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 fourth mindfulness lesson with Erica, tamariki learned about our busy thinking mind. We noticed that when we stop and practice Mindful Breathing, about three seconds later our mind is starting to think, “I wonder what’s for lunch?,” (thinking about the future) or, “Why did I yell at my mum this morning?” (thinking about the past).

We are trying to just pay attention to our breath, so we will notice the breath, and then if thinking starts we will notice the thinking and then just come back to paying attention, on purpose, to our breath.

We won’t get mad for thinking—we will just calmly, affectionately notice it, bring our attention back to the breathing, and continue over and over. It’s just like when we are training a new puppy—we tell the puppy to stay, but it runs away, so we pick it up and bring it back and say, “Stay.” Eventually it does, though it might run off again soon!

Helpful resources:

• Mindfulness of Thoughts video #1
• Mindfulness of Thoughts video #2

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

• What thoughts do you notice?

• Is your thought about the past?

• Is your thought about the future?

Happy practising.

Ngā mihi,

Erica Viedma

erica.viedma@gmail.com