Breathing Wand

An adult’s help, a cardboard roll (e.g. paper towel or wrapping paper roll), scissors, sticky tape, thin ribbon or streamers (lightweight), paint or stickers or markers to decorate

1. Cut your roll to about 15 to 20 cm in length. Cut another piece off this roll, about 2.5 cm thick and set aside.

2. Cut a straight line all the way up the longer piece of roll.

3. Re-roll the roll the make it thinner/tighter than before. Secure the top and bottom with tape to hold it in place.

4. Decorate the roll any way you like! I used paint and markers.

5. Tape strands of thin ribbon or streamers inside the small ring you cut earlier.

6. Tape the ring to the top of the thinner roll.

7. Time to give it a go! Take a nice deep breath in through your nose, and then breathe out slowly and steadily through your mouth to make the ribbons gently fly. Take notice of how you feel as you continue to take deep breaths and breathe out slowly.

It sounds a bit silly to say, but breathing is pretty important! Apart from keeping us alive (that’s really important!), breathing is one of your body’s special clues about how you’re feeling. Fast breathing can mean you feel angry or scared, slow breathing can mean you feel chilled-out and relaxed. When we take some slow deep breaths, our bodies and minds calm down. And when we’re calm, it’s easier to focus on what’s important. We can choose to respond or react to all kinds of situations better: more gently and kindly, with more wisdom and self-control. It’s easier, too, to remember God’s promises, including that God always listens whenever we talk (pray) to him. “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you” (1 Peter chapter 5, verse 7).