Top 5 things the children loved about Mindfulness classes

Teaching mindfulness in schools
I’ve just finished teaching a 10 week course to the children of three seperate classes in year four and five at The Dolphin School in Bristol. I absolutely loved the experience, and I also found it really challenging.
Adults generally give lots of feedback and understand the complex ideas behind the work, and are able to practice for 10 to fifteen minutes. It is a totally different ball game with children. I often came away from sessions questioning the value of my work. Now, at the end I have a different perspective and real data from real students. Read on to see what they really enjoyed...

Neil Morbey teaching Mindfulness to Year 4

9.46 out of 10!
I asked each student to rate the course and there were so many wanting to give it 11, that it made my heart sing. The lowest score was 5 and given the comments on the survey I think it was an error of understanding of the scoring system. Nonetheless I’m really pleased that most students loved the course. 

The top five things they loved the most:

1. Calm of meditation. The most popular practices were the petal practice (opening and closing the hands in time with the breath, whilst imaging a flower) and the bubble breathing (imagining being in your own bubble as you focus on the breath).  Many children spoke of the calm that helped them to relax, enjoy and learn more effectively. 
2. Puppy mind training. Many students liked the puppy mind training - treating the untrained mind as you would a puppy, with love, repetitive training and patience. This is a core element of all the mindfulness practice.  They were able to bring back wandering attention and notice more things here and now, feel more feelings and be able to be calm whilst doing so. They all saw the value of this training for stressed out minds.
3. Savouring food. The savouring lesson was probably the overall favourite, which included eating a piece of chocolate and a grape slowly, to demonstrate how much joy is to be found in a simple activity, like eating, when we bring our mindful attention to it. This can help children enjoy 'raw experience' even more and develop healthy eating habits.  ​
4. Sharing experiences and story telling. A number of students commented that they really liked the sharing of stories. The course was highly interactive and sharing is a crucial element. It's highly valuable that students feel they can make a contribution and it helps normalise feelings when many people open up and talk about them. 
5. Videos and music. Most students enjoyed the multi-media aspect of videos, images and music.  We introduced an element of movement meditation, including dance and they love it! This helps children movement and enjoy creativity. 

How they are using it

• The children had so many responses, and generally they reflected using the calming down skills in times of emotional upset with family members, or waiting in line at school. 
• Some also saw how this could be useful in the future in facing challenges of jobs and relationships. One child even mentioned that it gave her a tool to use to combat her pre-existing anxiety condition.
• My hope is they also remember these skills as part of enjoying life and growing happiness. 

What’s next?

• The three groups that have done the practices will be encouraged to continue, with posters and practices in the Jigsaw program to keep up their mindfulness skills. Each student has been handed a certificate of achievement. 
• We would like to begin teaching three more groups in January, and so we are in the process of seeking more funding sources. If you know anyone who owns a local business and would like to help the charity (Venturers Trust) that owns the school please get in touch with me. 
• To help with the practice we would love to bring parents on board, with an after-school course. We believe the practice is the key to emotional regulation, and if the whole family can practice together we will encourage a social cohesion on many levels. Again, this requires more funding. 

So how am I feeling about it now?
I am excited and in love with these children. I realise that I’m only planting seeds and it requires a larger suite of strategies to raise the emotional intelligence and fitness of children, but in today’s society of constant distraction, marketing and post-truth it is increasingly important. 

​If you know anyone who could help us with funding please get in touch. Thank you!

Some of the feedback forms (no names)