6 fun Halloween mindfulness exercises for kids

When I think of Halloween, I think of fun games and activities, Halloween parties, yummy food, cute pumpkin crafts, adorable costumes, and getting together with neighbourhood friends to have a good laugh together. And while Halloween might be looking a bit different this year for lots of us, most of these things CAN still happen, and it doesn’t have to be any less fun! In fact, with trick or treating cancelled this year in places, this is a perfect opportunity to focus less on treats and more on health, wellness and connection with the people we love!

So today I’m giving you 6 of my favourite Halloween mindfulness exercises for kids. These activities come from my Mindful Little Halloween Activity Book and will help you make Halloween extra special and lots of fun for your little people this year, no matter what it’s going to look like.

And, while these activities are all playful and fun, they also all serve a very important purpose. They help your child learn about emotions and how to manage them, so that ultimately, you can have a calmer Halloween this year (and a calmer home too!).

6 fun Halloween mindfulness exercises for kids:

1. Pumpkin Breathing

What you’ll need:

• A mini pumpkin!

What to do:

Have your child lay down in a comfy spot and support their head if needed. Ask them to place their mini pumpkin on their belly. Now they breathe in slowly through their nose and fill their tummy up with air, focusing on the pumpkin as it rises. Then they breathe out slowly through their mouth, emptying their belly and focusing on the pumpkin as it comes back down. Ask them to continue focusing on the pumpkin as they breathe in for three counts and out for three counts, trying to make the pumpkin move as slowly and smoothly as possible.

2. Halloween Sensory Walk

This twist on a traditional mindful walking activity is lots of fun for kids and grown ups!

What you’ll need:

• A collection of 6-8 shallow tubs or buckets
• A selection of items to fill your tubs.

Some ideas to try: Fake spider web decorations, water beads (eyeballs), cooked spaghetti (zombie brains), dyed or soapy water (witches potion), plastic spiders, jelly or slime (monster goo), raw bowtie pasta dyed black (bats), fluffy slime (pumpkin goop)

What to do:

Line your tubs up on a flat surface (I suggest you do this outside as it gets super messy!). Put a different textured item in each tub. Now have your child walk slowly through the tubs noticing the different textures in each one. Ask them to pay attention to how each item feels on their feet as they walk. Do they sink into it? Does it make a noise when they step in it? Does it go between their toes?

Ask them to describe each item – is it dry, wet, crunchy, slimy, slippery, foamy, soft, scratchy – without using judging words like eww, gross, or yuck!

3. Spooky Halloween Calm Down Jar

Calm Down jars are a fun and easy mindfulness activity as well as an amazing calm down tool to keep in your calm down space. When we get upset, our thoughts get a bit ‘swirly’, just like the glitter in the jar when we shake it. But if we sit quietly and watch the glitter, it will calm down and settle at the bottom. And so will our thoughts!

What you’ll need:

• A jar or plastic bottle with a lid
• Water
• Glitter
• Halloween confetti/craft supplies

What to do:

Fill your jar about 3/4 way to the top with water. Add a few scoops of glitter or glitter glue in your choice of colour. Add your Halloween extras – try Halloween themed confetti, small plastic spiders or googly eyes. Top your jar up with water and if you like, hot glue the lid down so it doesn’t spill!

When your child feels upset, they simply shake the jar and then sit quietly, focusing on the glitter until they feel calmer.

4. Mindful Colouring

Mindful colouring is a great way to help kids learn to focus and concentrate better. It can also help them calm down when they are feeling overwhelmed, worried or frustrated.

What you’ll need:

• Colouring pencils, textas or crayons
• Halloween colouring pages like the ones included in my Mindful Little Halloween Activity Book

What to do:

Mindful colouring is about focusing only on what you are doing in the present moment. Simply enjoying the act of colouring. Ask your child to focus only their colouring and to let go of any thoughts about how “good”. their colouring is. If their mind wanders off and starts thinking about other things, (like what they’ll do when they’re done) just gently bring it back to the colouring. If they’re having trouble focusing on their colouring, try talking to them about what they are doing as they do it, and instruct them to do the same. They can say, “Now I’m colouring this pumpkin with my orange crayon. Now I’m colouring the witches hat black. Now I’m colouring the witches broom. “

5. Mindful Eating

There’s lots of yummy food around at Halloween time (including all those delicious treats you’re kids are going to collect if they are able to go trick or treating!). That means it’s the perfect time for some mindful eating!

What you’ll need:

• A small piece of food from the trick or treating loot. You could use some candy corn, a chocolate bar, a hard or chewy lolly, a lollipop, a small chocolate. Or you could even use some vampire boogers (raisins)!

What to do:

Ask your child to imagine they are a monster from another galaxy. They have never seen human food before, and they’ve definitely never tasted it either! Instruct them to explore the food using all of their senses, slowly and intentionally. How does the food look, what does it smell like, how does it feel, does it make a noise when you unwrap it? And lastly, how does it taste?

Ask your child to eat it their food as slowly as they possibly can! They should notice how it feels in their mouth, how it tastes on their tongue, how it feels when they bite into it, and how it feels when it travels down their throat. Be sure to remind them not to use judgment words like yummy, delicious, or good.

6. Spider Races

This game is lots of fun and great for practicing mindful breathing too!

What you’ll need:

• Straws
• Lightweight plastic spiders

What to do:

Line your spiders up on a flat surface and have the kids grab a straw each. Draw a finish line on a piece of paper or stick some tape on your table. Each child has to blow through the straw and move their spider towards the finish line using only their breath. The first to cross the finish line is the winner!

I hope your kids love these activities as much as mine do! And if you’d like even more fun mindfulness activities to complete with your kids this Halloween, you can check out my Mindful Little Halloween Activity Book here. It includes over 50 pages of fun self regulation activities, that will help improve your child’s focus, calm their minds and bodies, better understand their emotions, and have lots of spooky fun wth you this Halloween!