Take a big jar, fill it with water almost to the top.

Then, add a spoonful of glitter glue, or any other kind of little particles that would float in the water.

Close the jar and shake it to make a whirl.

Tell the children:

“Imagine that the glitter is your thoughts when you are nervous, worried or stressed out.

Try to look through the jar. It’s hard to see clearly, isn’t it?

It makes us make bad decisions, we don’t think clearly.

We get upset, we argue with our friends, and we just have a miserable time.

We, adults, go through this too.”

You may stop and ask the children here –

“Did that happen to you lately?

Maybe it happened to someone you know?”

Now put the jar down.

What happens when we stop for a couple of minutes?

Let’s observe. The glitter starts to sink down, and the water clears up.

Our consciousness and our body work the same way.

When we stop and observe, the thoughts begin to settle down, and we start to see things clearly.

At this point we can try to listen to our breathing – try that for two minutes.

Ask the children:  “what did you feel in your body when you stopped? What did you notice?”