Shine Bright with Star Breathing! Star Breaths is a fun, calming activity that helps to teach children how to control their breathing pattern buy using touch, combined with a visual aid. Shapes are really useful tools to work on slow inhalation and exhalation, giving children something tangible and grounding that they can focus on.
I’ll Breathe like a star, I’ll take my time. When I breathe like a star, I’ll twinkle and shine.
STar Breaths Rhyme
You can support this activity with the Star Breathing Kit and My Book of Breaths there are also creative and playful Star themed activity ideas a free Star Breathing Poster at the end of the post.
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What helps a Child Shine Bright?
This star breathing activity encourages children to also think about what makes them shine bright like a star. What is it that they are good at or appreciate about themselves? This approach allows children to use the skills of gratitude and think about their unique personal strengths. Which are both skills for building resiliency and self esteem.
Why is building Self Esteem Important for Kids?
Building self-esteem is essential for the healthy mental and emotional development of children. Self-esteem refers to an individual’s belief in their worth and abilities. Children with healthy self-esteem tend to have a positive outlook on life, are confident, and are better equipped to handle life’s challenges.
When kids have a healthy sense of self-esteem, they are more likely to take on new challenges, try new things, and take healthy risks. This willingness to explore and take risks helps children to learn, grow, and develop new skills. Additionally, children with high self-esteem tend to be more resilient and better equipped to handle setbacks, challenges, and failures.
Self-esteem is crucial in the development of a child. It helps them to feel good about themselves and their abilities, which in turn helps them to develop a positive attitude towards life. Here are 3 ways to help build self-esteem in children:
Encourage their strengths: Everyone has unique talents and skills. Encourage your child to explore their interests and passions, and recognize and celebrate their achievements. This helps them to feel valued and appreciated for who they are.
Praise effort, not just results: It’s important to acknowledge and praise your child’s efforts, not just their achievements. This helps them to understand that success is not just about the end result, but also about the journey and the effort put in.
Practice Gratitude: Gratitude is the practice of being thankful for the good things in your life, while self-esteem is the belief in your own worth and value as a person. When you practice gratitude, it can help to boost your self-esteem by reminding you of all the positive things in your life, which can make you feel more confident and capable.
Mindfulness is a powerful tool that can help children develop a positive sense of self and improve their self-esteem.
Encouraging Mindful Breathing teached your child to take deep, slow breaths and focus on the sensation of air moving in and out of their body. This will help them calm their mind and reduce anxiety, allowing them to feel more confident and self-assured.
Ready to Shine Bright with Star Breathing? Let’s go!
“We are going to try an activity called Star Breaths and to do this we will use the shape of a star to practice with. Stars are pretty spectacular, like billions of little fairy lights twinkling in the sky.”
Step 2 – Spark the Imagination:
“Imagine that you are a star, you are shining so brightly. What makes you shine? What’s something about you that you appreciate? What’s something you are good at?”
Step 3 – Show:
Display the poster then use the instructions below to firstly demonstrate the activity to the children. 1) When you begin your Star Breaths, you can start at any point of the star. 2) Start by tracing your finger down one edge of the point and breathe in. 3) Pause when your finger reaches the end of the edge. 4) Then Breathe out as you trace your finger up the other side to the next point. 5) Keep going until you end up where you started.
Step 4 – Lead:
Warm up – Firstly, Lets jiggle our bodies and shoulders.
Get Ready – Now lets sit comfortably and make sure we have space
Go – Lets begin by choosing a place to start on the star, any point is fine. Then gently inhale and trace your finger along one edge of the star. Then trace along the next edge gently breathing out.
Repeat – Repeat these instructions and guide the children through the exercise, then encourage children to try the exercise with out instruction.
Finish – Well done, I saw some really calm stars shining brightly.
Once Children have learnt the technique, move on to the star poster with out instructions and then move on to them tracing the shape in the air.
Practice with children when they are calm, so this coping strategy is readilyavailable during moments of upset or anger.
If distance learning Children could draw their own star with pencil and paper.
Put posters up as visual ques to remind everyone to stop and take a regular deep breath.
Invite children to describe how they felt afterwards? Ask them how it was to use a shape to follow their breath? What other shapes could they use?
You can then follow this breathing activity one of the other creative activities listed at the end of the post or use the colouring pages and activities in the printable kit.
Fun Star Themed Creative Ideas to Extend the Star Breathing Activity:
Incorporating these creative and playful practices into your child’s life can help them develop mindfulness skills that can boost their self-esteem and overall sense of well-being.
Take a jar and ask your child to decorate it. Then using star shaped (I love these) every day add a star to the jar.
You could write things you are grateful for on the stars or strengths, happy moments, anything you like. Come back after a few months and reflect on all the star moments you’ve had!
3 – Play ‘I Am a Shining Star’ Gratitude Game
Practice Gratitude: Encourage your child to reflect on the things they are grateful for in their life. Practicing gratitude can help shift their focus away from negative thoughts and towards positive ones, which can boost their self-esteem.
In this game you use the star to pass around to each child, when the child holds the star they share something that they appreciate about themselves.
‘I am a shining star because…..’.You should start and give an example, so children feel more comfortable.
Each child should have one example they have already thought of. You could go round again getting the children to think of an example of change the sentence to, ‘My friend / Someone who looks after me / teacher is a shining star because…
I hope you shine bright with star breathing. It’s a great way to start a converstaion around self esteem and find ways that you can develop it! I hope you enjoy this activity – I’ve had lots of lovely feedback from teachers. Take care – Emma x
I added this to my calm corner and I’ve used it with clients during individual sessions. Its super helpful!
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