Just sitting,and Dancing,and wishing, and the secret of happiness!: Mindfulness matters week 8, the Final sessions!

So my journey at Kowloon juniors comes to a close for the moment. The kids have been fantastic, and I believe they have learned a lot. the children will continue to practice as Matt and Dom will  run the 10 minute exercises on a regular basis for the rest of the year. 

In year 2 we looked at the difference between moving energetically and moving in a slow and controlled way. The kids loved dancing to Dancing Queen. I ask 'So how did that make you feel?' 'Like I could dance all day' answers one little girl.

The children then practiced slow and quiet walking as if they had a small butterfly on their head. The calm nature of this activity led on to a wishing meditation were the children thought of a wish for themselves, a wish for others and a wish for all the children in the world. One child wished for ice cream every day, another with a heartfelt look in his eyes wished that he could have a good day. Some wished for friendship for others, one wished for a 3d x box for all the poor children in the world, and one wished for everyone in the class to have good days, every day...

They liked the snowglobe and understood how their busy heads and worries were like the snow and could be cleared through mindful breathing.

 At the start of the process i was skeptical as to whether year 2s could benefit from mindfulness, or would be able to engage with it. I was very wrong, and I will miss working with this group very much!

Year 6s focused on the secret of happiness. Just a small thing to learn about! I think they got the idea that having things wouldn't necessarily make them happier, and that the secret of happiness revolved around being aware of when you were happy and noticing how often this happened.

I asked them What they liked the best from the mindfulness matters course?, What they had found difficult? and What they had learned?. Their responses knocked me off my feet:

'I sleep better now, because mindfulness helps me get to sleep'
'I can focus on things one thing at a time now'
'It really helps me calm down'
'I like the spaghetti test best'
'I feel a lot happier at school and home now'

and many more like that...All that from just focusing attention in a warm and non judgmental way on your breathing...amazing!

Looking forward to starting it all again at Clearwater Bay school, April 28th!

Safe places, invisible balloons and parents get in on the act!: Mindfulness Matters Week 7

In Year 6 the students created safe places in their mind that they could go to in times of stress or anxiety. The trick was to try and create this place without other more negative images crashing it in to make it less safe!

The nature of what is kind and unkind is important as there is a great deal of evidence suggesting that kindness and gratitude are linked to positive wellbeing and resilience.
So we asked: what did it mean to be kind? and how were people unkind? and how are you unkind to yourself?

That final question seemed the easiest for students to answer. They were very aware of when they were hard on themselves and what words they said to themselves about it:

'Im so stupid!' " why did you do that, thats dumb!' etc.

Their task for this week is to keep a card with kind and unkind written on it in their pockets. Every time they do/say something kind or unkind they have to take the card out of their pocket and put it back in the other one. Should be interesting! Lets see what happens next week?

Year 2 did some mindful movement; lifting an invisible gigantic balloon  and sending it in the air, then raising their arms like a 'proud peacock'. Both myself and Mr Parry their teacher felt proud of them because they did it so well! They also did well sitting and doing nothing, just focusing on their breathing. For some a really boring task, for others wonderful to have permission for a small slot of time where nothing was expected of them. Again the kids were fantastic at it!

For the Year 2's safe place we asked them to imagine a friendly and brave animal that would guard them when they were scared. Jaguars, dinosaurs, dogs and birds all made an appearance, and maybe the children now have something to help them if they are afraid of the dark?

Thanks to all the parents who came to the parent session. They tried the activities, and found out about the course. It was great to hear how one child's attentional skills at home seem to have really improved, and how other children seem to really value the sessions. 

Their only challenge: When will this be done in the whole school? because all the children need it. 

I couldn't agree more, why shouldn't they all have it? It has to be my mission to make it happen. But I do know I will have lots of allies campaigning with me!

Final instalment next week!

Frogs, Butterflies, Birds and deer: Mindfulness matters 6: learning to move with mindful attention

Year 6 were buzzing with the visit of students from their new secondary school but really got into the idea of thinking about and observing their thoughts. 15 seconds of them trying to think about nothing was the highlight today!

For the year 2's today was all about mindful movement. From squatting like a frog, waving arms like a bird, to standing like stork and being still as a deer. 

They finished off by lying down and letting their bodies go limp as a bowl of spaghetti

As they focused mindfully on the movements I became aware that they really seemed to be taking on the attributes of the animals they were emulating, until finishing off standing like a deer they became so still I felt i was surrounded by the animals in a woodland scene!

The focus on mindful movement and being in control of your body's movements is another way for kids to be helped to de-stress when there is a lot of tension about.

Whats interesting is that at this age there seems to be a real character difference in the kids. Some find the meditation brilliant and really benefit from it. You can see how a chance to be calm and quiet really helps them.

For others the calm quiet is really difficult but the mindful movement is something they really enjoy. They are focused and set free by the chance to move and hold a pose, and that will be a way for them to enjoy the calm.

And why shouldn't there be a difference? I dont mind meditation, but if you give me a chance I would go for mindful walking or Tai Chi/ chi gung as a way of calming down. That's what quietens my mind most. I suspect, however, that I benefit from both!

So that's the end of week 6. Two weeks to go in the pilot and looking forward to meeting the parents next week!


For a taste of mindful walking why not get the mindful walking app on the Apple app store and Google play. a small investment for a really positive experience Try it out on a walk through an area you know well, and see how many new things you see!

