Welcome to our January exploration for our “Lift Your Mood, Lift Your Life” project. This month was all about discovering the transformative powers of mindfulness and gratitude. 🌈

Mindfulness and gratitude can be a powerful combination for our students.

😊 Mindfulness promotes inner calm and reduces anxiety

🌼 Gratitude fosters a positive mindset and appreciation for life. 

Together, mindfulness and gratitude are important tools that can help our students navigate challenges with resilience and positivity.

Our Adventures in Mindfulness and Gratitude:

🎤 Guest Speaker - Trina Markusson

Trina Markusson, a mindfulness expert, captivated us with her insights and teachings on stress reduction and mindful living. Through her guidance, we learned to embrace each precious moment and effectively deal with daily stress. Learn about out Trina’s mindfulness book for kids HERE 🌸

✍️ Daily Journaling Practice

Daily journaling was a major part of our adventure this month. At the beginning of the month, self-reflection was difficult, but by the end of the month, these journals became our trusted companions, capturing our experiences and feelings. The teachers were amazed by how quiet and focused the students were when they were writing their journal entries! 🫶

🔗 The Gratitude Chain

We built a beautiful gratitude chain by writing down things we are grateful for on pieces of paper and adding it to our growing chain of gratitude. As the chain grew link by link, we got to see how our collective appreciation formed a beautiful chain of positivity and connection. 💞

🎨 Mandala painting with Ann Chatfield 

Ann Chatfield is the author and illustrator of the book, “Sacred Geometry For the Soul”. Ann led us in a painting project that became a beautiful expression of our creativity, as we learned about mandalas and chakras. 🌈

Experiencing Mindfulness Through Sound:

We love this story that one of our teachers shared about the experience of practicing mindfulness with her students. 💙

One morning, I led a short meditation with students with a focus on listening to sound.  We talked about all things we could hear when we were quiet and simply listened.  

After the exercise, we discussed sounds we hear every day, and in particular sounds that we find soothing or enjoyable.  

One student said they loved the sound when the television was turned off.  The initial click and then the silence afterwards.  She said, "You just are stuck in that silence.  It is so soothing.  You also know it is time to move on with the rest of your day or evening."   

We then spent time reflecting on how to find that moment of peace.  It was a wonderful and powerful experience. ✨

What we learned about Mindfulness and Gratitude this month:

Cultivating Gratitude: 

We learned that practicing gratitude goes far beyond saying a simple "thank you." It's about acknowledging the blessings in our everyday lives, big or small. Journaling became our companion, providing a safe space to reflect on our experiences and feelings. Through our ever-growing gratitude chain, we uncovered a deeper appreciation for the people, moments, and joys that surround us. We discovered that gratitude has the power to shift our perspective, improve our mood, and create a ripple effect of positivity in our lives. 🙏

Finding Stillness Within Through Mindfulness: 

In our fast-paced school days, mindfulness allowed us to pause, redirect our focus, and be fully present in the moment. We learned that Mindfulness is all about paying attention to the present moment without judging ourselves or getting distracted. By practicing mindfulness, we become more aware of our thoughts and feelings, and we can learn to navigate challenges with a positive mindset. 🌼

Try it yourself!

We invite you to take a few moments each day to nurture your own well-being and cultivate mindfulness by trying out these short, guided meditations read by kids:

Stay tuned for more inspiring adventures as we continue our Lift Your Mood, Lift Your Life project!

Until then, we hope our adventures inspire you to embrace gratitude and mindfulness in your own life! 🌈

Check out our other adventures:

• Movement

• Music

• Art

• Nutrition

• Nature

🫶 Thank you to The Saskatoon Community Foundation and Cameco for making the Lift Your Mood Lift Your Life project possible!