Mindful in March Pt.1

Welcome to the Mindful in March challenge! 

First thing first - What is the Mindful in March challenge?

The idea behind this is to help guide families and educators on how to teach their children to practice mindfulness. How to tune in to themselves in the moment and explore their senses, emotions, gratitude, surroundings...the beautiful details of life that often fade as children grow to a fast-paced world that forgets how to just be and find that inner peace. Through teaching children to practice mindfulness, they can harness techniques that work for them and carry these through their development. Not only is this challenge designed to slow down and have fun with it but it’s also a wonderful opportunity for families to harbour positive experiences together and hopefully find a few techniques they can regularly use after the challenge has been completed.

You will notice that with some activities, I have included questions. This is to help get you into the habit of connecting with your child in the activities by exploring the way their mind and heart sees and feels about them. Doing them with intent, gratitude for each other and the moment shared within creating and playing. See the activities you do together as more than just 'things' and peer deeper into how easy it can be to live mindfully and embrace a path of happiness in slowing down and connecting. Living mindfully can rewire your brain to invite a deeper understanding of the world around you as well as yourself.

There will be a prompt for each day in March. You are encouraged to participate in as many as you can. But don't feel pressured at all and don’t worry! If you feel stuck, you will be able to refer to this post. I will be supplying you with a guide of activities for each prompt, which you are welcome to reference at any point or come up with your own. I can’t wait to see!

You don't need to complete every prompt, I want to keep this fun for everyone, not stressful. So here are some tips to help you if you want to participate in as many as possible - stress-free.

• Complete prompts in advance - If you have a day where you know you won't be able to complete a prompt or you're having a great day fitting in activities and want to squeeze in more than one then I encourage doing them in advance. You can save your record of it aside and post it on the appropriate prompt day.
• Submit late but not after March - I understand things pop up in life whether it be events, travels, illness or just not feeling it. You are completely welcome to do catch-ups and post your prompts late. The deadline, however, will be the last day of March so I can draw the giveaway on the 2nd April at noon AEST.
• Don't over-think it - Although I will supply you with a range of activities, finding what suits you could also be something as simple as ie. Flowers - going into a garden, focusing on the space where you are and taking in the flowers, any pollinators, colours, fragrances etc.  
• Embrace mess - If you do an activity that results in dirt, mud, rice, paint etc everywhere and all over your child - DON'T STRESS. Obviously you don't want your house and belongings coated in it but as far as a small general mess goes, embrace it. I know the mess subject can be a huge trigger for some people and some with often avoid particular activities because they fear the mess however what you need to weigh in on this is... Is this easy to clean up? Is this my child exporing and experimenting - learning? Is the memory and joy my child is holding in doing this worth more than the clean up? Is it really a big deal? Learning to let go of these triggers will help build a better connection with your child and help you develop an understanding of how much they benefit from some mess.

Ready for the icing on the cake?

Not only is there a prompt for each day AND a guide of activities BUT, I have also teamed up with an amazing group of small businesses to reward all your efforts with a wonderful Mindfulness giveaway for both Adult & Child. 

The catch is, you can only gain entries to the giveaway through participation. For each prompt you complete, you will gain an entry into the giveaway.

The giveaway is open worldwide! HOWEVER international entries (outside Australia) please check your country's regulations with importing wood products to avoid customs issues. 

It is in no way endorsed or sponsored by Instagram.

Make sure you are following @deerandfawns and hashtag your entries with #mindfulinmarch
Keep in mind that if they aren't public, I will not be able to see them.

Please give our contributors a follow as well and check out their amazing stores and resources.
@growing.kind
@_helloluna
@invitationtoplay
@wild_mountain_child
@beadiebugplay
@arkandluna
@mothernatured




The Prize
This gorgeous prize pack is full of goodies for you and your little one/s.
It includes:

• Rainbow Warriors and the Golden Bow (a beautiful storybook from @arkandluna)
• Australian Flora wooden playdough stamper set (handcrafted by @beadiebugplay)
• Gofindit  (a natural treasure hunt card game from @invitationtoplay)
• Mindful Mumma Prompts (a gorgeous card deck by @growing.kind)
• Mini Market basket in natural (a stunning basket from @_helloluna)
• Handcrafted sorting bowl set, branch spoon and rain scoop (amazing pieces from @wild_mountain_child)
• Nature Yoga cards pack (created by @mothernatured)
• Count Your Rainbows - A gratitude journal.
• Dried flowers set - roses, chamomile and lavender.
• Mini bottle of gemstone gravel.
• 2x Tumbled moonstone
• 2x Clear quartz points
• Selenite wand
• 3x Palo santo sticks
• 2x Affirmation stones

Onto the guide!
The guide will be released in 2 parts.

