Winter Mindfulness for Kids: Snowman Meditation
In this winter mindfulness meditation for kids, we’ll use vivid guided imagery to relax into the stillness of a snowman.
Parents use these guided relaxation scripts to help their kids fall asleep easily, reduce anxiety or stress, improve self esteem, encourage active listening skills, and develop their robust imaginations.
A 2021 Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine study found that elementary school kids who practiced mindfulness training slept an average of 74 extra minutes a night.
Plus, adding mindfulness to your child’s routine can help regulate the nervous system.
How to Practice Mindfulness With Your Child
Whether your goal is to use mindfulness tools for sleep or find mindfulness exercises to reduce anxiety in kids, leading a meditation can help. Meditation is a wonderful lifelong habit. And you can start as early as the toddler years.
Choose a guided relaxation script like the one below (or you’ll find 50 more at the bottom of this page). Read it over once or twice to get the feeling of it. Then invite your child to get comfortable in bed or in a cozy spot. Once they’re settled, read this script aloud in a calm, gentle voice.
Pause when necessary and watch for your child’s cues. If they need to talk, that’s great, but make sure it stays calm and relaxing. If they fall asleep, don’t worry – it happens a lot. It just means they really understood the relaxation assignment!
This meditation script is copyrighted by ShambalaKids and may only be used for in-person or live virtual reading. It may not be recorded for audio /video.
Winter Mindfulness Meditation: The Mindful Snowman
Today we will go on a wonderful winter meditation journey using our mindfulness skills and our brilliant imagination.
Imagination unlocks the door to many wonderful adventures. These adventures take place inside our minds, but they can and do feel very real. We can create whole new surroundings and experiences just by closing our eyes and using our incredible minds to journey beyond space, and time and to do things we might not normally be able to do in our everyday waking life.
So, let’s close our eyes now and take in a nice deep breath in through your nose. Now exhale out slowly through your mouth. Feel the coolness of the air flowing in and out.
Take in another deep breath slowly, and gently breathe out.
Again, take a deep breath in, and then breath out nice and slow.
Be still and listen to the quiet you hear within. Enjoy the velvety darkness behind your eyelids. Relax your whole body.
Maybe it’s cold where you, but even if it’s not, imagine a cold day outside in the snow-covered grass. Pay careful attention to the gentle drifts of snow and how they glisten in the light.
The snow surrounds you and you begin to feel at one with it. In fact, you are part of it.
You realize that you are observing this winter wonderland as a big, fluffy snowman, with a long carrot for a nose and two eyes made of large dark grapes. Someone gave you a colorful jellybean smile and it makes you laugh to think of your rainbow candy teeth.
You have slim sticks for arms that stick out far from your sides. You feel a cozy, colorful scarf around your neck and a soft hat on your head. But you don’t really need to keep warm because after all, you’re a snowman. And snowmen love the cold!
Somehow you feel so wonderful here just being this adorable, happy snowman.
You feel the cold but it doesn’t affect you at all. In fact, you feel perfectly normal and content. Pay attention to how firmly your snow body is packed, and you feel your heart glow knowing the smiles and happiness you bring to everyone who looks at you.
You enjoy every single moment of this experience as you bring joy and happiness to everyone you meet.
Now, really take time to enjoy being still.
Magically you close your eyes. You feel peaceful. And it is silent out here in the stillness.
Bring your attention to each area of your snowman body to get an impression of how it feels.
Feel the lower snowball that makes up your solid base. It keeps you firmly on the ground and feels so safe and sound.
And now, feel your snowball tummy. It is somehow compact and fluffy all at the same time.
Next pay attention to your head. Even though we are using our brain and imagination now, you also have the ability to tune everything else out and be in silence – inside and out.
You can sit in this stillness as long as you like. Feel the calm and quiet all around you. Relax as the silent snow begins to settle all around you.
(Pause and watch your child’s cues for how long to let them enjoy the stillness)
When you’re ready, please open your eyes and give your body a big stretch. Today we have experienced what it’s like to use our imagination and be focused in the moment by being mindful.
You did a fantastic job.
More Mindfulness Scripts
If your child enjoyed this winter mindfulness story, get the free printable PDF of this script and 50+ more when you subscribe below! Or try one of these other relaxing scripts:
Body Scan Meditation
Cozy Castle Guided Imagery
Dancing Snowflakes
The Mindfulness Cabin (includes an adorable free printable)
Guided Imagery: Secret Garden
Guided Meditation for Focus and Concentration
