Mindful Kids: 50 Mindfulness Activities for Kindness, Focus, and Calm – Whitney Stewart and Mina Braun, Barefoot Books, (9781782853275), 2017.
Format: Boxed activity cards
Rating: 1-5: (5 is an excellent or a Starred review) 4
Genre: Relaxation exercises
What did you like about the book? Stress among young people today is common. This activity kit is intended to guide children in how to mindfully disperse their stress through practicing fifty different activities. Each activity has its own card. The cards come in five colors, each of which indicates a theme: Start Your Day, Find Calm, Focus, Open Your Heart, Rest & Relax. Most of the activities are standard relaxation exercises. Many begin with the direction to “take three slow, soft, mindful breaths,” and then go on to perform a visioning or stress relieving activity. The cards contain plenty of information, but thanks to skillful layout utilizing color and blank spaces, they are not overwhelming. Illustrations of multicultural children performing the activities further clarify the directions. The card format makes it easy to do the games and meditations with a child or classroom in small chunks of just a few minutes at a time. Cards and directions come stored in a sturdy cardboard box.
Anything you didn’t like about it? No.
To whom would you recommend this book? This product could prove very useful in both a school and home setting. Recommended especially for parents, teachers, and counselors to use with the elementary school children in their lives.
Who should buy this book? Parents, day care centers, elementary school classrooms and counselors.
Where would you shelve it? The format is not conducive to normal shelving and checkout.
Should we (librarians/readers) put this on the top of our “to read” piles? Not necessary.
Reviewer’s Name, Library (or school), City: Mary Melaugh, Marshall Middle School Library, Billerica, MA
Date of review: 10/8/17
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