‘Tis the season for giving thanks and practicing gratitude. The word gratitude can be such a big concept for children, so I’m here to simplify it for you to make it fun and kid-friendly. Here are four simple activities to practice gratitude with your little ones this holiday season (or any time of year)!

4 Ways to Teach Gratitude to Children

1. 5 Finger Maple Breathing
2. Grateful Maple Exercise
3. Gratitude Bell Pass
4. Gratitude Jar

5 Finger Maple Breathing:

Hold up your hands like two maple leaves! Using your opposite pointer finger, trace up each finger as you breathe in, and breathe out as your trace down. Think about what you’re grateful for/what makes you happy as you breathe together.

Grateful Maple Exercise:

This one comes straight from my “Mindful & Magical Me” Kids Inspiration Deck. Trace your hand on a piece of paper to create your own maple leaf! On each of the five lobes (your fingers), write down something or someone you’re grateful for. You can write for them if need be, or even have them draw pictures instead!

Gratitude Bell Pass:

This one is great for a group of kids such as in school … Read More!

We take turns putting the kids to bed, and even on the nights my husband puts our daughter to bed she 99% of the time calls me back up for one more snuggle.

I cuddle up with her, and we usually do some simple repeat-after-me bedtime affirmations to help calm her body and busy mind. After we finished them last night, my little one told me she came up with some of her own.

“Do you want to hear?” she enthusiastically asked. And then she proudly exclaimed:

“I am love-full.”

“I am sweet”

“I am beautiful.”

“I am Isabella.”

“Were those good affirmations, mommy?” she asked. Yes, yes they were sweetie.

Hearing this made my mama heart so full. And if you have little ones, you can practice simple bedtime affirmations too!

In fact, my new Mindfulness Deck for Kids, coming out this spring, includes several affirmation exercises I use with my own kiddos and in my kids yoga classes — including a go-to bedtime affirmation.

Get on the wait list for my Kids Mindfulness Deck here!

P.S. Here are some other ways to bring more mindfulness into your kids bedtime routine!… Read More!

I’m beaming as I just taught a “Gingerbread Man” themed yoga class to 13 preschoolers this afternoon. And let me tell you — it was quite the adventure!

• We practiced belly breathing while sipping “hot chocolate” followed by a “Hot Chocolate” Polar Express dance party to explore Mountain
• We warmed up by sneaking past the gingerbread animals to escape the house!
• Then we ventured off for a magical sleigh ride adventure through the park at night (where we spotted some horse, a tree with twinkly lights, stars in the sky, and more)
• To end the class, we shook our worries out then rocked our beanie animal friends to sleep once we got back to the gingerbread house (for the sweetest savasana).

That moment witnessing 13 little ones laying still cuddled up with their animal friends made my heart so very full.

Here’s your reminder to embrace your inner child this weekend, BREATHE and have fun! … Read More!