Tag: sensory

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The Ice Cube Episode

August 8, 2017 Tanuka GordonLeave a comment

One of my favorite pre-parenting stories is from a birthing course that my husband and I took before the birth of our first daughter. Like many first-time parents, we had signed up to be "better...

A Sound Hunt Outside

August 1, 2017 Tanuka GordonLeave a comment

This mindfulness activity is an idea from a local parent, and I tried it recently with the girls and they loved it. The activity is very simple and quick. You sit outside with your kiddos,...

Smelly Spicy Art

April 16, 2017 Tanuka GordonLeave a comment

The inspiration for our mindfulness activity came from a fall art project that my younger daughter did in her preschool class, where the class made art with spices and herbs they had first...

Learning from my toddler how to practice mindfulness with curiosity

February 15, 2017 Tanuka GordonLeave a comment

A lot of the mindfulness exercises and games I do at home are activities that my older daughter actively engages in because of her age. My 2-year old participates as much as she is able to, but...

Superhero Mystery Game

December 13, 2016 Tanuka GordonLeave a comment

My girls and I played a game I named Superhero Mystery Game as a fun way to practice mindfulness by tapping into the visual senses while doing something quietly and slowly. We first put on...

Blindfolded Fruit Tasting Game

November 21, 2016 Tanuka GordonLeave a comment

I came up with this game to experiment with a mindful eating practice to tune into the present moment with a few key senses.

How you play

I took a single piece of fruit (a...

Cloud Shape Game…with our feelings

November 7, 2016 Tanuka GordonLeave a comment

One of my husband's favorite games to play with our kids is Cloud Shape Game- a great way to tap into your imagination and dream up what object a cloud looks like as they float by. This last...

“Find the Singing Bowl” Game

November 2, 2016 Tanuka GordonLeave a comment

This is an awesome activity recommended by a local mom, who used to play this game when her kids were younger. It's essentially a hide-and-seek game but with a singing bowl. My girls and I...

Rainbow Walk

October 5, 2016 Tanuka GordonLeave a comment

I recently did a mindful activity with my girls, which naturally incorporates the power of present-time awareness into a fun daytime activity. A number of mindfulness resources recommend this...

Guess the Letter/Shape on my Back

October 4, 2016 Tanuka GordonLeave a comment

This activity is something that has been passed down in my family across generations- my grandmother did this activity my father, my father did it with me and now I have started doing it with my...

Working with Mindful Littles has been a life changing experience. Before volunteering with this group, I’d say I was guilty of not always incorporating compassion and mindfulness into my everyday life, but since I have started volunteering with this organization I have noticed a positive change within myself.

- Danielle Castro, Youth Leader, Age 17

Our Daisy Troop invited Tanuka Gordon of Mindful Littles to lead a
class for our Kindergarten Daisy Scouts. Tanuka taught the girls
through stories and pictures about what life is like for children
living in Haiti. We decorated and put together pencil cases for
students there. Tanuka also guided us through a mindful moment
incorporating yoga movements and breathing techniques. A few months
later, the girls were thrilled to receive artwork back from the
students in Haiti. We loved our Mindful Littles class and found that
it helped to open the girls’ eyes to the world around them!

Mindful Little has led two programs this year for our community - one for parents and children on the topic "the courage to be different," and one just for children on the topic of honoring seniors. Both were absolutely wonderful! It was a pleasure to collaborate with Tanuka in planning the programs, and she and her team prepared thoughtful, engaging lessons that were meaningful to the families as well as being fun, interactive, and hands-on. I believe the lessons Mindful Littles brought to our community will stick with the children for a long time, and I highly recommend Mindful Littles programs!

Our Girl Scout troop was looking for something meaningful to do around the holidays. Mindful Littles made everything so easy and the core values of Mindful Littles and Girl Scouts were perfectly matched. The girls appeared at Las Trampas and were immediately put into action assisting disabled individuals with holiday activities and celebrating the holiday cheer. It was a labor of love on both ends. My daughter left the event and said, “That was awesome. Let’s do more of that."

- Jennifer LaForce, Bay Area Girl Scout Troop Leader

The work that Mindful Littles does is the antithesis of the violence. With the continued threat of mass shootings, with homegrown mental illness, you don’t arm people with weapons. You pay attention; you teach compassion, you educate and help community members. This is how we change. This is how we are going to fight the good fight; not with weapons and strategies of self-defense, but by being proactive with love. I believe Mindful Littles is the solution. It will awaken our youth and help contribute to a more positive future.

- Travis Groft, Veteran

My time with Mindful Littles’ has solidified my commitment to youth development and empowerment, as I’ve had the pleasure of witnessing the wonderfully innovative ideas that littles have for the improvement of their communities. There are few things more gratifying than watching and helping littles turn their creativity into meaningful action, and I’m grateful to Mindful Littles for giving me the opportunity to do so.

-Iris Wu, Youth Leader, Age 19

That was a really great event. I held more doors open for people in the last few days than I think I have in my life.🙂 Your words were heard.

-Jennifer Kamal, Local Bay Area Parent

The event had quite an impact on my 7 year old son, Caden, who, after assembling hygiene kits at your Mindful Littles event, decided to raise money for the kids in Haiti on his own. I think what you are doing through the Mindful Littles program is wonderful, and it’s obviously having an impact on children near and far… I look forward to attending another one soon!

- Kim Morrow, Local Bay Area Parent

Mindful Littles was an integral part of our collaborative initiative, OrindaCares. OrindaCares is a partnership with Mindful Littles, the Orinda Union School District, Miramonte High School, and the City of Orinda. Mindful Littles provided not just the concept and strategy development for this partnership, but the project leadership and organization to make our initiative highly successful.

- Carolyn Seaton, Superintendent of Orinda Union School District

A clinician just popped into my office and shared how one of our kids loved the positive words on the hygiene kit. The youth said it felt like Christmas – all because of a hygiene kit. Amazing.

- Beth Goldberg, Director of Development for Youth Homes