Keep in mind you do not have to do these activities, they are simply there to guide and inspire you. Some activities are even applicable to multiple prompts. If you have a wonderful idea for a prompt, I encourage you to follow in that direction. Let your creativity flow!

I have tried to keep the guide nature-based and sustainable. 

Don’t be shy to join in the activities together with your child. 😊

If you do one of the activities I’ve sourced from others, please tag them on your creations also so that they can see your beautiful work and spread that love. Thank you!

1. Flowers

• Invitation to investigate flowers - Explore their anatomy and textures. Having different varieties of flowers work best. Discuss and compare colours, petals, sizes, leaves, and shapes. Which flowers is your child drawn to, what is it about them that they like? Ask your child to close their eyes and smell the flowers. Which flower’s fragrance do they prefer? When you’re done, you can dry the petals out for nature glitter or other projects. 

• Fairy pond or soup - Provide flowers (dried and/or fresh), leaves, gemstones, glass stones or pebbles and cups of water. With an empty shallow bowl or tray, let your child add the materials supplied to create their own fairy pond. If you have little fairies they can play with in it at the end - even better! What is their favourite part of their fairy pond? After a little while, ask them if they would like to close their eyes and smell how the flowers gave the waters of their fairy pond a magical fragrance. What do they think of the smell? If you’d prefer the fairy soup simply let them create in a bowl or tub instead. You can colour the water to add a special touch! 

• Flower crowns - Whether you’re making a daisy chain or a fuller flower crown, this is an excellent craft for focus on design and technique. Does your child like to make a pattern or have their crown more spontaneous? How many flowers did they use to complete their crown?
  How does their flower crown make them feel while wearing it?

• Flower printing - Gather some flowers and spread them face down on some calico (washed) or other material of your choice. Get your child to arrange their flowers and use masking tape to hold the flowers down and hammer over them on a hard surface such as pavement outside. Remove the masking tape and flowers to reveal beautiful colourful prints left on the material. You can create a wall hanging or frame your creation. 

2. Balance

• Rock balancing -  A wonderful activity. It requires focus while also exploring shapes and sizes. Ask your child if they can count how many rocks they have balanced. If they fall, do not worry encourage trying a different order or different rocks. “Challenges help me grow”. If you want to bring a little magic into this activity you can try adding flat polished crystals into the mix.
• DIY balance beam - create your own balance beam with some bricks and a pallet plank. How does your child feel when they are balancing? What game can they make with it, are they are pirate, a circus performer, a superhero? 
•  Balance Toy Play - If you have a wobble board or similar, Grimms stackers/rainbows or similar -  These resources are great tools for balance. Find a lovely spot outside to create your balance with them. 

3. Food

• Smoothie Bowl (mindful eating) - Create a smoothie bowl together and add toppings that range in textures, fragrances and flavours. I find this perfect for a mindful eating activity as you slowly explore your bowl tuning into your senses. You can use both fruits and vegetables in smoothie bowls - if you would like a thick smoothie bowl, have some of your smoothie mix ingredients frozen first. The creating process can bring in just as much mindfulness as the eating. There are loads of wonderful recipes on Pinterest. If you'd prefer an alternative to a smoothie bowl, a creative salad would work as well.
• Creating a Favourite Recipe - What is a meal/snack or baked good that your child loves? Invite them to create this with you. What ingredients does it require? Explore the textures and fragrances. 

• Garden Sensory - Do you have any fruit or vegetable plants in your garden? What a wonderful place to learn about how fresh produce is grown. Ask your child to close their eyes and take in the smells, what stands out? Which plants are they drawn to, what do they like about them? Explore the textures on the plants.
  
  Another great idea that we do is go to various orchards to pick fruit which can also be a great setting for this activity.
• Picnic - Pack a picnic together and find a special location and enjoy some time connecting with each other and your surroundings while you enjoy some lovely food. What can they see? What can they hear? When you finish the picnic have an explore around and find some nature treasures.

4. Shadow

• Shadow Tracing - Grab some paper, a pencil or crayon - whatever you’d like to use! Go outside and allow your child to find some shadows that they feel drawn to. Lay the paper down (leaning on a board), so the shadows are on it and get your child to trace the outlines of the shadows. They could even use a different colour for each shadow and collage them on the paper. What is the result of their page once they are done? 
• Shadow Storytelling - make a DIY shadow screen or simply use a light and a wall. You can make your own cardboard shadow puppets, use your hands or objects to create your own shadow story. 
• Shadow movement - Go outdoors and find a spot with your child to explore their shadow. Let them move and watch as their shadow copies. What can they make their shadow do? Would they like to dance with their shadow, pretend to be an animal with their shadow?

