For the Pupils
Performance Stress
It seems that there’s more pressure these days in schools for pupils to perform well so that they can eventually net the perfect career. This inevitably creates anxiety, particularly later down the line, but it begins even before the end-of-primary-school tests. There’s often so much focus on academia and much less on the wellbeing elements such as music, art, sport, and the idea of just rest and down time.
Too many after-school activities
It also appears these days that kids of all ages are constantly rushing from one activity to another after school (and sometimes even before school) and at weekends, with barely a chance to catch their breath. Then, in the absence of such organised entertainment, many spend much time on their screens, which often precludes any social interaction, and can additionally lead to stress engendered by social media. Add to this a potentially heavy homework load in secondary school, and it becomes far too much to cope with.
Kids of all ages need a Pause Button. This is where a regular mindfulness practice comes in.
How mindfulness can help
What are the benefits of mindfulness?
The benefits of a regular mindfulness practice are evidence-based – it can actually change the structure of our brains in a positive way and has been shown to promote greater overall wellbeing, focus, creativity, self-compassion and reduction of stress and anxiety, amongst other benefits.
What is mindfulness?
Mindfulness means paying attention on purpose to what is going on in the present moment, with no judgment. I a nutshell allowing things to be just as they are, including ourselves. Of course, younger children tend to do this automatically, especially when they are engaged in an activity, but the Creative Sparks Programme aims to expand this into cultivating more awareness of their own internal ‘weather patterns’, which show up as physical sensations in their body, to understand that these feelings are OK to experience, and to learn how to work with them and gain a sense of calm and acceptance. Within this space their awareness can allow them to notice that they are becoming overwhelmed, and thus help them to know what to do about it – to pause deliberately, tune into their bodies and find a sense of what they really need in this moment. This can also encourage them to develop compassion and understanding towards themselves - a much-needed skill in today’s fast-paced digital world.
A regular mindfulness practice can help children and indeed adults find creative ways to welcome and work with difficult emotions and thoughts as well as the sometimes challenging social situations they find themselves in.
For children and teens, it’s important to engage them with mindfulness activities that are easy to understand and playful. It’s not just another school subject to endure. We need to make mindfulness activities an adventure, because they learn best through play. Everyone does.
Creative Sparks also incorporates music at its heart.
Music can bring joy! It has also been shown to enhance children’s memory and cognitive skills through the building of new brain connections. Music can increase mental and emotional wellbeing during overwhelm or difficult times.
I use different instruments as well as body movements to understand melody, harmony and rhythm. Engaging in this learning also builds awareness and mindfulness through a different medium, which only cultivates awareness of the body more so that the child can recognise overwhelm and take steps to be kind to themselves and find what they need in that moment.
