepare them for the next school year.

Rose, Thorn, Bud

The end of the year wrap up is a busy time of year. Testing, field trips, park days, field day, and on and on. It is easy to forget to set aside mindfulness time. 

A great end of the year mindfulness wrap up can be the exercise, Mindful Reflections.

This mindfulness can be done any time of year but I have taken the original idea and tweaked it to fit for an end of the year mindfulness activity. 

Mindful Reflections for the End of the School Year

The worksheet linked above is a reflection sheet using the ideas of a Rose, a Thorn, and a Bud.

The Rose represents a success. It is a way you have grown (like the rose).

The Thorn represents a challenge. It is something that you struggled with (the pokey thorn).

The Bud is an idea for the future. It is the opportunity to plan for growth (the growing bud).

This could be a great opportunity to connect with your students. Give them suggestions for highlights, even take the time to reflect on the struggles with them, and of course inspire the future.

It's never too late to connect with your students. Share your Rose, Thorn, and Bud. 

Brain Games

This week's mindfulness is quick, but it is not easy. 

Watch the two short videos below. Then, give it a try. 

Don't give up.

These hand games would make great brain breaks. It is a great brain exercise that is active, new, challenging, and will engage your students. 

Take a break from hard work or after testing for some challenging but entertaining hand games.

Hype it up.

Show the students you attempting to do the games. 

Laugh as you fail (laughter is also good for the brain) and enjoy the challenge.

Before starting this with your students take some time to talk about:

1.  Not giving up

2.  Keep trying when things are difficult

3.  Failing happens to everyone

4. Keeping a positive and fun view of trying something new

There is a good chance you will see me doing this with students.  In fact this might be my mindfulness for next week's groups.

Not only can these activities be fun but they have benefits for the brain.

A study conducted over the course of 2015-2016 found that participants who engaged in hand games, such as in our videos, had improved cognitive function.

Brain games are a great mindfulness. This type of brain engagement forces you into the present and takes all of your attention. You have to pay close attention to your fingers. 

I would love to hear how this goes for your classroom. I'd love to see you in action! Let's give it a go!!