5. Art

• Mindful painting/drawing - Create a painting/drawing without any plan. Put some music on that makes you and your child feel good and let your feelings in those moments while listening to that music, direct your paintbrush/pencils. What is the result? Ask your child to tell you about their artwork.
• Nature Paintbrushes - Gather a variety of different textured leaves or flowers if you'd wish. Tie each one to a stick (your brush handle) with some string and offer them with some paint and paper for your child to see the surprising patterns and marks they make on their paper. Keep an eye on some nature they don't even need to be attached to a stick such as bottlebrush.

• Rain Painting - Collaborate with nature to create an artwork. Use a canvas, a large piece of paper or some watercolour paper. Get your child to put some liquid watercolour around their canvas/paper. They might like to spot it on, they might like to paint stripes of it on etc Once they have finished adding their colours, put it outside in the rain and watch as the colours start to expand, move around and blend. After a little while, remove it from the rain (trying to keep it flat) and allow it to dry completely before lifting it upright. 

6. Gratitude

• Gratitude Tree - Collect leaves and a small branch. Press the leaves and remove any remaining from the branch. Put the branch in a vase or pot with rocks to hold it in place. Write what you are grateful for on the leaves and glue them on your tree. If you wish to seal your leaves you can coat them in mod podge after pressing, before writing on them. 

• Gratitude Jar - Reuse an old glass jar. Decorate the outside with paint, dried flowers, eco glitter, burlap, rope - whatever you'd like! This jar is your special place to write down and store your family gratitudes. A lot of people love to read out at the end of the year, all the things they were grateful for during. What is the first thing your child feels grateful for to add into the jar?
• Notes of Gratitude - Paint some paper in beautiful watercolours. Cut them into cards of any shape you'd like. Get your child to think of someone special in their life and write down or tell you (assisting in writing if needed) what they are grateful for about that person. These are a beautiful personalised version of kindness cards!
• DIY Boxes of Gratitude - This nature game is based off an old paper game. It’s beautiful, easy to make and a great way to express gratitude together. Follow the tutorial on my blog to create your own.
  
  https://deerandfawns.blogspot.com/2018/10/diy-boxes-of-gratitude-nature-game.html

7. Yoga

• Outdoor Yoga - Find a location outdoors that makes you feel good and do some yoga. What about this location draws you in? 
• Yoga Storytime - There are some amazing yoga storybooks to engage children. 
• Guided Yoga - Cosmic Kids Yoga is a great channel for children to follow along. 

8. Affirmation

• DIY Affirmation cards - See my post on how to create your own unique and personalised affirmation cards! What is your child drawn to in their affirmations?
  https://deerandfawns.blogspot.com/2018/12/diy-affirmation-cards.html

• Share your affirmations - do you already have an affirmation deck? Share your current affirmation! 
• Chalk & nature - write an affirmation on the ground with chalk and decorate around it with nature.

9. Sun

• Window light catcher - Draw a sun on a sheet of white card. Cut out a circle in the center and about a 1cm ring out of it so the circle is able to dangle within the center of the sun. Now cut out the center of the circle allowing a 1cm outline and extra at the top to dangle. Get your child to paint in the sun pieces. Cut up tissue paper in warm colours and glue them overlapping around the center circle. Put a hole at the top of the center circle and just above within the sun and attach with string. Find a window in your house to hang it from and bring some warmth into your home. You can attach it with some double-sided tape of tack.
• DIY Sundial - Use a wood slice, a plate, a tray - any flat surface you'd like. Attach a stick to the center (you could use playdough or glue etc) or hammer in a long nail and add rocks or mini wood slices around with numbers or roman numerals. Find a place to set it up and explore with your child how cultures have used sundials to measure time. Show them through the day how the dial changes. This makes a great backyard resource.
• Sun Prints - Gather some natural objects such as beautifully shaped leaves to create your prints. You can use a sun print kit or create sun prints with natural material and fabric paint. Soak your material and paint with watered fabric paint, place your objects on top and allow to dry in the sun. Once dry, remove the objects and you should be left with their prints.

10. Crystals

• Crystal Wands - Collect some sticks and crystal points. Attach the points to the top of the sticks by either wire wrapping or wrapping and gluing with cord. Decorate with beads, feathers, ribbons or other crystals - whatever you’d like! What materials and colours are your child drawn to for their wand? Get them to hold their crystal before attaching it. What magic do they think their crystal will give their wand?
• Crystal Tic Tac Toe - Repurpose a small drawstring bag or make one if you don’t have one. Get your child to pick or mix their own paint shade and paint the tic tac toe grid on the bag (you can pop in a piece of cardboard before you paint if worried about it going through). Get two different lots of tumbled gemstones for your game pieces. Let your child pick the crystals that they are drawn to. When not being played, the crystals can be stored inside your drawstring game bag.
• Invitation to Explore Crystals - Set up an invitation to explore crystals with a magnifying glass and a variety of crystals in textures, shapes, colours and formations. This can be a peaceful sensory experience. What does your child notice about the different crystals? What are they drawn to the most?

