Kindergarten Therapeutically Beautiful Mind Lesson Plan (Social Emotional Learning)

Topic:Therapeutically Beautiful Mind

Objectives & Outcomes

• To help little minds become therapeutically beautiful by instilling daily practices of mental wellness such as mindfulness, gratitude, and more.
• To give children tools to deal with daily challenges and stress so they can feel happier and more confident.

Materials

• Handouts with exercises and activities for mindfulness, gratitude, and self-compassion
• Unstructured time for the children to practice their new skills

Overview

• Review the basics of mindfulness, gratitude, and self-compassion.
• Have a discussion about the importance of mental wellness and how it can help us deal with challenges in life.
• Ask the children to think of a time when they felt stressed or overwhelmed, and have them share how they dealt with it.

Direct Instruction

• Introduce the concept of mindfulness, and explain that it means being present and aware of our thoughts, feelings, and surroundings.
• Demonstrate basic mindfulness techniques, such as deep breathing, mindful eating, and mindful walking.
• Explain the importance of gratitude, and have the children brainstorm things they are grateful for.
• Demonstrate how to practice gratitude by saying thank you and thinking about why we are grateful for something.
• Introduce self-compassion, and explain that it means treating ourselves with the same kindness and understanding as we would treat a friend or loved one.
• Have the children brainstorm and create their own self-compassion quotes.

Guided Practice

• Divide the children into small groups and have them practice mindfulness and gratitude exercises together.
• Have the children share their experiences with the class, and discuss how mindfulness and gratitude can help make us feel happier and more balanced.
• Have the children create a gratitude altar, and have them each bring a special object that they are grateful for.
• Have the children share their gratitude objects and why they are grateful for them with the class.

Independent Practice

• Have the children create a mindfulness collage, using pictures and words to represent different mindfulness exercises.
• Have the children work in small groups to create a mindfulness play, where the characters in the play are practicing mindfulness and gratitude.
• Have the children present their projects to the class, and have the class discuss the message of the projects.

Closure

• Review the different mindfulness and gratitude exercises that were learned during the camp.
• Have the children share one thing that they learned during the camp.
• Have the children write down one thing that they will practice during the week to make them more therapeutically beautiful.

Assessment

• Observe the children during the mindfulness and gratitude exercises and take note of their participation and understanding of the concepts.
• Evaluate the children's writing by looking for evidence of understanding and ability to apply the concept in their own lives.