This past week has been challenging. We had steady rain for three days (for which I am grateful considering California’s recent drought); however, the backyard was a complete mud hole! Our preschoolers were not able to play outdoors for most of the week. What do you do with antsy preschoolers who have a lot of pent-up energy? Lots of play dough, creative movement activities, indoor gymnasium, and after all of that? The Silence Game. Dr. Maria Montessori taught the Silence Game as a segue to mindfulness, concentration, and focus – all major contributors to the normal psychological, cognitive, emotional, and spiritual development in a child. The Silence Game begins as an exercise for each child to quiet themselves as much as they can and to begin listening to all of the things that they can hear around them in their environment. Once that has been practiced for awhile, the children can practice slowly breathing in and out and listen to the sound of their breath as they inhale and exhale. The slower and deeper they breathe, the calmer they will feel. When children become a little older, around 6 or 7 years of age, they can “listen” to their thoughts and think about their thoughts. This is a good time to introduce wise thoughts for children to meditate on. Mindfulness, or meditation, is very healthy for both children and adults. It has been practiced for centuries. Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, practiced meditating on the Word of God and instructed all of His followers to do the same. Try practicing it as a family. Try practicing it as a class. You might just find a brilliant silver lining enveloping those rain clouds!
Until next week,
Lorraine
