Happy Shapes – Mindful Breathing Cards for Kids

Twelve shape-based breathing cards guide children to trace a path with their finger, inhaling at a flower and exhaling at a candle.

Grades: Not Grade Specific
File type: PDF
Preparation: Print ready

Updated Jun 28, 2022

Subject: Social Emotional Learning (SEL), Special Resources
Topic: Mindfulness Breathing Cards, Calm Down Corner
Resource types: Activities
Preparation: Print ready

From the author

About this resource

Twelve colourful shape-based breathing cards guide children through mindful breathing by having them trace a finger along a printed path on each shape, inhaling through the nose upon reaching a flower icon and exhaling through the mouth upon reaching a candle icon. The pack is produced by Kids Adventure Yoga (Stephanie Smith) and is intended for supervised classroom, studio, or home use, since the included terms of use ask purchasers not to share copies with colleagues and prohibit posting any part of the resource online. A brief disclaimer notes the activities are used at the purchaser's own risk and recommends adult supervision throughout. A related set, printable mindfulness breathing cards, uses circle, heart, triangle, and star shapes for the same trace-and-breathe routine.

In the classroom

Teaching tips & learning objectives

Learning objectives

Practice slow, controlled breathing by tracing a finger along a shape's path, inhaling at a flower cue and exhaling at a candle cue.

Teaching tips

Model the flower-inhale, candle-exhale pattern once as a class before handing out cards, since the technique itself is simple but benefits from a demonstration.
Use as a calming transition activity or SEL centre, given the terms of use limit sharing to the purchasing teacher's own classroom, studio, or home.

Skills covered

Mindful breathing regulation — students trace a shape's path with a finger, coordinating inhale/exhale timing with flower and candle icons.

Good to know

Questions teachers ask about this resource

Do all 12 shape cards use the same flower-inhale/candle-exhale pattern, or does the breathing cue vary from shape to shape?

The included description only states the general rule — inhale at a flower, exhale at a candle — without specifying whether every card repeats that same pair of icons or varies them from shape to shape.

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Resource details

Concepts & topics

Core concepts

Mindful breathing
Self-regulation
Social-emotional learning

Topics

Mindfulness Breathing Cards Calm Down Corner Mindfulness Activity Social-Emotional Learning Self-Regulation Skills

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Categories this resource belongs to

Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Special Resources Activities Not Grade Specific

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Social Emotional Learning (SEL)

Special Resources

Activities

Not Grade Specific

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