"Sitting Still Like a Frog" provides an excellent introduction to mindfulness for both parents and children. The book concisely explains the principles of mindfulness and includes exercises designed specifically for young learners to illustrate these concepts. Below are some key notes from the book:

Introduction to Mindfulness Techniques

• Mindfulness is about being present and engaged with the current moment without judgment. It involves noticing your thoughts, feelings, and sensations as they arise and learning to interact with them more healthily.

Core Principles of Mindfulness

1. Presence: Staying fully aware of the current moment.

2. Acceptance: Embracing thoughts, feelings, and sensations without trying to change them.

3. Understanding: Recognizing that our perceptions may not always reflect reality accurately.

Mindfulness Exercises and Activities

Observational Techniques

• Raisin Exercise: Introduce a raisin to a child as if they've never seen it before, and ask them to describe it using all their senses. This activity fosters keen observation and curiosity.

• Tray Memory Game: Place 12 objects on a tray. After studying them for a short period, have the child attempt to recall all the items to enhance memory and attention.

• Symbol Replication: Write a new symbol and ask the child to replicate it after viewing it for 30 seconds to improve visual memory and attention to detail.

• Sequence Memory: Write a sequence of numbers and characters and challenge the child to reproduce it, testing their short-term memory and focus.

Awareness Practices

• Daily Observations: On the way to school, try to remember five things seen along the route to encourage awareness of your surroundings.

• Draw Your Hand: Instruct the child to draw their hand without looking at the paper, only at their hand, to refine focus and hand-eye coordination.

Emotional Awareness and Regulation

• Internal Weather Notice: Teach children to notice their internal 'weather' (moods and feelings) without needing to change it. They can then create a weather report as a metaphor for their emotions.

• Feelings and Thoughts: Help children understand that they are not their feelings; they simply experience them. This distinction can aid in emotional regulation.

• Loving Attention to Feelings: Emphasize that managing difficult emotions isn't about solving problems but rather about approaching oneself with compassion and understanding.

• Worry Box: Introduce a 'box of worries' where children can write down their worries and store them away each night, helping separate themselves from their anxieties.

Thought Exercises

• Stopping Thoughts: Challenge children to try to stop their thoughts completely, illustrating the difficulty and often the impossibility of doing so.

• Thought Inventory: Have children take an inventory of their thoughts in response to questions like "What makes you happy?" or "What is your favorite food?" This helps them observe how thoughts arise and where they lead.

Social and Interpersonal Activities

• Compliment Ball: A group activity where children toss a ball and give a compliment to the person they throw it to, building positive social interactions.

• I Like You Because...: Create a collective list of positive attributes about each person in the group, fostering acceptance and positive regard among peers.

Additional Tips

• Association of Worry Exercise: Teach children to trace the path of their worries by linking thoughts sequentially, enhancing their understanding of how anxiety develops.

• Breath Focus: When worried, instruct children to focus on their breath in the abdomen, a place free from thoughts, to ground themselves and reduce anxiety.

Conclusion on Acceptance

• Emphasize that acceptance is rooted in the understanding that situations and feelings are transient and will change, which can provide comfort and reduce resistance to current experiences.