Build a growth mindset with digger Breaths!Digger Breaths is an mindful, growth mindset activity which combines visualisation, movement and breathing. This fun Breathing Activity can help children to explore how taking a breath can help them to pause when they feel overwhelmed by big feelings.
I’ll scoop my bucket and raise my boom. My digger breath will fill the room!
My Book of Breaths
You can support this activity with the Digger Breaths Printable Kit and My Book of Breaths there are also creative and playful digger themed activity ideas including a free mindful colouring pages at the end of the post.
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What is Growth Mindset?
A growth mindset is a way of thinking that emphasizes the belief that intelligence, abilities, and skills can be developed through hard work, dedication, and perseverance. It is an attitude that encourages kids to embrace challenges, learn from feedback, and view mistakes as opportunities for growth.
Having a growth mindset can be especially beneficial for kids, as it can help them develop a love of learning and a desire to improve. It can also help them develop resilience and cope with setbacks, as they learn to view challenges as opportunities to learn and grow.
How can You Encourage Your Childs Growth Mindset?
How to Teach a Growth Mindset?
Some ways to encourage your childs growth mindset is to include praising effort and persistence, emphasizing the power of “yet” (e.g. “I don’t understand this… yet”), and modeling a growth mindset yourself by being open to learning new things and embracing challenges.
When we take a digger breath, we can learn to stop in our tracks, relax our cabs, dig up a thought and empty our buckets, so we can get back on track.
I created this activity for my little boy, whoo at the time loved diggers! It was a great way to teach him coping skills through play. You could adapt this idea to any of your childs favourite vehicles or machines.
“We are going to try an activity called digger breaths, we’ll be learning how our breath can help us to stop in our tracks so we can get back on track”. Share the digger breaths rhyme.
Spark the Imagination:
“Once there was a digger and his name was Jax. One day Jax came across a big pile of rubble. Jax decided he wanted to get to the very top of the rubble. He tried to roll up the rubble, but he couldn’t. He just rolled back down. He tried again and again. Jax started to feel frustrated, he felt all tense and thought, “I can’t do this” he thought.
He was just about to give up, when he remembered what his friend had told him about taking a digger breath. First you stop in your tracks, relax your cab, dig up the sticky thought you are thinking, breathe and empty out your bucket, with your sticky thought in it. Then you can get back on track.”
Show:
Optional: Display the digger breaths poster, growth mindset posters and then explain the digger breaths activity.
“Before we try together, I’m going to show you how we will take a Digger Breath. Firstly (hold up your arm) your arm will be the diggers boom and you hand will be the bucket (show hand in a scoop shape). As we breathe in we will scoop our buckets and then raise are booms as we breathe out, we’ll empty our buckets and lower our booms. Now let’s all have a go”.
Lead:
Imagine you are a sturdy, strong digger. Feeling steady and connected to the ground. You’ve stopped in your tracks.
Next let’s relax our cabs. Notice any feelings in your body. Any itches? Twitches or twangs? Give your shoulders a shake and stretch your body tall.
Optional – Now if you want to you can think of a sticky thought that’s been stopping you. We can scoop it right up in our bucket when we breathe in and then tip it out to the ground when we breathe out. Give example eg; I can’t, I give up, this is too hard.
Let’s start, choose an arm and then scoop your bucket, raise your boom, breathing in.
As you stretch up your arm slowly, notice how it feels.
Then empty your bucket, slowly breathing out and lowering your boom. Let’s try that again with the other arm.
Well done. Now shake your buckets and then shake your booms! Let’s get back on track!
Reflect:
Invite children to describe how they feel afterwards and ask them what they noticed in their bodies? How did it feel to be a digger? You can then follow this breathing activity with the free colouring page or one of the other creative activities listed at the end of the post.
Fun Digger Themed Creative Ideas to Extend the Racetrack Breathing Activity:
Engaging in creative activities can help children to express their feelings, reduce stress, and build resilience. Here are some ways that creativity can help children manage anxiety:
1 – Make a Mini Building Site
Use a big tub and kinesthetic sand for an extra bit of sensory fun (I love it as it dosen’t dry out!). Add in the sand, some rocks and digger toys.
Practice making tracks in the sand and using the digger toys to practice Digger Breaths. You could even role play working through a sticky thought and perservering thought a difficult challenge! Check out this set it’s amazing!
2 – Giant Track Tape
Use racetrack / road tape to create a giant track on your floor. Kids can then actually walk around the track pretending to be a digger and practice their breathing.
3 – Digger Coloring
Print off my free growth mind set Colouring Page, grab some colouring pencils and set up a colouring station for your child.
This growth mindset Digger breathing activity can be a helpful tool for kids who struggle with a growth midset. It’s a great way to use play to introduce calming relaxation skills to children in a fun way. My boy loved it, hope you enjoy trying it out too! Take care – Emma x
