Whilst we are closed, most of you will be staying in your homes. This can be challenging as we are used to seeing lots of people and going out most days! To help you take care of your wellbeing, our Bloom team have gathered some excellent ideas for ways you can support yourself at home!
Bloom’s Stay At Home Activity Ideas
Calming Techniques
Body Scan
The body scan is a key practice in mindfulness, and an easy one to teach to children.
Have your child lie down on their back on a comfortable surface and close their eyes.
Tell them to squeeze every muscle in their body as tight as they can.
Tell them to squish their toes and feet, squeeze their hands into fists, and make their legs and arms as hard as stone;
After a few seconds, have them release all their muscles and relax for a few minutes.
Encourage them to think about how their body is feeling throughout the activity.
Breathing Exercises
- Notice the breath: this involves simply paying attention to what breathing actually feels like.
- Five-finger starfish meditation: this breathing technique has kids holding up one hand in a starfish position (fingers spread wide) while they gently trace up and down each finger with the other hand, focusing on regular breathing at the same time.
- Counting the breath: this technique is what it sounds like: have your children pause and count their breaths. One breath in is “1”, the next breath out is “2,” etc. You can have them count to 10 if they’re very young, or slightly higher depending on their abilities.
Gratitude Scavenger Hunt
Find something that makes you happy.
Find something to give someone else to make them smile.
Find one thing that you love to smell.
Find one thing you enjoy looking at.
Find something that’s your favourite colour.
Find something that you can use to make a gift for someone.
Find something that is useful for you.
Lego Challenge
We know that lots of you love building and creating with lego. Click here for a 30 day lego challenge!