Stress Reduction/Self-Care

(Details for all activities in BOLD are listed below)

1.Play feelings charades. Can your family guess your emotion?

2. Practice your breathing techniques

3. Draw a picture of your family doing something you love to do together

4. Teach your family about a self care technique

5. Write a letter or make a card for someone you appreciate

6. Talk to a trusted adult or write in a journal about any big feelings you might be having

7. Make a list of five coping skills you can use to manage big emotions

8. Color in a coloring book or draw a picture

9. Practice thinking positive thoughts

10. Play a board game or do a puzzle with your family

11. Read a book

12. Do a craft project

13. Practice mindful breathing

14. Practice Responsibility! Do your chores or help out around the house without being asked

15. Practice Heartfulness (See below)

16. Name 5 things you love about yourself

17. Cooperation Cook-off  (See below)

18. Make a ResponsibiliTree  (See below)

19. Trading Places Empathy activity  (See below)

20. Family Temperature Check  (See below)

21. Write down as many feelings as you possibly can!

22. FaceTime someone you haven’t talked to in awhile. Brainstorm 2-3 things you appreciate them and tell them!

23. Create an “I Will” statement. Post it on the bathroom mirror or somewhere else you will see it and practice it daily

24. Choose a goal you would like to work towards during this time

25. Write a daily affirmation - post in on your bathroom mirror or next to your bed

26. Practice sitting still for one minute. What sounds did you hear?

27. Go outside and get fresh air - take a walk, walk the dog etc

28. Name 3 ways you can calm down when you are feeling anxious or stressed

29. Practice a grounding technique- find and count as many green things as possible  (See below)

30. Write down as many qualities of a good friend as you can think of

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(#15) Practicing Heartfulness

• Good morning. Today we are going to do a heartfulness practice together.

• Please find your mindful postures [Or, Put on your mindful bodies.] Be as still as you can.

• Let your eyes close. (Ring bell) Take 3 mindful breaths. (pause)

• Please imagine a friend. Send heartful wishes to this person and imagine how they feel about receiving them. Notice how you feel sending them. (pause)

• I wish for you to be happy. (pause)

• I wish for you to be healthy. (pause)

• I wish for you to be peaceful. (pause)

• I wish for you to be grateful. (pause)

• I wish for you to be happy. (pause)

• I wish for you to be healthy. (pause)

• I wish for you to be peaceful. (pause)

• I wish for you to be grateful. (pause)

• (Ring bell)

• Thank you! Have a wonderful morning.

• Submitted by Doug Allen, who graduated from the Mindful Schools Year-long Certification in 2015. Doug is a teacher, school leader and member of the Mindful Schools network of educators. He is currently Principal of Bessie Nichols School, a public school in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

• Creative Commons License (BY-NC-CA)

(#17) Cooperation Cook-Off

• In this challenge, every family member will be in charge of one dish for tonight’s dinner. Work together to plan the meal, then make room for one another in the kitchen as you all take a task and prepare something to savor for tonight’s collaborative meal.

• Work together to plan the menu ahead of time or get creative and make each part in secret and see how they come together!

(#18) Responsibili-Tree

• Using a piece of brown construction paper (Tip: Cut apart a brown paper bag to recycle it and use it as paper) draw the outline of a tree trunk and branches. Using a different color of construction paper for each family member, cut out small leaf shapes that will fit on the tree. On each leaf, family members should write down one task they are responsible for at home. Glue the leaves onto the branches of the tree. Hang up the tree as a visual reminder of your family’s responsibilities.

• Discuss:

• What happens when some of the leaves start to fall off the tree and responsibilities do not get done? How do we work together as a family to complete all of these responsibilities? Are there any leaves we need to add to the tree?

(#19) Trading Places

• Have a conversation over a meal tonight about what it would feel like to be in each other’s places. Have each person try to answer some of these questions about what it would be like to be every other person at the table: What are your biggest challenges? What do you want? What do you need? What feeling do you feel most often? What makes you feel happy?

(#20) Family Temperature Check

• Decide this week on a time and place to do a weekly Family Temperature Check. Sit together as a family and eliminate any distractions. Ask each family member, “how are you feeling today?” Practice active listening skills as family members each take a turn to talk about how they are feeling. When someone shares a challenging feeling, instead of jumping in to provide advice, take time to listen and use empathic statements like:

• “What has that been like for you?”

• “I’m sorry you are going through this.”

• “That sounds really hard for you.”

• “It makes me feel ____ to hear that happened.”

• “What do you need right now?”

• To start, you can use a simple check-in system like, “How are you doing on a scale of 1-5 today?” As you get good at answering questions like that, you can continue to develop your emotional vocabulary and vulnerability as we family with more complex sharing!

(#29) Grounding Techniques

• 5 things you see

• 4 things you hear

• 3 things you smell

• 2 things you can touch

• 1 thing you taste

• 5 colors I see

• 4 shapes I see

• 3 soft things I see

• 2 people I see

• 1 book I see

Other Family Activities:

*Family Bucket List

• Sit together as a family and see if you can brainstorm a list of 25 things you want to do together this year. Get creative and collaborative! Make sure the items range from totally doable in a day to something that may seem silly or impossible. Work to check things off each month until you make your next one.

*Family Gratitude Jar

• Find a place in your home to display a glass jar. Cut up small slips of paper and place them next to the jar. Use the jar to collect special people, places, events, and memories that your family is thankful for. Find a time each week to add slips of Gratitude to the jar. Having a gloomy day or a challenging time as a family? Pull out the slips of Gratitude and read them aloud as a family as a reminder of all of your grateful moments.