Mindfulness Activities for Kids: Being Mindful
This session includes mindfulness activities for kids, helping students notice how their body feels in the present moment through a guided body scan. They explore a guiding question about what mindfulness means, talk through what to do when their attention drifts, and take turns in a quick game naming ways to notice the present with their senses. The takeaway is a simple tool for bringing focus back when their mind wanders.
Extension activity
- Skill
- Self-Regulation
- Goal
- Being Mindful
- Grade level
- Elementary School
Get everything you need to teach the skill
These materials are part of a no-prep session designed by our clinical team, with all the structure, scaffolding, and support you need to teach included.
Engaging materials
Video lessonBeing Mindful
Today we’re going to practice being mindful by completing a Body Scan together. Who can define mindfulness?
- Extension activity
Well-Being Calendar
Students use their executive functioning skills to independently plan positive aspects of their day and manage their time productively at home.
Plus everything you need to teach them
Warm-up
- Video: Hot Cocoa Breathing2:05
- Video: Daily Intention2:59
- Video: Body Squeeze2:12
Session Opener
Guiding Question: What does it mean to be mindful?
Practice
- Discussion Question
- Role-Play Activity
- Mini Game
How to use it with your students
- 1Watch Play the video lesson so students see the skill in action.
- 2Practice Try the skill together with a discussion prompt, role-play, or mini game.
- 3Extend Use the extension activity to help students carry the skill further.
What's Covered
In this lesson, students learned what it means to be mindful by paying attention to the present moment instead of worrying about the past or the future. They practiced scanning their bodies from head to toe and noticing the sounds and feelings around them right then.
Key Terms
- Mindfulness
- Paying attention to what is happening right now, including how your body feels and what you see, hear, and smell.
- Body Scan
- Slowly moving your attention through your body from head to toe and noticing how each part feels right now. It helps you settle into the present moment and let go of worry.
Sample IEP Goal This Session Supports
-
Mindfulness
Learner will independently initiate a mindfulness practice (e.g., breathing exercise, movement break, body scan) when noticing a need to reset, and engage with the practice for its full duration, in 4 out of 5 opportunities independently/given X prompt(s).
Send this tip home to support generalization
At home or in the classroom, when a student seems worried or rushed, you can invite them to pause and notice one thing they can hear and one thing they can feel right now.
Ready to teach Being Mindful?
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More Self-Regulation Activities
Frequently asked questions
Is this intervention free?
Yes, this ready-to-teach session on Being Mindful is free. You can access this intervention free for 14 days through the Everyday Speech Session Library. Every user gets three free sessions, but you can get more or extend your access by sharing the Session Library with friends and colleagues.
What ages is this for?
These materials are designed for elementary school students.
What's included?
You'll get access to your choice of warm-up videos, a session opener, a core material on Being Mindful, three practice prompts, and an extension activity, Well-Being Calendar.
What skill does this intervention teach?
This ready-to-teach session is on self-regulation - more specifically, being mindful.
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