“Mind in a Jar”: Teach Mindfulness to Your Kids

by

288
Shares

“But I don’t know HOW to calm down!”

Frequently, when we implore our children to “Calm down!” {yes, the exclamation point is ironic} or “Breathe!”, those are the responses we get. A fun way to teach kids how to calm down when they’re upset or overwhelmed is to make a MIND JAR. (You can learn more about this “Mind in a Jar” exercise in both Thich Nhat Hanh’s Planting Seeds and Kerry Lee MacLean’s Moody Cow Meditates.)

How to Make a Mind Jar

MindJars2.png“Mind in a Jar”

  • Purpose:
    • To teach children that they can calm their bodies and minds with deep breathing
  • Supplies needed:
    • Jars (I used Ball canning jars)
    • Water
    • Glitter
      • (Hint: Glitter is with the bracelet-making kits at Target. I searched forever to find it!)

My children (ages 3 and 6) were very excited about the project. To make the project more fun, this control-freak mama let them do all of the work {including pouring the water and dumping in the glitter. Allowing glitter in my house has been a huge step forward for me in my parenting… but that’s another post!}.

Procedure

Mind in a Jar

Fill water almost to the top of the jar

Mind in a Jar

Add lots of multi-colored glitter!

MInd in a Jar

I labeled each jar, and had the kids decorate the lids!

Using the Mind Jars

“Think about a time when you were really really mad or upset, ” I told them. It took about 3 nanoseconds for them to come up with examples.

“What did you feel like?” I asked.

“I feel like I want to hit someone,” my daughter said.

“I want to say ‘stupid stupid stupid’ to someone,” was my son’s response.

“Okay, let’s shake up our jars really fast!” They loved shaking the jars and watching the glitter swirl around. “That’s what your mind is like when you’re really mad. Those thoughts about being mean or saying mean words are all over!”

Mind in a Jar

The swirl of emotion and anger in our minds

“But we can calm down those angry thoughts and calm our bodies, instead of acting or talking in a way that would hurt people’s feelings,” I told them. I instructed them to breathe deeply {which we’ve done together before}. As we breathed, we watched what happened to the swirling glitter.

Mind in a Jar

The mind settles with calming breaths
{probably should have used heavier glitter?}

I reinforced the message to my children that it’s okay to get mad ~ that’s just part of life, and there will always be things and people that upset us. What is important, I tell them, is how we respond. We can take some deep breaths, and then instead of hitting someone, or calling them stupid, we can calmly talk to them about what has frustrated us.

Making it a Practice

When we did this project, the kids were naturally more interested in just shaking the jars and watching the glitter swirl around than listening to mom’s lecture on mindfulness. But this exercise was really helpful in a number of ways. Here’s how we continue to use the Mind Jars:

  • We practice our deep, calming breathing at times when the kids are already calm ~ we shake the jars, and then breathe calmly while we watch the glitter settle.
  • We keep the jars in the kitchen, or at our Quiet Place {in the Study} where the kids can reach them, and they can get them if they need to use them to calm down.
  • When they get upset, we encourage them to remember this exercise {or go get their jar} ~ and this part only works if we continually use the jars at times when they are NOT mad. {I smiled when, as my son threw a tantrum yesterday morning, his big sister grabbed his mind jar to help him calm down.}

I found this activity to be a great art project, a fun way to spend mindful time with my children, and a great age-appropriate way to teach them about mindfulness!

Sarah Rudell Beach
Follow Sarah
Latest posts by Sarah Rudell Beach (see all)