Activity Based Lesson Plan

Swami has said many times to maintain "Constant Integrated Awareness". Below is an activity for kids to find out what it is to be mindful, how easy or difficult it is and what are some of the challenges.  This lesson plan can be a follow up to lesson plan 1.

Walking Meditation with Kids | Popsicle Walk

 (Time frame estimates given in parentheses)

1. (30 min) Develop discussion with children on what they consider to be mindfulness and meditation in general. Begin questions with open-ended question framing terms such as “how”, “why”, “what”, “when”, “where” to keep dialogue flowing. Some sample questions might include:
1. What does meditation mean to you?
2. What purpose does it serve for you to meditate?
3. Where do you or would you meditate?
4. What time of day do you meditate?
5. How could meditation be an activity throughout the day (instead of for 10 minutes a day, for example?)? (great question to tie in walking meditation as part of the discussion)
6. What do you find rewarding/fun/pleasant about meditating?
7. What do you find difficult/challenging/hard about meditating?
8. If you didn’t meditate for a long time, do you notice any changes in how you are? If so, what sorts of changes do you notice?
9. If you were to describe meditation to a friend, what would you say?

 

2. (15 min) Walk preparation
1. (3 minutes) Provide ground rules for exploring, walking and sharing.

                                          i.    All answers are welcomed, that this is a safe and trusting spot to share, etc)

                                        ii.    Appropriate pointers on guidance and safety tips, for today’s walking meditation depending on the             age/developmental level of children, e.g., that children will walk in silence for 10 minutes (then stop to reflect for a minute), younger children pair up and hold hands with older children, etc.

2. Provide walking meditation instructions (below).

                                          i.    (3 mins) Before walking, instruct children to begin first by paying attention to their breath for 30 seconds. As we well know, this will be very new for some children…that’s part of the fun of discovering kids learning awareness. Then, for 1-2 minutes, have them describe to you what their breath feels like from multiple sensory experiences (what they see, smell, hear, feel, taste) as they breathe.

                                        ii.    (1 min) Have them breathe deeply for 1 minute, and remind them to continue feeling their breath sensations in various sensory modalities (see, smell, hear, feel, taste).

                                       iii.    (4 mins) Have them share their reflections from the second breath exercise (item 2b).

                                       iv.    (4 mins) Explore ways as a group that we can be mindful as they begin the walk. Can they pay attention to their breathing? To how their breath goes in…and out? To their lips/nose/heart/chest as they breathe? To their arms swing to and fro as they walk? To their footsteps, and how each step feels with each step? To what they are seeing? Smelling? Hearing? Feeling? Tasting?

                                        v.    As you prepare to walk, encourage them to continue focusing on their breathing and what are their observations around them while walking (most concrete – what they see, smell, hear, feel, taste) to how they connect with Swami/God as they walk (more abstract).

 

3. (25 min) Walk to park. Walk in short bursts approximately 10 minutes or so in length. Stop and have mini-reflections for a few minutes each as a way for children to share, reduce fatigue, get some shade, etc. During each stop, have them reflect for a couple of minutes on:
1. their breathing
2. their observations
3. their connections with Swami/God, divinity within, spirituality of the moment

 

4. (25 min) Relax in park and enjoy popsicles. Encourage kids to reflect on the sensations felt while enjoying the popsicles. From the moment a child is handed a popsicle, ask them to consider perhaps some of the following questions:
1. What do they see in front of them? (e.g., the popsicle, eager children wanting a treat)
2. What do they smell?
3. What do they hear? (e.g., the tearing/crinkling of the paper as they open the popsicle bag; kids’ excitement at getting popsicles)
4. What do they feel? (e.g., the concrete feelings such as the coldness of the popsicle….AND…help them point out and connect the abstract feelings of the moment…joy, excitement, happiness, fun)
5. What do they taste? How is the first taste similar/different to the subsequent licks of the popsicle? How is the last lick of the popsicle similar/different to the first lick?

 

5. (25 min) Walk back, stopping along the way. Similar to the walk there, have them reflect along the way once, and upon returning to the center on:
1. their breathing
2. their observations
3. their connections with Swami/God, divinity within, spirituality of the moment
4. how they can apply similar mindfulness to all activities through out the day
   

 

6. Hope it was a wonderful, insightful, fun (and tasty!) exercise for you and the kids!!!