Preschoolers can experience Mindful Walking with these easy steps!
Now is the perfect time to practice mindful walking. Nature shows us how to begin again each Spring. It won’t be lost on little ones that so much in nature spent the winter away or sleeping. This natural transition is the perfect place to build in observation skills and mindfulness!
Here is a script to get you started walking with your Early Learners:
“Taking a Mindful Walk means we are going to use our eyes, our ears and our whole body to notice things we see, hear and feel as we go on a walk. We can do this anywhere, but today we are going to take our walk (in the woods, on the sidewalk, in the hallway, etc.).”
“During our Mindful Walk, we want to stay as quiet as possible so that we can really pay attention to what we can see, to what we can hear and to what we can feel around us. Let’s do our best to keep quiet as we walk. This will help us really pay attention to everything around us. I will ask a few questions to help us notice things around us as we walk mindfully.”
“If we walk too fast we might miss something on our walk, so let’s walk slowly. You can stop and look at things as we walk, we just need to make sure we stay together. Let’s start walking.”
What can you see?
“Taking nice slow steps, look around you. What can you see in front of you? (pause for 30 seconds or so). What can you see next to you? (pause for 30 seconds or so). What do you see above you? (pause for 30 seconds or so). What do you see below you? (pause for 30 seconds or so).”
What can you hear?
“Still walking slowly, notice the sounds that you hear that are close by (pause for 30 seconds or so). Now notice sounds that are farther away (pause for 30 seconds or so). When we are walking, what sounds do we make? (pause for 30 seconds or so).”
What can you feel?
“As we continue to walk slowly, notice what you can feel. What can you feel on your skin? (pause for 30 seconds or so). What can you feel under your feet? (pause for 30 seconds or so). What else can you feel? (pause for 30 seconds or so).”
“Now let’s just stop and be still- stand, sit or lie down. (pause for 30 seconds or so). How do you feel after taking a break just to be still?”
“What was your favorite thing that you saw on our Mindful Walk? What was your favorite thing that you heard? What surprised you? Now, let’s draw or write together about our Mindful Walk.”
Download our Free Resources to find playful movement cards you can incorporate into your outdoor time, like Butterfly!
Have you tried mindful walking with children? What’s worked well? Leave a comment!