Children who suffer a loss

Participants creating memory jars using salt and pastels to help remember a loss

So no mindfulness with the kiddies this week, but for very good reason. This week myself and 60 colleagues from ESF and wider took part in brilliant workshops on child bereavement and the management of critical incidents, run by Sarah Gothard a psychologist and bereavement counsellor who works with Winston's Wish http://www.winstonswish.org.uk/ the Uk's leading Child bereavement charity. 

1 in 29 children in the UK will have suffered a significant bereavement of a parent or sibling before they are 18. Thats just over 3%, yet death remains conspicuously absent from school curriculums in both primary and secondary phase. If our aim is to promote the development of resilient children should we not help to prepare them for one of the most constant and powerful factors they will experience in life: The death of someone close to them.

Conveying an understanding of how death may affect someone, and giving strategies to help is a relatively simple proposition, yet in perhaps misguided attempts to protect children, the topic is taboo, and avoided in most schools, until something serious forces the school to address it. 

So what help do bereaved children get in Hong Kong? and how many children are bereaved on a yearly basis? I don't know the answer to this yet but as one of my primary colleagues said in a takeaway from monday: 'Im going to find out and do something about it'

More Feeling Feelings, Milkshakes and millipedes: Mindfulness matters Week 5

'...I feel sad when people don't include me in their games...'


'...I am Happy when I go to Ocean Park!...'
'I am angry when my little sister annoys me...'
'...I am afraid when a teacher looks right at me...'


So when do you feel different feelings? and where do you feel them in your body? How do you know if they are big or small feelings? and what do you do with difficult ones?

These where the questions year 2 and 6 explored today. Year 6 found it a challenge to spot how they were feeling, but were able to tell me lots of instances when they were happy/sad/scared/ angry. They knew what they did when they were angry which normally involved punching and hitting something! but when I asked 'what could you do to deal with these difficult emotions?' , the answers rang from around the room 'breathing... mindful breathing...try and be calm and breathe'. When I looked at the faces I could see they weren't just saying this to please me, they genuinely believed that the techniques would work and would be helpful! Fantastic! 

They found the exercise to deal with difficult feelings quite hard and I think Next time i would try and give them some more structure and perhaps specify the type of sad memory they could think about. This is challenging activity for adults so really challenging for children. I might go off program next week and try it again! What they really loved was SHAKING LIKE A MILKSHAKE! to finish off the session. You could feel the mood level change in the classroom in an instant and it felt great to see them with happy smiling faces! Brilliant group of kids!

Year 2 built on their exploration of fear and anger last week to look at happiness and sadness this week. They listened to a story about when Fred the Frog was sad and were able to tell stories about when they were sad, and what their faces looked like when they were sad. They loved the discussion about when they felt good, and what they looked like, and drew a fantastic set of drawings with them having birthdays, playing with sisters, going to Legoland and being a flower girl at a wedding to name but a few!: All the things that made them happy.

The finale was fantastic. 30 kids with their hands on the shoulders of the child in front of them mindfully lifting their right leg then left leg and walking like a millipede around the classroom. Absolutely priceless, and they did it brilliantly.

Next week mindful movement for the littl'uns and the wonderful world of thoughts for the big'uns!

Feeling feelings and faith in the future:Mindfulness matters wk.4

'...My fear is about a dream of going to Ocean Park and there being a shark who bites my  hand off. I wake up scared and go to sleep with my auntie. She makes it not scary anymore and I dream of friendly dinosaurs...' Year 2 on what scares him

Nightmares and parents angry with each other were the biggest fears with the group of 6 year olds I was working with today.Their biggest source of anger...frustration when told by parents they can't do something. They were very honest and open about what they were  scared of, and a real hoot when they tried to show each other what an angry face looked like!

Their ability to sit still like a frog grows each week, and the impact is being felt in the classroom with incidental improvements in concentration for paired reading and other activities.

The innocent engagement and enthusiasm for talking about their feelings is just fantastic.

'...Sometimes I see my Grandma in my mind sitting on my bed. She passed away last year...' year six student on visual images that sometimes creep into their minds

Year 6 were amazing, and I'm going to say that again they were amazing! 

We looked at their 'movie mind' and having faith in the future. They were so engaged, interested and focused I just wanted to stay and talk to them for ever! Visualisation is a difficult skill to master but they really had a go at it including the wonderful but tricky wishing tree activity where they try and visualise a heartfelt dream/ desire and let it go

Their practice with mindfulness is really paying off, and you can feel the increase in focus. 

Next week more feeling feelings!

Mindfulness matters Week 3: 'Raisin' awareness of the senses!

'Its Soup... How can I

 eat soup Mindfully?' 

Year 6 student approaching  their  lunch  after  today's  session

So after a two week break over Chinese New year the students returned to Mindfulness matters week 3. This week was focused around sensory exploration, paying conscious attention to things that perhaps we take for granted.

The Year 2's  approached the task of trying to see, hear, smell, touch and taste a raisin as if it was a strange object from the moon with a lot of wonder! Some of them were amazed at how strong and bitter the raisin tasted, and the difference in texture between the outside and inside. All were surprised that raisins had a sound when you roll them next to your ear!

Their patience was tested when they were asked to slowly walk  mindfully  around their shared area concentrating on their feet and how it felt to walk, but they were completely calm by the time they got back to the classroom!

For the Year 6's the session started off with an activity around checking out the internal 'weather forecast' of their feelings, and a discussion of how quickly the 'weather' can change. They too did the raisin activity, and agreed to try and eat their lunch slowly and mindfully. Following a short activity sitting still like a frog, their teacher commented on how much better they are getting at quickly paying attention to their breathing!

Next week, feeling feelings for the Year 2's and Patience and faith for the Year 6's