One of the things I have become interested in is supporting children to develop their mindfulness and become more in tune with their fee...

Golden Sparkles: An Introduction to Mindfulness

Monday, August 27, 2018 BookBairn 8 Comments


One of the things I have become interested in is supporting children to develop their mindfulness and become more in tune with their feelings and emotions. After having children, my "me time" has become very precious so I want to use it wisely and have begun to take a small amount of time during each day to sit and do nothing, to be mindful, to stop and be aware of how I am feeling. Not meditating in any sort of structured sense or using any sort of app or programme but just literally stopping for a few moments a day to do nothing. And I think it's really helping me to be calm. And helping me to take time to understand how I'm feeling and why I might be feeling certain ways. I think as parents (or just simply as humans) we juggle lots of things in our heads and our hearts so it's good to take some time out from that!

And, as I say, doing this has made me more conscious of how I can help my children and my future classes to learn about being mindful. When I read the introductory pages to this new picture book this phrase really struck a chord with me:

"We don't know how mindfulness might change the trajectory of development in children who start practicing it at a young age but the potential is immense."

Wow! The potential is immense. We know from studies that mindfulness techniques are greatly beneficial for youth and adults but what we are yet to discover is how incredible it could be for little ones.

So we are adding to our collection of Mindfulness and Meditation books, with this beautiful title Golden Sparkles: An Introduction to Mindfulness by Catarina R. Peterson and Mateya Arkova. Written in flowing rhyming prose, this book will help prepare children for a journey to discovering their own mindfulness in a way that they can understand. I love the simple analogy of having golden sparkles inside yourself that will help to tune in to how you are feeling. The lyrical story floats along, sharing with children the ways in which they can feel their golden sparkles whilst also celebrating their uniqueness. It shares how children can find their sparkles when they are feeling happy or sad with a simple breath. It helps them feel in control of how they navigate their world.

The illustrations are subtly soft and share children tuning in to their golden sparkles and practicing mindfulness. They show children of all different ages, colours and backgrounds enjoying the benefits of mindfulness in all different places. With a dreamlike quality, alongside the lilting text when read aloud softly, the illustrations transport you to a world of calm and peace. 

The book also has accompanying mindfulness activity suggestions that grown ups and children are encouraged to do together, making the golden sparkles of the story really leap off the page and into your hearts too. But ultimately this book is a beautiful introduction into not being afraid to listen to the feelings inside. And that's an immensely powerful message we can give to our children.

This book is aimed at children aged 5-10 but BookBairn, at only 3, loves listening to the story and enjoys the illustrations so, although she might not quite be able to participate in the activities, she is still absorbing a calm and happy storytime and some of the message will undoubtedly seep through. It's also a lovely calming bedtime story!


Thanks for taking the time to read this, 
Now take five minutes for yourself to find your golden sparkles.
Mummy and BookBairn xx

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Disclaimer: This book was sent to us by the author for review and this blog post was sponsored by the author. You can find the author's webpage here: http://www.catpeterson.co.uk/


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8 comments:

  1. Now this is just gorgeous, I think this would work well in schools!! Thanks for linking up with #readwithme

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    1. It really would be a great one for schools! You are building quite a class library!

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  2. What a great book on a great theme. I must remember to ask BookBairn how her golden sparkles are doing. Mine are still glowing.

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  3. I've heard good things about mindfulness, but never tried it myself. What a great idea to get kids started from a young age.

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    1. I think it's going to be a great way to help cope with resilience and mental health in young people!

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  4. My other half gives himself time for this every evening, but I had never thought about it for children. An interesting book #readwithme

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