Something to do together
A few quiet minutes to sit beside the book.
A good book can start a conversation. Sometimes a child needs a moment to settle before that conversation, or somewhere to put what the story stirred up afterwards. This page is for those moments.
There are four short guided meditations here. Two are for children aged 4 to 8 and two for children aged 9 to 11, and in each age group there’s one on mindful breathing and one of kind words to say to yourself. Every one ends with a few minutes of journaling, so you’ll find prompts and a timer too, along with simple things for you to try as the grown-up.
The four recordings are free to download as MP3s, and so are the printable journal pages and a guide for grown-ups. Pop your email in and they’re yours. Go to the downloads.
The recordings are pitched differently, in language and in length, so pick the one that fits and everything below will follow.
Age ranges are a rough guide. You know your child, so go by what suits them.
It takes about fifteen minutes from start to finish, and you can stop at any point.
Any notebook will do, with a pen or pencils. Every recording begins by asking your child to go and get theirs, so have it ready. If they’d rather type or draw on screen, there’s a journal page further down.
Press play and settle somewhere comfortable. Eyes can be open or closed, whichever feels better. Join in if you like.
Your child picks one or two prompts and sets the timer, then writes in a notebook or on the journal page here. It’s 2 minutes for this age group, which is the time the recording asks for.
The journal is theirs and stays private. You can still ask how their body felt, or what they noticed, and leave it there if they’d rather not say.
Mindful breathing is a good place to begin, and the kind words are lovely after a book about feeling small or left out.
A quick weather check
Pick the weather that matches how you feel right now. Any weather is allowed.
When you’ve finished, pick again.
Tap any part of the recording to jump straight to it.
Copies to keep are in Take it home.
In this recording
Tap a card to read what’s said around that sentence. Tap again each time you say it together.
Little games to do without the recording, for the days when a few quiet minutes are all there’s time for. Each one earns a sticker for your sticker book.
Breathe in as the balloon grows and out as it shrinks. Five slow breaths fill the sky. If the timing doesn’t suit, breathe at your own pace and just watch.
Take slow, deep breaths for one minute and tap the button for each one. There’s no right number.
Start at the toes and tap your way up, the way the recording does. Each part says something to notice.
Each recording ends by asking your child to choose one or two prompts. Tap a prompt to open a journal page on screen, or read it here and write in a notebook instead. Then start the timer.
The prompt pages are free to take home and print.
The recording asks for two minutes of writing or drawing. When the bell rings, they’re finished.
Their journal is private. What they write or draw on the journal page never leaves this device, and it disappears when the page is closed unless they save it. Paper works just as well.
A sticker for each little game or part of a session. Collect all seven and the rainbow appears. The book stays on this device and nowhere else.
What the practice does, how to make it stick, and things to try afterwards. It’s all here in short form, and you can take the full guide home from the foot of the page.
Slow breathing tells the body it’s safe. When a child is stressed the heart speeds up and the muscles tighten, which is the body’s alarm system doing its job. Breathing slowly and steadily nudges the body back towards its resting state, so the heart slows and the muscles loosen.
It also gives a worried child something to do in the moment, which tends to feel better than being told to calm down.
Paying attention to the breath means paying attention to the body, and that’s often where feelings show up first: a tight chest, a churning stomach. Children who start to spot those signs can catch a wobble early and use their breath before it grows.
It also teaches them that feelings are natural and can be managed. Nothing here asks a child to push a feeling away.
Breathing gives the mind one simple thing to rest on. Each time attention wanders and your child brings it back to the breath, they’re practising the same skill they use for homework and for listening in class.
The practice invites children to meet their thoughts and feelings with curiosity and kindness. Over time that can sound like the voice of a good friend. Getting it wrong, or having a restless day, is part of learning, and the kind-words recordings are there to say so out loud.
Slow, deep breathing helps muscles let go, and many children find it easier to drop off when a few quiet breaths are part of the bedtime routine. Some find it eases the headaches and tummy aches that come with a stressful week.
These are everyday tools that sit alongside the books and proper support. If a child’s worry, anger or low mood is getting in the way of daily life, or you’re concerned, please speak to your doctor, your child’s school, or a qualified children’s professional.
Turn it into a game: a colourful balloon with every breath, or a superhero using a calm breath to see off a bad day. Pictures and objects help children see the breath moving.
A few minutes is plenty. Three to five suits ages 4 to 8, and five to ten suits ages 9 to 11. Little and often works best.
Children like knowing what comes next. First thing in the morning or just before bed both work, so long as it’s the same each day.
Children copy what they see. When they watch you take slow breaths and stay calm, they’ll follow, and it becomes something you share.
Ask “How did your body feel when you were breathing?” or “What did you notice about your thoughts?” Older children might like to write about it.
Some days they’ll fidget, and that’s normal. Guide them back to the breath, or try again later. Missing a day costs nothing.
“I’m really proud of how you took those deep breaths when you were upset” goes a long way. A sticker chart can help younger children stay with it.
Some prefer lying down, some sitting up, some walking slowly. Listen to what they tell you and adjust.
Small activities that keep the idea alive between sessions. If you can’t decide, let the page choose.
“No supplies needed” shows the ones you can do right now with nothing to fetch.
Tonight’s pick
Give your child a bottle of bubble mixture and ask them to blow slowly and gently. Too hard or too fast and the bubbles pop, but a slow, steady breath makes big ones. They see why controlled breathing works.
Lying on their back with a small soft toy on their tummy, your child watches it rise and fall with each slow breath and keeps it moving gently. A comforting way to focus.
Ages 9 to 11 can write each day about how they felt before and after, what they noticed about their breath, and what thoughts came up. For ages 4 to 8 it becomes a breathing book of pictures of how they feel.
Choose calm pictures such as mandalas, nature scenes or simple patterns. Your child matches their breathing to the rhythm of the colouring, taking a deep breath as they fill in each section.
Cut a star from paper or card and write a step on each point: breathe in slowly, hold, breathe out gently. Decorate it, then trace from point to point with a finger while you breathe.
Walk slowly and breathe deeply, noticing how the air feels coming in and going out. Listen for sounds, look for small things, notice the smells. Movement and breath together help children feel grounded.
Try breath counting, taking as many slow deep breaths as they can in a minute, or balloon breath, where each in-breath fills an invisible balloon and each out-breath lets the air out slowly.
Sit quietly with eyes closed and breathe deeply while listening for sounds, near and far: birds, leaves, even their own breath. Afterwards, share what each of you noticed.
Every topic page here has books chosen by age. The Calm Corner sits beside them, and there’s no set order.
A few balloon breaths can help a restless or worried child settle for a story. Doing it first also tells them this is a quiet, safe time.
If the book stirred something up, a short meditation and a few minutes with the journal give those feelings somewhere to go before you talk.
Some children want the kind words after a book about feeling small or left out. Others want the breathing after a big feeling. Offer both and see which they reach for.
Listening here is free and always will be. If you’d like copies to keep, such as audio for the car or a tablet, or pages to print, leave your email address and they’ll be yours.
Please use a grown-up’s email address. You’ll get the downloads straight away, and I may send you the occasional note about new books and topics. You can unsubscribe with one click whenever you like.
These pages are written for the grown-ups looking after a child: parents, teachers and carers. A good book can sit beside a child, though it never stands in for a real conversation, or for proper support when something feels too big to carry alone.
The bell has rung. Finish your sentence, or keep going if you like.
This page stays on this device and isn’t sent anywhere. It’s kept until the page is closed or refreshed, so use the save buttons for anything you’d like to keep.