This week’s at home activity from Chicago Children’s Museum focused on mindfulness. If you and your kiddos haven’t made your Emotional Glitter Jar yet, now’s the time! It’s a powerful tool that can bring mindfulness and social emotional learning into your everyday life.
For those interested in even more resources, we’ve put together a list below. And while you’re at it, throw on some relaxing piano music in the background with this mindful “Playing Piano for Dad” playlist, available via Spotify and YouTube.
To Do: Chicago Children’s Museum At Home Activities
Mindfulness Activities for Children
To Explore: CCM Friends & Family Content
The Peace School of Chicago: This longtime Chicago Children’s Museum partner offers mindfulness and meditation activities for families and grownups (including staff/employees). From infant massage to “Peace Breathing” to senior’s yoga, they have a range of offerings for all ages, for families, children, and also for schools.
Create a “Noticing Wall” for kids: We love the idea of creating a Noticing Wall: “a zero-pressure space for us to write notes to each other, ask questions, jot down fun things we learned, and make plans.”
A noticing wall can spark conversations, ideas, silly things, and give a glimpse into each other’s inner lives.
Creating mindful spaces for children: One of Chicago Children’s Museum’s most peaceful and mindful spaces is our Pritzker Playspace for infants and toddlers.
When creating and setting up areas in the Playspace (or any children’s environment), CCM Director of Early Learning Initiatives Alex Pafilis looks for inspiration not only for the children but for adults as well, so that an area can be enjoyed by both caregivers and children, and can stand the test of time as children grow.
This focus also helps bring more sophistication to how we view children’s environments, breaking free from the traditional settings expected.
These CCM-approved sites can serve as inspiration for creating a corner at home to relax, reset, and engage in many calming activities:
10 Meditation Spaces That Will Inspire You To Create Your Own
These meditation spaces could also serve as inspiration for a calming and comforting corner for the whole family.
How to create a calm down space for your child
This site provides you with not only the benefits of the calming corner but also how you can go about setting it up, with items you may already own.
To Read: Additional Resources for Parents & Caregivers:
We comb the internet so you don’t have to! Here’s some additional reading for grownups looking to bring mindfulness into their children’s lives.
Mindfulness as Play: Using Glitter Jars to Harness the Imagination