This activity allows children the opportunity to focus on their senses as they explore their environment using sight, sound, touch, and smell.
What you will need:
This activity is best for outside play, so the children can connect with nature.
 A natural area to explore. For example, a garden, grass, flowers, leaves, stones or pebbles, dirt, insects.
The children should be sitting quietly inside, in a group, waiting for instruction.
Spidey senses exercise – Script
We are going outside to practice mindfulness, using our Spidey Senses.
Before we go outside I want you to all put on your mindful listening ears so you know exactly how to do it.Â
We will be experiencing nature using our sense of touch (gently rub two fingers together), smell (point to your nose and sniff), sight (point to your eyes and then point forward and saying ‘looking’) and sound (cup your hand around the back of your ear and say ‘listening’).
We will look closely to discover what insects are in our garden. We will become aware of the leaves, flowers, grass, dirt and pebbles, and anything else in our garden, as we discover how our garden feels and smells. And we will notice all the different shapes and colours in our garden. We will take time to look closely at the tiny veins running through the leaves. We will listen carefully for the sound of buzzing bees, or the wind blowing the leaves.
As we discover what’s in our garden, and what our garden looks, feels, smells and sounds like, we will also be aware of which senses we are using. Are we using our eyes? Are we using our sense of smell? Are we using our sense of touch? Are we using our hearing?
When we practice using our Spidey senses like this, we are practicing mindfulness. And it’s important to try not to speak, so you can give your full attention to your senses and allow everyone else to do the same. So remember we want this to be a quiet time for exploring nature and being aware of what we are doing, what we are seeing, smelling, hearing, and touching.
Ok, before we go outside let’s just take a moment to notice our breathing for three breaths (do this breathing exercise with them).
Ok, fantastic job! And now, let’s continue to notice our breathing as we quietly get up and walk outside, nice and calm, with our Spidey senses on!
As the children explore the centre gardens, guide them to listen, look, smell and feel things in the environment.
Advanced level:
And we also want to notice how we are feeling both inside and out. Can we feel the warmth of the sun on our skin, or on our cloths, or on our heads? Can we feel the cool of a breeze on our skin? Is the wind blowing our hair a little?
And how are we feeling on the inside? For example, when we smell the flower does it make us feel happy? Or, when we feel the leaves, does it make us feel curious to want to feel more leaves? How did we react to the feel of the dirt between our fingers?
Ok, before we go outside let’s just take a moment to notice our breathing for three breaths (do this breathing exercise with them).
Ok, fantastic job! And now, let’s continue to notice our breathing as we quietly get up and walk outside, nice and calm, with our Spidey senses on!
As the children explore the centre gardens, guide them to listen, look, smell and feel things in their inner and outer environment.
At the end of the session ask the children if they enjoyed themselves.
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