Each year, watching this inspirational video resonates powerfully with our students.
Our Year 2 class have just watched it for the first time and it has been a really effective way to help them understand what mindfulness means. The video has become the catalyst for Personal, Health, Social and Economic Education (PHSE) discussions and helped the children begin to understand and manage their emotions as they learn and play together. When they remember to ‘just breathe’, they can find the clarity to calmly solve problems, resolve conflicts, find compromise and build resilience.
They are also helping their friends to remember. Sometimes in the heat of the moment, a gentle reminder from a friend to ‘just breathe’ when something doesn’t feel good is all we need to help us refocus, feel better and be able to tune back in.
Paying attention to our breath is such a simple, but very powerful tool. In their afternoon mindfulness sessions, the children have learnt to observe the effect of mindful breathing on their brain and body as they transition back into learning after a busy, active playtime.