Monthly Archives: September 2020

Self Control and Mindfulness

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This week at Barwon Heads PS our focus Character Strength is Self Control which we are going to combine with Mindfulness.

Studies have shown that we can build self-control (or self regulation skills) by learning to practice mindfulness. Mindfulness  is the moment-by-moment awareness of our thoughts, feelings, and surroundings. There are a number of different ways in which this can be done, but being aware of how you are feeling and remembering to use the strategies that work for you to improve how you are feeling is using self control!

This is also about having a growth mindset. An important thing to remember is that these strategies should be used regularly and so that they become  habit – which is also where self-control comes in! These strategies need to be practised and not used just when things are not going as planned.

Here are some strategies to try…

Breathing: 

Flower breath-Imagine smelling a beautiful flower, breathe in through the nose and out the mouth, releasing any tension.

Bear breath – Inhale through the nose for a count of 3, pause for a count of 1 or 2; exhale out the nose for a count of 3 or 4, Pause then repeat a few times.

Take 5 breathing

My Magic Breath – to help us with mindful breathing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGmauNlYPCo

 

Meditation:

Meditation can be as simple as getting comfortable and being still for a few moments. I like to close my eyes and visualise a special place such as a beautiful beach that I have been to. Focus on your breath and follow your breath.

YouTube has some meditation stories for children as do the following two websites.

https://www.headspace.com/meditation/kids

https://www.smilingmind.com.au/

Physical Activity:

Physical activity can be as simple as going outside and appreciating nature or going for a walk or bike ride. Having a stretch or doing some yoga can also be good for our wellbeing.

Yoga: https://www.cosmickids.com/

Music:

Listening to music that you really love can be uplifting! Sometimes it helps to have the volume up but not loud enough to upset your neighbours!

The Lemonade Hurricane

I Am Peace

 

My Strong Mind

Your challenge this week is to try a mindfulness strategy from the list above that you haven’t used before.

If you have your own mindfulness strategy that works for you and you would like to share it, please do!

Love

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Love can mean so many different things to different people!

We all have people in our lives who care about us and who we care about in return. These people can be our parents, our family members and even our friends! Some of us love our heroes and those who have been kind to us. We love our pets and our teddy bears! Some of us love unicorns, books, our footy teams and lego.

Parents feel unconditional love towards their children and this is demonstrated by the way in which they give love, warmth and care without expecting anything in return. We love our parents in return.

To me, when you feel love towards others, you care about them.

No matter what, you’re parents will always love you as shown in “Koala Lou”

 

We can be loved and love others through kind acts such as in “Wilfred Gordon, McDonald, Partridge”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usnOEnTXabw

An Illustrator draws what love looks like to some kids.

I love this book, by Dallas Clayton! 🙂

 

What does love mean to you?

Make a list of things that you love.

Write a letter or a card to your mum or dad telling them the things that you love about them.

Tell your mum or dad that you love them!