St. PAtrick's Day mindfulness activity #2- Mindful music

I thought some Irish music would be a perfect addition to the St. Patrick's Day mindfulness activities list. Using the five senses is a great way to practice mindfulness and so, by using music, your kids can zone in and focus using their ears to hear.

 

The different types of Irish music and instruments make this fun for kids. You can find your own Irish music or you can try this Irish Traditional Instrumental Music  or this Great Irish Music. Here are some activities to try.

 

Mindful listening

Get comfortable and quiet. Have your kids close their eyes if they feel comfortable with that, because you want them to focus with their ears.

 

Play some Irish music and have them listen. Have them focus only on the music with their ears. See if they can hear the different parts of the music. Can they hear the melody? The melody is the notes that catch your ear while you listen. It sounds like it's the most important part of the song. How about the accompanying harmonies? These may not be as noticeable unless you are focusing with you ears. The harmony complements the melody and gives it depth.

 

What about the instruments? Ask your kids if they can focus on one instrument at a time. Some common instruments used in Irish music are the flute, harp, fiddle, and guitar, and of course, there are many more.

 

If your kids aren't familiar with these instruments, then play some music that features one of them at a time. After they have listened to different instruments, play the music randomly and see if they can identify which one they hear. Then, play an Irish piece and ask them to pick out one instrument and follow it through the song. Continue listening for other instruments.

 

RELATED- POT OF GOLD MEDITATION

 

MY MUSICAL MOODS

Were you ever in a bad mood or just feeling sad and have a favorite song just snap you right out of it. It's amazing the effect that music can have on our mood. Check it out with these activities.

 

1. NOTICING

Have your kids get quiet and comfortable again with their listening ears warmed up and ready to go. Ask your kids to notice how they are feeling. What is their mood? Now, play some Irish music and have them listen and focus only on the music. What is their mood now? How do they know? How does it feel in their body?

 

Then, play a different piece of music and continue doing the same. Vary the music so your kids can really "feel" the difference. As you use this activity more and more often, then choose music with more subtle differences. There is no wrong or right. Fast, peppy music may not always bring on happiness. A slower song doesn't have to be sad, it might be a loving lullaby.

 

There are some printables included in the mindfulness packet that you might want to use with this activity. I put them in the Mindfulness Library for you.

 

2. DRAWING

Give each child some paper and crayons or markers. Have them close their eyes and warm up their listening ears. Play different Irish songs like you did above, but this time have your kids use the crayons or markers to draw what they are feeling as they are listening to the music. Have them place the crayon on the paper and move it as they are feeling the song. One rule- they can't take the crayon off the paper. These drawings will obviously be abstract and not exactly images or pictures.

 

You can use one piece of paper per song or a few music selections per paper. For discussion, see if your kids can figure out which drawing pairs up with which music. Or, if you only used one sheet of paper, which parts of the drawing pair with which pieces of music.

 

3. MOVING

Again, play some different kinds of Irish music and let your kids "feel" the music and move with it. You can have them close their eyes and remain in place or let them move around the room. Have a discussion after about what they felt and noticed.