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We can learn so many lessons from the Fall leaves- lessons around beauty and letting go, and lessons about leaving our safe, familiar environment and taking the leap into the unknown. With all of that in mind, I've rounded up some of my favorite mindfulness activities for your Fall leaves theme.
TREE BREATHING
Tree breathing is a deep breathing exercise that will bring about focus and calm for your kids. Deep breathing activates the relaxation response in the body which causes physical changes that help us to relax and focus.
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I especially like this deep breathing technique to calm a rowdy group. Tree breathing involves big movements which will meet the high energy of the group right where it is. By focusing and slowing the high energy movements, tree breathing:
- gives the extra energy somewhere to go
- will promote calming as the movements get slower and slower
- promotes mental focus as your kids mindfully follow the movements
- increases feelings of calm and focus from the deep breathing itself
It's perfect for calming your high energy group before lunch, naptime, or a quiet activity. And, it's a perfect mindfulness activity for your Fall leaves theme.
Tree Breathing
- Stand with your back straight and tall, feet slightly apart, and arms by your side.
- As you take a slow deep breath in, slowly lift your arms out to each side and bring them so they are pointing straight up over your head.
- Once your arms are straight up over your head, begin to exhale slowly and bring your arms down in front of you as you sway your arms back and forth and wiggle your fingers like leaves blowing down from their branches. Return your arms to your sides.
- Take another deep breath in and again lift your arms out to each side and up over your head. Try to do it more slowly this time.
- Sway your arms and wiggle your fingers again as you exhale even more slowly. As your hands sway back and forth, continue down as you fold forward at the waist, and bring your leaves gently to the ground.
- Unfold very slowly and return to standing with your arms by your side again. Even slower this time, take a deep breath in and bring your arms up overhead.
- Wiggle your fingers and gently sway your arms as you exhale slowly and fold at the waist to bring your leaves down to the ground again.
- When your leaves reach the ground, bend your knees and place your bottom on the ground. Crisscross your legs so you are sitting on the floor and feeling calm and focused for your next activity.
You can enrich the experience even more by asking them questions either before or after the exercise. Questions like:
- What kind of tree were you?
- Did your tree have anything growing from its branches like nuts or fruit?
- What colors were your leaves?
- How did it feel to be a tree?
- Did you notice any animals in your tree like squirrels, birds, or bees?
- How did you feel before and do you feel now, the same/different, how so?
- Did you notice anything else anything about your tree?
Now your kids are calm and focused for the next activity- read aloud and discussion of "The Little Yellow Leaf" by Carin Berger :
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READ ALOUD & DISCUSSION
Have you read the book, "The Little Yellow Leaf" by Carin Berger? It's a children's story about a leaf that is holding onto its branch past its time. It's fearful to let go because of the unknown. But finally, the little yellow leaf, with the help of a friend, gathered the courage to let go and found itself dancing and soaring on the breeze.
RELATED: FALL LEAVES LESSON PLAN
You can read this book to your preschoolers and have a discussion about a time they felt a little fearful about trying something new. Could be:
- using the potty
- sleeping in their own bed
- spending the night somewhere other than home
- meeting a new dog
- trying a new food
- first day of school
- going to the doctor
Also ask them to think about how they were able to face that fear. The little yellow leaf was able to let go of the tree with some help from its friend. What "super power" or inner quality did your kids use to meet their challenge? Did they:
- gather up all of their confidence and strength
- pretend they were courageous and brave
- ask for help
- take baby steps and do a little at a time
- take a deep breath
- imagine how good it might be or how fun it might be if they just gave it a try
- or were they not able to do it at all
You can end your discussion here or take it outside and complete it with the Fall Leaf Group Mandala Project. I think your kids are gonna love this one!
FALL LEAF GROUP MANDALA PROJECT
If it's been a few days, then revisit the story, "The Little Yellow Leaf", and have your kids recall the "super powers" and inner qualities they used to face their very own scary leap into the unknown.
Let them know they will use fallen leaves to create a group mandala outside in honor of the courage and bravery (use the words or super powers that came up most in your discussion) of everyone in the class.
Explain to them that a mandala is a circle that represents a whole, like the class, and the whole mandala is made up of "whole parts", like each student. All the parts of the mandala are interconnected, just like all of the students in the class are friends.
Use a rope or string to designate a large circle for the mandala. Or you can have your class collect rocks and sticks. Use whatever you have. Assign each child a section of the mandala where they can creatively use their leaves to tell the story about their super power.
A super power or inner quality can be represented by:
- the types of leaves they choose
- the colors of the leaves they choose
- the amount of leaves they add to their section, maybe just a few leaves means they were only a little brave or only a little scared
- the pattern they use to display their leaves, scattered leaves might represent chaotic emotions at the time or a carefully designed pattern might reflect the logical reasoning they used
When everyone is done creating, take some time to admire the colorful, natural representation of inner strength and beauty. Allow time for sharing, reflection, and thoughts.
A mandala is not intended to be permanent, so check back occasionally to see how the weather, people, animals, and other things have altered its design. Reflect on parts that are different or have gone away versus the parts that still remain and what that might mean to your kids.
Your kids will take away different experiences from this activity, there is no right or wrong. Abstract representation of thoughts and feelings is beyond what even some adults can grasp, so just have fun with it. Their own unique story will emerge with their creations whether they understand why or not. They will no doubt have fun playing and creating with the leaves anyway.
What kinds of mindfulness activities do you have planned for your Fall leaves theme? Please share below, we would all love some more ideas.
~Dawn