11. Mandala

• Nature mandala - Create a mandala with your favourite nature finds! This is a great activity to explore patterns. You could go outdoors and create a mandala with whatever is around on the ground. Leaves, sticks, rocks.  Seasonal mandalas, crystal or shell mandalas. If you live near a beach, you could create one in the sand and decorate with what you can find.
• Chalk mandalas - Using sidewalk chalk create some beautiful mandalas on the ground together. What colours is your child drawn to? If there a particular pattern they like to repeat?
• Mandala Painting - Paint some mandalas on rocks and seal them. These can make beautiful decorations for your garden or you can gift them to loved ones for their garden. Let your child choose or mix colours.

12. Scavenger Hunt 

• Egg Carton Colour Hunt - Get a clean and empty egg carton. Paint each section a different colour. Go outdoors and see what you can find to match the colours. 
• DIY Scavenger list - Create your own scavenger hunt list with a clipboard. Take your child out to see if they can find them all. Depending on your location, think common animals, seed pods or flowers, waterways etc
• Rock Hunt - Paint some rocks. Could be colours, patterns, any theme you'd like and seal them. Hide them around for your child to hunt. Involve your child in painting the rocks if you'd like for extra fun. 

13. Music 

• DIY musical instrument - Find some natural or other materials that can be reused to create some musical instruments. Some ideas - Bamboo xylophone, paper plate tambourine, bottlecap shakers, cardboard tube rainsticks, jingle bell sticks, spin drums.
• Nature sounds - Find an area outside and ask your child if they can close their eyes and listen. What can they hear? Go through some music of different sounds such as waterfalls, rain, birds. How do these sounds make your child feel? What is their favourite? You can turn this into a movement game. Roll around on the ground pretending to be the water flowing over the rocks in a creek. Tip toe around pretending to be the rain falling. Walk around letting your arms gracefully glide up and down, pretending to be a bird.
• DIY Music Wall - Using pallets, attach a range of objects that will make different sounds. Involve your child in the process of choosing objects. Thrift stores are a great option to find some musical treasures. Metal kitchenware, bamboo, pipes. Perhaps you have some old or broken objects around the house that could be used? Find a place in your backyard to put your music wall, it doesn't need to be a large set up. This will be a great resource for your child to mindfully explore sounds as they create their own music. See Pinterest for a wide range of inspiration. 

14. Cloud

• Cloud watching - Grab a blanket and find a nice spot to lay and watch the clouds. What can you see in the clouds? Animals, shapes, objects? Explore if one cloud could look like multiple things. What sounds can be heard while you watch the clouds? Any fragrances in the air? At the end of the activity, ask your child what their favourite thing was that they saw in the clouds. 
• Cloud Dough - Make some lavender cloud dough and set up an invitation to play. You could add crystals and flowers - whatever you’d like. Lavender is calming and this cloud dough is a wonderful sensory experience. Ask your child if they can close their eyes and smell the beautiful fragrance. How does it make them feel? This activity is by @grays_at_play you can find the recipe for the lavender cloud dough in Jessie’s ‘Dough Activities’ highlights.
  
  Cloud dough photo by @grays_at_play

• Make your own Cloud - Get a tall glass jar, pour in 1/2cup hot water. Put the lid on top upside down and get your child to put a handful of ice on top. Allow to sit for a moment then lift the lid off and spray some hairspray in the jar, quickly return the lid with the ice on top. Watch as the condensation forms a cloud as the vapor grips to the hairspray. When your child is ready get them to remove the lid to set their cloud free. 

15. Bubble

• DIY bubble wand - Create your own bubble wand with wire and beads or a stick and wire. What shape would your child like the wand tip to be? A circle, heart, square, oval etc? Find a magical spot outdoors to blow bubbles with your homemade wands. 
• Bubble Painting - Add some liquid watercolour to the bottom of a bowl or container. Add a couple inches of water and a little dishwash liquid, give it a light mix. Place a sheet of paper over the bowl/container and blow the mixture slowly (so as to not splatter water on the paper) and the colourful bubbles will rise to the top and pop against the paper leaving a beautiful print.

• Bubble Submarine Volcano - Fill a tall glass jar with cold water and vinegar. Fill a smaller glass jar with hot water (your child's desired colour) and bi carb soda (baking soda). Lower the smaller glass into the cold water and watch the volcano erupt.