Walking With Four-Year-Olds

In this walking meditation, 4-year-olds and their parents or teachers will walk in an indoor or outdoor space. During this time, the children will be prompted to take deep breaths, think about how their bodies feel, and the five senses around them.

Transcript

This is the four year old walking meditation.

Make sure you have an adult with you.

You can choose to talk with your adult throughout the meditation or be silent.

To start,

Stand up and take a few slow deep breaths.

Inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth.

Inhale exhale.

Inhale exhale.

Let's start to walk.

Notice your feet.

How do your feet feel in your shoes?

How do your feet feel touching the ground?

Notice the pattern of heel toe heel toe.

Notice the way your arms are swinging.

Do you feel the muscles in your legs?

Do you find yourself looking down,

Up,

Beside you or straight ahead?

If you feel your mind thinking about something else,

Gently bring your attention back to this moment and this walk.

What do you hear?

What do you see?

What do you smell?

What can you feel?

What can you taste?

Now stop walking.

Tune into your body.

What do you feel when you stop?

What do you hear in your body when you stop?

Put your hand over your heart.

Do you feel or hear your heart beating?

Are your fingers feeling tingly?

Is your mouth feeling dry?

Parents,

When the walk is complete,

Have a discussion with your child.

Ask the child to describe one thing they remember from the walk.

Also,

Ask how they felt before,

During,

And after the walk.

The walking meditation is now complete.

Feel free to continue walking if you are enjoying yourself.