Next week, our ethos theme is: ‘We know how to keep calm and deal with difficult situations.’ Following The Happiness Project, we asked the children what they had enjoyed most about the activities and workshops during the week. One session which received overwhelmingly positive feedback was the yoga and mindfulness workshop and the children acknowledged how calm and relaxed this session made them feel. Focussing on being quiet, noticing physical sensations and breathing steadily is really beneficial for children when they face difficult or stressful situations. In these situations, we tend to lose control of our breathing (and consequently our heart starts racing) and this triggers the rational part of the brain to switch off as we engage in our ‘fight or flight’ mode and we start to panic. By concentrating for a few moments on our breathing, the frontal lobe of our brain is reactivated and we can begin to reason with, and make decisions about, whatever challenges we are facing. This weblink provides five simple breathing activities you could try as a family at home this weekend. You can also find online guided meditation scripts to use with children and these provide a structured approach to finding moments of calm in a busy day – great for bedtimes!