Mindfulness and the Brain

What is the “big idea” for this lesson?

Understanding how our brains work can help us be more resilient.
One way we can calm our thoughts and feelings is to practice mindfulness.
Mindfulness means paying close attention to one thing at a time.

Reflection questions:

Think of a time when your thinking and feeling brain worked together, what helped you calm your brain?
What is mindfulness?

Mindfulness Scavenger Hunt

This is an opportunity to practice mindfulness by noticing what you see, hear, smell, taste and touch. If you get distracted, use your senses to help focus your attention on the present moment again. You can do this scavenger hunt with your family or by yourself. Make sure you have permission to collect the items you find. If possible, go outside!

Materials:

Paper and pencil, pen, or favorite drawing supplies

Found objects from outside in nature or inside your home
Optional: phone or camera to take pictures and/or record audio or video recording

Directions:
Find and collect, write, draw or take photos or record (video or audio) what you notice on your Mindful Scavenger Hunt to share with your class.

Find a comfortable place to sit. Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths. When you open your eyes, begin your mindfulness scavenger hunt:
5 things you SEE:
What do you see? What colors and shapes do you see? Draw, write or collect these objects (with permission).
4 things you can TOUCH:
What do you feel? (use your hands, feet or your body) For example, how does the ground/grass feel on your feet? Notice the texture. Is it soft? Hard? Rough? Squishy?
3 things you can HEAR:
What do you hear? Listen to the sounds in your environment. Write down/draw/audio or video record:
a) one sound you hear inside your body
b) one sound you hear nearby
c) one sound you hear far away in the distance.
2 things you can SMELL:
What do you smell? Write, draw, or collect an item to represent 2 things that you smell right now or can find to smell.
1 thing you can TASTE:
What can you taste? Go taste one bite of a food of your choosing! Try to eat it slowly and notice how it tastes. Is it sweet? Salty? Sour? Crunchy? Chewy? Write or draw the food and some words to describe its taste.

Mindfulness Ingredients

I tried closing my eyes and taking a few deep breaths.

I practiced mindfully noticing what I see, touch, hear, smell, and taste.

I tried writing, drawing, collecting, or photographing objects to represent what I saw,touched, heard, smelled, and tasted.

Download & Print activity

Learn from other students about what mindfulness is and how they use it:

Learn about neuroplasticity:

What is the “big idea” for this lesson?

Understanding how our brains work can help us be more resilient.

One way we can calm our thoughts and feelings is to practice mindfulness.

Mindfulness means paying close attention to one thing at a time.

Reflection questions:

Think of a time when your thinking and feeling brain worked together, what helped you calm your brain?

What is mindfulness?

Mindfulness Scavenger Hunt

Materials:

Paper and pencil, pen, or favorite drawing supplies

Found objects from outside in nature or inside your home

Optional: phone or camera to take pictures and/or record audio or video recording

Directions:
Find and collect, write, draw or take photos or record (video or audio) what you notice on your Mindful Scavenger Hunt to share with your class.

Find a comfortable place to sit. Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths. When you open your eyes, begin your mindfulness scavenger hunt:

5 things you SEE:
What do you see? What colors and shapes do you see? Draw, write or collect these objects (with permission).

4 things you can TOUCH:
What do you feel? (use your hands, feet or your body) For example, how does the ground/grass feel on your feet? Notice the texture. Is it soft? Hard? Rough? Squishy?

3 things you can HEAR:
What do you hear? Listen to the sounds in your environment. Write down/draw/audio or video record:
a) one sound you hear inside your body
b) one sound you hear nearby
c) one sound you hear far away in the distance.

2 things you can SMELL:
What do you smell? Write, draw, or collect an item to represent 2 things that you smell right now or can find to smell.

1 thing you can TASTE:
What can you taste? Go taste one bite of a food of your choosing! Try to eat it slowly and notice how it tastes. Is it sweet? Salty? Sour? Crunchy? Chewy? Write or draw the food and some words to describe its taste.

Mindfulness Ingredients

Learn from other students about what mindfulness is and how they use it:

Learn about neuroplasticity:

What is the “big idea” for this lesson?

Understanding how our brains work can help us be more resilient.

One way we can calm our thoughts and feelings is to practice mindfulness.

Mindfulness means paying close attention to one thing at a time.

Reflection questions:

Think of a time when your thinking and feeling brain worked together, what helped you calm your brain?

What is mindfulness?

Mindfulness Scavenger Hunt

Materials:

Paper and pencil, pen, or favorite drawing supplies

Found objects from outside in nature or inside your home

Optional: phone or camera to take pictures and/or record audio or video recording

Directions:Find and collect, write, draw or take photos or record (video or audio) what you notice on your Mindful Scavenger Hunt to share with your class.

Find a comfortable place to sit. Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths. When you open your eyes, begin your mindfulness scavenger hunt:

5 things you SEE: What do you see? What colors and shapes do you see? Draw, write or collect these objects (with permission).

4 things you can TOUCH:What do you feel? (use your hands, feet or your body) For example, how does the ground/grass feel on your feet? Notice the texture. Is it soft? Hard? Rough? Squishy?

3 things you can HEAR:What do you hear? Listen to the sounds in your environment. Write down/draw/audio or video record: a) one sound you hear inside your body b) one sound you hear nearby c) one sound you hear far away in the distance.

2 things you can SMELL:What do you smell? Write, draw, or collect an item to represent 2 things that you smell right now or can find to smell.

1 thing you can TASTE: What can you taste? Go taste one bite of a food of your choosing! Try to eat it slowly and notice how it tastes. Is it sweet? Salty? Sour? Crunchy? Chewy? Write or draw the food and some words to describe its taste.

Mindfulness Ingredients

Learn from other students about what mindfulness is and how they use it:

Learn about neuroplasticity:

Directions:
Find and collect, write, draw or take photos or record (video or audio) what you notice on your Mindful Scavenger Hunt to share with your class.

5 things you SEE:
What do you see? What colors and shapes do you see? Draw, write or collect these objects (with permission).

4 things you can TOUCH:
What do you feel? (use your hands, feet or your body) For example, how does the ground/grass feel on your feet? Notice the texture. Is it soft? Hard? Rough? Squishy?

3 things you can HEAR:
What do you hear? Listen to the sounds in your environment. Write down/draw/audio or video record:
a) one sound you hear inside your body
b) one sound you hear nearby
c) one sound you hear far away in the distance.

2 things you can SMELL:
What do you smell? Write, draw, or collect an item to represent 2 things that you smell right now or can find to smell.

1 thing you can TASTE:
What can you taste? Go taste one bite of a food of your choosing! Try to eat it slowly and notice how it tastes. Is it sweet? Salty? Sour? Crunchy? Chewy? Write or draw the food and some words to describe its taste.