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from the mindfulness series
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Use these creative mindful journaling activities with your students to help them cultivate an increased emotional awareness and to encourage self discovery.
Journaling is life long gift for every child
Conscious Childhood
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Mindful Journaling Prompts Keeping a Daily Journal: How journaling can help our children connect to their own emotions and experiences.
THE MONKEY MIND: 30 Fun Ways for Kids to Chill Out, Tune In and Open Up. By Carolyn Kanjuro This deck of 30 playful cards will help young children navigate through difficult emotions with a variety of fun activities. Grades 2-6
GOOD VIBES: Gratitude Journal The author, Julia Rivers, created a ready made journal with engaging writing prompts. Grades 3-8
Journaling, as a tool for mindfulness, has emerged as an influential trend in Social Emotional Learning (SEL), and for good reason: self-awareness and self-reflection help our students better connect to their own emotions and experiences, gain more selfknowledge and cultivate an increased mind-body connection. Expressing thoughts onto paper, through journaling, provides children with an effective outlet to release negativity by checking their thoughts for validity, identifying patterns or triggers which affect their moods, re-directing attention on more productive thoughts, and noticing their growth by reviewing past entries. In addition, several academic studies have indicated that children, who journal on a regular basis, can significantly reduce their anxiety, depression and negative social behaviors and clear the path for more social and academic success. “Putting feelings down on paper reduces activity in a part of the brain called the amygdala, which is responsible for controlling the intensity of our emotions” Matthew Lieberman, PhD Professor Social Cognitive Neuroscience UCLA
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TIPS FOR SUCCESS: 1. Choose a regular time for journaling when children are a calm state like after lunch or at the end of the day. 2. Include soft instrumental music or a designated outdoor space so the children connect this activity with a positive experience. 4. Have a cover decorating activity so the children can personalize their own journal. 5. Remind children that thoughts are neither “good” or “bad”. 6. Privacy should be valued and respected.
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© Conscious Childhood 2023
A Place for Me grades K-8 Objectives:
Journaling
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Students will understand that they can choose and create thoughts through imaginary sensory perception. - Students will witness these thoughts and connect familiar senses and emotions to these thoughts. Materials: A pencil, crayons, grade level writing paper or journal book
Part 1: Finding a Quiet Place Through Imagination TEACHER / PARENT: -
Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths. Now think about a place you know or can imagine that is a quiet place. This could be inside or outside. There may be some soft noises like a small animal, water or wind blowing through the trees. This is a place where you feel safe and calm. Can you feel anything here like a cozy blanket, warm sun or cool grass beneath your toes? What can you touch in this place and how does it feel? Can you smell or taste anything? How do you feel inside when you are here? Now you can rest here for a moment or two and breathe in this soft gentle place.
Part 2: Drawing / Journaling TEACHER / PARENT: -
I want you to slowly open your eyes and remember all the things you saw and all the things you felt about this quiet place. Draw a picture of something you saw. Add more pictures as you think of them. Write a few words around your picture that describe your place and how you felt inside.
Part 3: Reflection / Assessment: -
Students will be able to answer the question, “Who is imagining this special place?” with the answer, “I am”.
TEACHER / PARENT: -
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Everyone here has created their own special place. If I were to ask you, “Who is imaging this place in your drawing, what would you say?” (Help each child understand that the answer is “I am.” ) So in conclusion, you are not what you think about. You are the one who can see your thoughts and you can create new thoughts.
Part 4: Extension -
Students should be encouraged to continue to journal in this way about real and imaginary places.
TIP: Offer to spell and write feeling and descriptive words on the board for younger grades. Older students can use journal to write complete sentences or paragraphs.
Visit our website for more content: https://www.consciouschildhood.org
© Conscious Childhood 2023
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