Mindfulness for Homeschoolers

Being a mindful home-schooler is quite an undertaking. Homeschooling parents have many plates to juggle; educating their children, keeping up with housework, and oftentimes working outside the home as well. It's hard to stay mindful when life is so busy. Implementing mindfulness into everyday homeschooling life can be a challenge, but it can be done.

Many homeschooling parents are meticulous planners and often find themselves planning their next learning experience rather than actually experiencing the learning alongside their child. Sometimes you just have to throw the planner by the wayside and take advantage of the teachable moments that are happening right now. Your child is learning in every moment whether it's through a carefully crafted experiment that you have researched for hours or whether they are outside studying an anthill. Take time to enjoy this moment with them, because you will never have it back. These little moments of each day are a gift you will treasure for the rest of your life. Mindfulness helps us stay in the present moment and that is in fact where the learning is happening.

If you still find yourself rushing through life, here are a few tips to bring yourself back to the present moment:

•    When you find yourself frazzled, stop and take ten mindful breaths.
•     Use mundane everyday tasks to employ mindfulness; like washing the dishes, vacuuming, or preparing meals.
•     Go outside! Nothing brings you back to the present like immersing yourself in nature.
•    Stop and listen to your child. Really listen.

Once you have had a chance to slow down and experience life with your children you can pass on the mindfulness practice to them. Children are naturally mindful, but we can help them focus even more by implementing mindful activities with them each day. Inner Explorer has a wealth of resources that the homeschooling parent can implement each day to help their children learn and benefit from mindful activities.

What is Mindful Movement?

You move your body in various ways thousands of times a day. But how often do you move mindfully? What is mindful movement? You may practice mindful movement without even realizing it if you perform martial arts, dance, or yoga. When you perform these exercises you may be fully aware of the way your body moves while you are training, but what if you were to apply that awareness to every day motions? The idea of bringing awareness to the way you move is mindful movement.

Mindful movement is simply the act of moving your body in a mindful way. When you move mindfully you notice how your body responds to each shifting position. You concentrate on your body's motion which helps you stay focused and in the present moment. You can bring mindfulness to any activity that you do, from washing the dishes, to brushing your teeth, to typing on the computer. The idea is to simply notice your body's movement and be aware of how you are moving.

Have you ever walked into a room and forgotten why you're there? If you start practicing mindful movement this forgetfulness may lessen. Are you slouching at the computer? Did you stretch your leg too much? Are you fidgeting? You don't necessarily need to correct your movements… you just need to be aware of them. Moving mindfully helps you become more present and puts you in a mindful frame of mind. Research has shown that mindful movement can help increase focus, improve sleep quality, and it even helps improve coordination. Maybe by practicing mindful movement you won't stub your toe or bump into things so often! The more mindfulness you bring to your movements, the more awareness you can bring into your entire life.

- Michele Mundy

5 Summer Mindfulness Activities for Your Kids

We all know practicing mindfulness is good for us and our kids. Studies have shown that mindfulness can help children with concentration, stress reduction, and improved sleeping habits. Often the rush of summer activities make it hard to take time to slow down. Here are some quick, fun, and easy to implement activities that you can do with your kids to keep everyone in the family thinking mindfully!

1. Have a Breathing Buddy 

Give your child a stuffed animal or other small object. Have your child lay on the floor with a pillow under their head and place their stuffed animal on their belly. Have them breathe for one minute, noticing their breathing buddy as it moves up and down with their breath.

2. Scented Surprise 

Have your child sit down with their eyes closed and tell them to pay attention to what they smell. Pass a fragrant object, such as a sprig of rosemary, orange peel, or jasmine under your child's nose and instruct them to focus their complete attention on the scent. After focusing for thirty seconds or so, ask them if they can identify the object.

3. Spiderman Sense

Superheroes are huge in our house, so this activity is a big hit. Spiderman has heightened senses that help him focus on the world around him. Have your child pretend he is Spiderman and use his special spidey senses to really concentrate on the moment. What can he see, hear, touch, taste, and smell? Have him use all his energy focusing on his senses.

4. A Jar of Mindfulness 

This is a fantastic activity for spirited children whose emotions often overwhelm them. Grab a clear jar and fill it most of the way with water. Add a large spoonful of glitter glue or regular glue and glitter. Screw on the top of the jar and shake to swirl the glitter around the jar. Explain to your child this lesson about emotions: The glitter is like your feelings when you get upset. See how the glitter twirls around and makes it hard to see through the jar? When you set the jar down and keep it still, the glitter settles the water becomes clear. This is just like your feelings when you get angry or upset. Sometimes we need to calm down and sit still for a minute to see things clearly and make good choices.

5. Blowing Bubbles 

Everyone loves bubbles! Blowing bubbles is a fantastic way to get children to focus on their breath. Have your child inhale a big, deep breath. When they slowly exhale into the bubble wand, have them watch how the bubble grows. If they exhale too quickly the bubble will pop. See how big they can grow their bubbles. Watch the bubble as it floats away, where does it go, does it pop on the ground, whose bubble goes the farthest?

Even if you're not using Inner Explorer over the summer, there are plenty of ways to implement mindfulness at home. These activities can be a fun way to help you maintain a regular mindfulness practice in your home and make your kids look forward to enjoying a healthy, mindful lifestyle.

- Michele Mundy

The Mindfulness Mansion by Tricia Zirit (aka Nurse Zirit)

Mindfulness creates space,

like tons and tons all over the place.

Not space like, “Hey, ride with me there’s space in my car.”

And not space like, “Hey, I just saw a shooting star.”

But a type of subtle, still, inner space, and this is how - 

because mindfulness brings us into right now.

Once we fully arrive into the present moment at hand, 

there is enough space for everything - it’s like we expand.

Not expand like “Oh no, these pants are too tight.”

And not expand like, “Hey look at my bubble gum blown just right.”

But a type of subtle, still, inner expansion -

that feels, on the inside, like a mindfulness mansion.

Not a mansion that’s fancy or expensive or showy,

but a mansion that’s accepting and open and glowy.

There’s enough room to be happy, sad, joyful and mad - 

there’s room to be frustrated and room to be glad.

There are no walls or boundaries or fences around, 

only wide open space and our two feet on the ground.

There are no butlers or maids who are constantly cleaning,

but a focus on breathing and what brings our lives meaning. 

So be present, breathe deeply, and shine your own light,

because in the mindfulness mansion we are always alright.