Whole School Assembly on Mindfulness PowerPoint

How can this Mindfulness Assembly PowerPoint help my pupils?

This is a lovely learning material for you to teach children about mindfulness, a wonderful way of calming the mind! Through giving a lesson about mindfulness, children will be able to notice if they are concerned too much about moments in the past or future. The result of this can have negative effects on the present. 

The PowerPoint uses examples that adults often say to deal with these situations. These are “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it”, which suggests that it’s best not to worry about the possibility of this occurring until it happens. “That’s all water under the bridge” is also referenced as a way of moving on from experiences, and not overthinking about them. 

For some more resources about mindfulness, you can take a look at our Mindful Me: Focus Breathing for a Calm Classroom PowerPoint which would be excellent to use if you are noticing your pupils are becoming agitated. There is also the Mindfulness Breathing Activity Pack.

What is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness is a technique that is becoming increasingly more popular to combat negative emotions. Often in our lives, we can be stressed about the future, or concerned about actions of the past. This causes us to be distracted from what is happening in the present moment. 

By using mindfulness, you focus on the here and now. You pay attention to what you hear, see and feel to stop you from being preoccupied with what might happen, or what has previously occurred. 

Although it is only recently becoming commonly understood in the UK, mindfulness has existed for a long time in many traditions. It is particularly used with Buddhist beliefs to clear your thoughts. Our Mindfulness Assembly PowerPoint uses the analogy of a mind being like a shaken up snow-globe where lots of thoughts are in motion, which makes things less clear. Mindfulness helps the mind to become more ‘still’ and soak up the present moment without thinking heavily about events that have already passed, or may happen in the future. 

What are ways to be mindful?

Here are some top tips to practise mindfulness that you can tell your pupils about during your Mindfulness Assembly:

• Pay attention to your breathing, take slow deep breaths and count them.
• Touch an object nearby you and focus on it.
• Look around and notice what you see and hear.
• Meditate to slow down your thoughts, breathing and heart rate.
• Go for a walk and make sure you feel each step.