Week 4 - Lesson Plan (Chill Out Session)

Overview


This week children will be learning: 

  • Using journaling as a way to express feelings and a  coping strategy for worrying. 
  • Activity: storytelling ("The Worry Box" book),  mindful game  ("Mindful Body Sculpture").
  • Worry Spot Meditation

1. Opening

  • Greeting the children. 
  • Fill up a list of children present in the class and count the children. 
  • Quick opening with 3 mindful belly breaths – “Pass the Breath” (this time use 3 colorful translucent cloths to pass in a circle, each child holds it in front of his face and tries to blow as strong breath as he can, so the cloth lifts up,  each child blows once each color).

2. Sharing Time

  • How have you been feeling lately? How are you feeling right now? 
  • Use the "Monkey Feeling" cards x 8 (loving, peaceful, excited, joyful, grumpy, bored, worried, depressed), children choose (point) a card or two of how they have been feeling. Always explain the meaning of the word/feeling if children don't understand it.

Worry Box, Worry Time & Journaling:

Why is it important to know how we are feeling? Feelings tell us …. It is good to share your feelings with other people so they can help you and it also calms the brain when we share or write down feelings. Do you always know how you are feeling? A way to help us to work out how we are feeling is to spend some time stopping and noticing our feelings. We can even write these down in our journals. Alternatively, we can draw instead of writing down feelings. Introduce how journaling feelings including any worries helps to reduce worrying (not increase it as some people may think).  Give children one page from the journal so they can take it home and keep a record of how they are feeling daily during this week. 

Writing down worries helps us to feel better and to ‘get rid of’ the worry because we don’t need to keep on thinking about it. It helps to place the worries outside of your mind and clear your mind each day. If we write it down, then it helps us to feel better.  

Introduce ‘Worry Time’. Children can make a specific time each day to ‘worry’ for about 10 minutes. (This sounds counterproductive, but it helps to reduce worries all through the day and lessens the intensity of the worry). Worry time could be for 10 minutes after dinner, however, it’s best not to have worry time just before sleep. They could then share their worries with a parent if they want to as it helps to share how they are feeling and what is making them worried, or they can just keep their worries to themselves – whatever makes them feel better. Again, older children may want to keep this private. After writing their worries, they can read a book, listen to a guided meditation, or do something relaxing or fun. Explain that if they find themselves worrying during the day, they can remember they have their ‘worry time’ and can write their worries at this time. If they can’t stop thinking about a specific worry during the day, they can write it down on a piece of paper and place it in the "worry box" (or envelope). Children must be reminded that if they have a worry or a problem then they can also talk to an adult for support or if they need help with something.

3. Activity

Journal Notes. Children may write down or draw how they are feeling right now on their journal page. 

Book (“The Worry Box”). 

4. Meditation Practice

  • Discussion: As well as writing down how we feel we can also practice a breathing meditation that is like the Mindful Belly Breathing technique they have learnt. This technique focuses however just on one spot at a time in our bodies. Recap that when we feel worried, we usually feel a body sensation at the same time. When we close our eyes, we can focus our attention more fully on these sensations and find a particular spot where we feel most worried. 
  • Lead children through the Worry Spot Meditation. Close eyes over and begin to notice how they are feeling in their bodies. See if they can notice a particular spot where they feel anxious such as in their tummy. Breathe into this spot and imagine that the breath is calming the worry spot with each breath. Imagine that as they take big breaths into the spot, they can then breathe out through the soles of the feet and the worry is leaving them and calming them down with each breath. 
  • Optional: Imagine that their breath is a certain color – when they close their eyes they may ‘see’ a color or can just choose a color if one does not come to mind. They imagine their breath is like pure colored air (it can even be a sparkly or shiny color) that they breathe in, then take this color into their worry spot, and then breathe out the color through the soles of their feet. 

5. Closure

  • If there is time left you may play the  game "Mindful Body Sculpture"- one child poses mindfully while others use their bodies to create a sculpture around them. Rotate roles, allowing each child to experience being part of the sculpture.
  • Give away stickers for good listening and mindful participation. 
  • Closing ritual - use battery-operated candles as a closing ritual when children blow down the candles using 3 mindful belly breaths. The session is finished. 
  • Count the children and send them back to the teacher/their class.
LIST OF MATERIALS  (provided)

Lesson 4 :
  1. Battery-operated candles x3 
  2. Speaker for relaxing music in the background. 
  3. Pillows for children to sit on. 
  4. Monkey Feeling Cards (sharing time). 
  5. Star projector (turn on during meditation) 
  6. Page from the Journal.
  7. "The Worry Box" book.
  8. Scripts for Worry Spot meditation. 
  9. Rules Poster.
  10. Reward Chart & stickers. 
  11. Colorful cloths.
WORRY SPOT | ages 3-5 | 6 min

The "Worry Spot Meditation" is like a magical adventure for little ones! It helps kids, aged 3-5, to feel calm when they're a bit worried or stressed. Together, we close our eyes, take three big breaths, and imagine a special 'worry spot.' Breathing in happy colors, like sparkles, we let the worries flow out through our feet. This fun meditation is a superpower for kids, making them feel strong and in charge of their feelings, like superheroes managing their own worries with magic breaths!

Script: Worry Spot (ages 3-5)

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WORRY SPOT | ages 6-10 | 7 min

The "Worry Spot Meditation" is an amazing tool for big kids, aged 6-10, to tackle stress and worries. By closing their eyes, taking three deep breaths, and connecting with a 'worry spot,' they can breathe in calming colors and release worries through their feet. This meditation is like a secret power, empowering older kids to take control when they feel anxious. It's a cool way to handle stress and feel strong, just like a superhero using their special breaths to conquer worries and bring calmness!

Script: Worry Spot (ages 6-10)

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WORRY SPOT | ages 8-12 | 10 min

This meditation helps older children and adults to calm themselves down when they are feeling anxious or stressed by connecting to their body sensations. They are able to breathe in to the 'spot' where they feel their worry and then breathe out the worry through the soles of their feet. This is a very practical meditation children can practice at any time and empowers them to self-manage their anxiety. It is a combination of Mindfulness & Guided Imagery.

Script: Worry Spot (ages 8-12)

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