This mindful balancing game is a fun activity to learn focusing skills, body awareness and impulse control. Yes, you can do all that while having fun with your kids :)
You can do this activity with a group of kids or one-on-one like we do at home.
Another bonus is that you can do it with Lego pieces … I’m a big fan of Lego. In fact, when I finished my first big online mindfulness course we celebrated by … building this amazing Lego X-wing together with my son Anton :-) Building Lego worlds has been a fun way for us to hone our focusing skills together.
Now, you’re _not_ supposed to use an X-wing in the balancing game, just some small pieces placed strategically … and it certainly doesn’t have to be Lego pieces. I just wanted to show off our cool X-wing in the photo below ;-)
( Yes, I’m a big nerd )
( Screen shot from Positive Mindfulness for Kids and Teens Online Training )
Okay, back to the balancing game :) It’s easy and fun…
Fun Mindfulness Game: Balancing Game
Purpose: Body awareness, Impulse control, Focus, Calm
Best for: Ages 4+, groups and one-on-one
What you need: Small objects like Lego pieces, somewhere to lie down, and a timer
This mindful balancing game is a fun way to learn body awareness and impulse control. We like to play this with Lego pieces. The idea is to see how long your child can stay still lying down balancing objects on his or her body.
1. To begin, ask your child to lie down and take five deep breaths.
2. Next, place small objects, like Lego pieces or chips from a board game, on his body. Start with the legs, putting objects just above his ankles and knees, then on the back of his hands, on his arms, his shoulders, his forehead, and one last one on his chin. Seven objects are likely enough; you don’t want to make it too hard for him.
3. Tell your child to lie very still and to not let the objects fall.
4. Start a timer and tell him that the game has started.
5. When the first object drops, stop the timer and announce his score. Congratulate your kid on whatever happened.
6. When ready, ask your child if it was easy or hard. Did he like it? Was he able to feel the objects? Does he think it will get easier with practice? Did mindful breathing help him to score higher?
You can keep score and play this game as many times as he likes. You can track it and see if you improve over time (when you get used to mindful breathing, for example).
With a group of kids you can have them all balance and see who’s the last one to drop the objects.
I hope you’ll enjoy this activity with the kids!!
You’ll find 150 playful mindfulness activities in my 5-star rated best selling book:
“The Most Important Mindfulness Book You’ll Ever Buy” – Helen Hudson
Ultimate Mindfulness Activity Book – 150 Playful Mindfulness Activities for Kids and Teens (and Grown-Ups too!)
Wishing you many mindful moments :-)
Chris Bergstrom
Chief Mindfulness Ninja @ Blissful Kids
See also:
If you are new to mindfulness with children OR you want to make practice easy we recommend our online mindfulness courses.
Chris Bergstrom is a bestselling mindfulness author, the founder of BlissfulKids.com, a blog dedicated to children’s mindfulness, and a dad who is thrilled to practice mindfulness with his son. He is a certified mindfulness facilitator and trained to teach mindfulness to students in K-12. He’s also known as “the dad who tried 200+ mindfulness activities” and has taught meditation for more than 15 years.