Although originally written with springtime in mind, the script below can be used for a mindful walk with kids at any time of the year both for fun and as an opportunity for little ones (and perhaps not so little ones, for that matter!) to practice both observation and mindfulness skills. Our gratitude to the good folks at MoveMindfully – where this originally posted – for letting us share it with you here.
Taking a Mindful Walk means we are going to use our eyes, our ears and our whole body to notice things we see, hear and feel as we go on a walk. We can do this anywhere, but today we are going to take our walk (in the woods, on the sidewalk, in the hallway, etc.).
During our Mindful Walk, we want to stay as quiet as possible so that we can really pay attention to what we can see, to what we can hear, and to what we can feel around us. Let’s do our best to keep quiet as we walk. This will help us really pay attention to everything around us. I will ask a few questions to help us notice things around us as we walk mindfully.
If we walk too fast, we might miss something on our walk, so let’s walk slowly. You can stop and look at things as we walk; we just need to make sure we stay together. Let’s start walking.
What can you see?
Taking nice slow steps, look around you. What can you see in front of you?
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[Pause for 30 seconds or so.] What can you see next to you? [Pause for 30 seconds or so.] What do you see above you? (pause for 30 seconds or so). What do you see below you? [Pause for 30 seconds or so.]
What can you hear?
Still walking slowly, notice the sounds that you hear that are close by. [Pause for 30 seconds or so.] Now notice sounds that are farther away. [Pause for 30 seconds or so.] When we are walking, what sounds do we make? [Pause for 30 seconds or so.]
What can you feel?
As we continue to walk slowly, notice what you can feel. What can you feel on your skin? [Pause for 30 seconds or so.] What can you feel under your feet? [Pause for 30 seconds or so.] What else can you feel? [Pause for 30 seconds or so.]
Now let’s just stop and be still – stand, sit or lie down. [Pause for 30 seconds or so.] How do you feel after taking a break just to be still?
What was your favorite thing that you saw on our Mindful Walk?
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What was your favorite thing that you heard? What surprised you? Now, let’s draw or write together about our Mindful Walk.
Download MoveMindfully’s Free Resources to find playful movement cards – like Butterfly! – that you can incorporate into your outdoor time.
Have you tried mindful walking with children? What’s worked well? Leave a comment!
