Background information

This activity uses mindful breathing techniques to teach children how to shift emotional states. This is a practice that can be used to settle children, as well as foster calm and focused attention. These practices can be incorporated into everyday life as a way to lessen anxiety and relieve stress among children, educators, and families.

Find out more about the importance of breathing exercises for our health here: The Benefits Of Breathing Exercises.

This activity has been developed in partnership with Beata Heymann from Breath Circle. You can find out more about Beata and arrange for her to come to your centre by registering here.

In this activity, you will be sharing a clip with children. The clip is a guided breathing exercise, where children will be asked to follow the instructions and actions presented in the clip. If you can, go through the breathing exercise yourself before sharing it with your children. That way you will know what is expected of them, and be able to support them through the activities.

Part A: Discussion

Step 1.

Gather the children together in an open space (preferably indoors).

If you have an activity that you use with children to focus their attention (such as three claps, a song, or a poem), you could do this now.

Once you have their attention, you can explain that they are now going to explore the fire. They will do this by sharing what they already know about fire, and then they will participate in an activity where they get to be fire!

Step 2.

Invite the children to lay on the floor and close their eyes. Explain that they will need to do some careful listening. Play the following clip for them and invite them to listen (you could turn the screen away or darken the screen so they aren’t distracted):

Realtime Fireplace - Relaxing Fire Burning Video (www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ux8xAuQBdkk)

More fire sounds can be found on Spotify and other online platforms.

Step 3.

Once you are satisfied with their listening, invite children to share what they heard. The following I wonder statements could be used to elicit responses:

I wonder what you could hear.
I wonder what these sounds made you think about. I wonder what you imagined in your head. Can you describe what you saw in your head with words or with a drawing?
I wonder what words we could use to describe how a fire looks (eg red, orange, yellow, black, hot, flickering, dancing, sparks, or smoke).
I wonder what words we could use to describe the sounds we heard (eg crackling, hissing, whispering, sizzling, or sputtering).
I wonder what words we could use to describe how a fire smells (eg sharp, woody, or smoky).
I wonder what fire might feel like?
.

Oral language development - Strong oral language skills help children to communicate effectively and become successful learners. Oral language interventions emphasise the importance of spoken language and verbal interaction, explicitly extending children's spoken vocabulary through purposeful dialogue and interaction. Oral language interventions aim to support learners' articulation of ideas and spoken expression. Find out more here and here.

Step 4.

Pose the following I wonder statement:

I wonder how the sounds of the fire made you feel. Note: Be aware of children who might have experienced bushfires personally or within their communities. In these cases try to steer the conversation towards the small fires we enjoy indoors, such as candles on a birthday cake, a fire in a fireplace or wood heater, or an outdoor fire pit or campfire.

The aim is to connect the children’s experiences of fire to their bodies and their emotions. This can help children recognise and communicate their feelings and emotions, and support them in working towards social and emotional regulation.

Part B: Breathing activity

Step 1.

Explain to children that the next video will help them connect to the idea of fire and give them energy.

Throughout this clip, children will need to move their bodies gently, focus on their breath, and listen to the instructions.

Share the following clip with your children:

Breath Circle - Fire (with captions) (https://vimeo.com/677552490)

Step 2.

Talk with the children about their experience of the breathing activity:

I wonder what you liked about this activity.
I wonder if you feel different in your body now.
I wonder if you feel different in your mind.
I wonder if you would like to do this again.

Part C: Possible lines of development

Children may have developed their own ideas about how to extend upon the themes presented in this activity. If not, choose one of the following ideas to explore with them:

Make a (pretend) campfire! Work with children to make a pretend campfire outside by creating a circle of bricks or rock, adding kindling, and ‘lighting’ the fire by adding strips of coloured tissue paper, fabric, or cellophane. Sit around your fire and tell some stories.
Have a birthday party! Make a playdough birthday cake and add some candles. Practice singing happy birthday to each other or some of the children's favourite toys.
Play firefighters! Dress up in costumes, nominate a part of the play equipment as the fire engine, grab some hoses (eg pool noodles) and work together to fight a fire. You might even have a parent at your centre who is a firefighter—they could pay a visit.
Talk to children about being safe around fire.
Use the breathing exercise throughout the day to lift energy levels. This activity could be useful for transition moments in your centre, such as before and after mealtimes, story times, or nap times. If you need a shorter exercise, try taking just three or five breaths.
Spend some time exploring the Zones of Emotional Regulation Chart with children. Social and emotional learning strategies seek to equip children with knowledge and skills that positively impact their ability to manage emotions and behaviours, as well as improve their interactions with peers, parents, or other adults. The chart can help children visualise their feelings and build their emotional vocabulary, shifting them away from rote responses like 'good', to more nuanced responses like 'curious', 'excited', or 'worried'. Find out more here.

Want more breathing activities? You can find some more here, or register to see if Beata can visit your centre in person.

Breath Circle - Fire (home learning)

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