🌬️ Breathing & Mindfulness Activities
EYFS + KS1 · 8 Breathing Exercises · 3 Mindfulness Activities
Why Breathing Matters
When children are stressed or overwhelmed, slow, intentional breathing activates the body's calming response. Teaching children to breathe deliberately gives them a portable, always-available tool to regulate their emotions.
8 Breathing Exercises
Click any exercise to see the full teacher script:
3 Mindfulness Activities
🖐️ 5-4-3-2-1 Grounding
Helps children anchor to the present moment — ideal when they feel anxious or scattered.
Teacher Script:
"Let's play a spotting game. Look around and find..."
- 👀 5 things you can see
- 👂 4 things you can hear
- 🤚 3 things you can touch
- 👃 2 things you can smell
- 👅 1 thing you can taste
🌳 Tree Body Scan
A 5-minute guided relaxation. Read slowly with pauses.
"Close your eyes and imagine you are a strong, beautiful tree... Your roots go deep into the ground — feel your feet heavy on the floor... Your trunk is tall and steady — feel your back straight... Your branches are the arms reaching gently out... A soft breeze moves through your leaves — breathe in... breathe out... You are grounded. You are calm. You are safe."
✏️ Mindful Drawing
A quiet, focused creative activity that builds mindful awareness.
"We're going to draw very slowly and notice every mark we make."
Give each child a plain piece of paper. Play gentle instrumental music. Ask them to draw one thing they love, very slowly, noticing every detail — the colours, the shapes, the feeling of the pencil.
Afterwards: "How did it feel to draw slowly? What did you notice?"
Progress Tracking Sheet
Use this weekly to track which exercises children are using:
| Child's Name | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Child 1 | ||||||
| Child 2 | ||||||
| Child 3 | ||||||
| Child 4 | ||||||
| Child 5 |
- Practice breathing exercises at routine times — after lunch, before tests, at the start of the day.
- Never force a child to participate — allow them to observe until they feel comfortable.
- Some children may giggle at first — this is normal. Continue calmly and it will settle.
- Consider using a special "breathing bell" or chime to signal the start of breathing time.