We are lucky to have Erica working with our tamariki and kaiako on My Mindful Toolbox to compliment our Positive Behavior for Learning and Social & Emotional teaching and learning programmes here at Lyttelton School this year.

In their second mindfulness lesson with Erica, tamariki learned about mindful seeing and experimented with different ways of shifting one's focus to the things we can see around them.

How often do we look for something in the cupboard and cannot find it, only to have someone else come and find it right away? Can we learn how to see with mindful eyes?

• Using eyes to focus on an object or the things around us.

• Traffic light: Looking around to identify 1 x whero thing - 1 x karaka thing - 1 x kākāriki thing - then good to go. Great way to stem a red brain or rising panic.

Custom Videos:

• Massage/Mirimiri: https://youtu.be/t5oLMM-fETM

• Moving our body: https://youtu.be/zoBIgFQfKro

When we go for a walk, can we just pay attention to the shape, color, and texture of the things in our visual field? When we do this, can we do it without judging whether we like it or not, just paying attention to what we are seeing right now––perhaps discovering new colors or textures that we never noticed before?

You can reinforce this lesson at home by practicing with your child and asking these questions:

• What is mindful seeing?
• When can you use mindful seeing at home? Eg. Perhaps they could use the boat or some other object on their belly to lie down and watch it move with the breath.
• Bed time: In bed at night, have your child scan their room with mindful eyes and name something they see that is soft, that is hard, or that is squishy.

Happy practising.

Ngā mihi,

Erica Viedma

erica.viedma@gmail.com