Five ways you can boost your child's mindfulness at home using a curriculum used in many Fox Valley 4K classes.

APPLETON - During the pandemic, terms like "self-care," "mental health" and "mindfulness" — the ability to be in the present moment in a nonjudgmental way — became buzzwords.

But for many early childhood educators in the Fox Valley, such concepts have been integrated into the classroom for years.

About five years ago, the Kindness Curriculum was introduced at the Community Early Learning Center in Appleton. The curriculum comprises a series of interactive lessons and activities designed to teach skills like empathy, compassion and forgiveness through mindfulness practices.

Through mindfulness coaches, more than 150 early education professionals across the Fox Valley — including those from 4K programs in Appleton, Kaukauna and Kimberly — are integrating mindfulness in their classrooms.

The CELC's research committee found that integrating the curriculum in 3- to 5-year-olds' early education can boost social-emotional skills, such as sharing, and even academic skills.

Here are some of the activities included in the Kindness Curriculum, tailored to fit an at-home setting. For children who are learning the curriculum in school or at child care, doing activities at home is an opportunity to reinforce the lessons. For children who are not, these activities can help them learn to pay attention, self-soothe, and develop empathy and other crucial skills, according to Beth Haines and Kathy Immel, who lead the CELC research committee.

Move mindfully through imitating animals

The Kindness Curriculum teaches that movement can help us calm ourselves and feel our bodies, key aspects associated with mindfulness. Haines, who is a professor at Lawrence University, and Immel, an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh’s Fox Cities campus, said slowly imitating animal movements is a favorite Kindness Curriculum activity. 

To fly like an eagle, breathe in slowly as you lift your arms, keeping feet planted on the floor. Breathe out as you lower your arms. 

Frogs can be fun, too. Squat, legs folded, then jump like a frog. 

For other animal movements, see the Kindness Curriculum.

Find an inner quiet place with 'belly buddies'

Sometimes we need a quiet place to decompress. In this activity, the curriculum teaches children to find this place inside themselves. It also teaches students to focus on their breathing and body. 

Find an object with a little bit of weight to it — flat stones are used in the curriculum, but stuffed animals will do too — and have your child lie down. Place the object, what is now their “belly buddy” on their belly and instruct them to take deep breaths and lie quietly. Have them notice how the belly buddy moves up and down. Do they feel the peaceful place inside? Next time life gets overwhelming, they can visit this place to calm down. 

The CELC research team recommends playing this Breathing Song as the child does the activity. 

Use 'mind jars' to help deal with strong emotions

Take a jar of any sort and fill it 1/4 of the way with clear glue, then fill the jar halfway with warm water. Allow the child to add glitter of their choice (the recipe on the CELC's website recommends using multiple types of glitter). Then, add enough warm water to reach the top of the jar, along with a few drops of liquid dish soap. Secure the jar's lid.

Have the child pretend they are angry and shake the jar. The flurry of glitter in the shaken jar represents how we feel inside when upset. But if you wait, the glitter will settle to the bottom.

“It’s kind of this external mirror of how, if they watch over time, the stormy emotion is just that: It’s a storm passing through them, and it’s going to settle down with time, just like any other emotion,” said Miriam Boleyn-Fitzgerald, a mindfulness coach with the Kindness Project. 

Next time stormy emotions brew, shake the jar and watch it settle as a reminder that it will eventually pass. As the storm settles, prompt the child to take five deep breaths. Remind them that they have a choice when they are upset: to lash out or channel more constructive responses. 

Grow a Kindness Garden

Print the image of the Kindness Garden found under the “teacher resources tab” on the CELC's website (or, if you’re feeling artsy, draw your own). 

As your child goes through their day, each time they witness an act of kindness — or do one themselves — have them “plant” a sticker in the soil of the Kindness Garden, just like they would a seed. This helps them to be cognizant of the kindness growing all around them. 

“Essentially the concept is that when we show kindness, our friendships are going to grow just like plants and flowers,” explained Katie Dudley, a 4K teacher at Bridges Child Enrichment Center, which uses the curriculum.

Do your own 'listening' and 'feeling' walk

Next time you are on a walk, ask your child to try being quiet — on the outside and the inside. Have them pay attention to the sounds they hear as they walk, and prompt them to freeze occasionally, using a bell or even a voice command. 

Now try a feeling walk. Again, instruct your child to walk silently, but this time tell them to pay special attention to how their bodies feel when they are moving. Start slowly, so they can hone in on each movement walking requires: lifting one leg, moving it forward, and then putting their foot back on the ground, lifting the other leg, moving it forward, then planting their foot on the ground. How do their arms move? 

Walking mindfully, as done in the listening and feeling walks, teaches children that when they are quiet, they notice things they may not have noticed before — both sounds and feelings.

For more on the Kindness Curriculum, visit bit.ly/kindness-curriculum or the “Kindness Project Teacher Resources” tab of the CELC’s website. For more ways to explore the curriculum as a family, visit www.bornjoy.com/families. 

Madison Lammert covers child care and early education across Wisconsin as a Report for America corps member based at The Appleton Post-Crescent. To contact her, email mlammert@gannett.com or call 920-993-7108. Please consider supporting journalism that informs our democracy with a tax-deductible gift to Report for America.