Mindful play ideas for every season

The changing seasons can have a noticeable impact on children, just as they do on adults. By tailoring your activities to each season, you can help your child tune in and appreciate the subtle transformations that are happening not just in the world around them, but within themselves.

🌱 Spring: Go for a nature scavenger hunt and challenge your kids to find different natural elements — pinecones, flowers or twigs. Take some time to discuss the textures, shapes, and feelings each object evokes. On rainy days, you can use the collected items to make potions, experiments, art or as props for imaginative play.

🏖️ Summer: Head to the beach or playground and invite your child to feel the texture of the wet and dry sand, focusing on the sensation as it runs through their fingers. Activities like gardening, water play and cloud gazing are also excellent for channelling mindfulness while basking in the sun.

🍁 Autumn: Welcome the changing shades of autumn with finger painting; encouraging your child to feel the texture of paint and observe the mixing colours. Baking is another excellent activity that allows your little one to explore different textures, scents, and tastes.

🌨️ Winter: Celebrate the chilly season with some cosy comforts like enjoying the sensory experience of warm cocoa or pebble meditation. Keep them active while indoors with some playful yoga poses or dancing games that help with physical coordination, creativity, and self-expression.

Mandy lives in Auckland with her husband Andy and her two darling boys who are chief product-testers for Mandy’s online store, Fairplay. Connecting conscious consumers with sustainably crafted toys and natural resources for mindful play. Fairplay values simple, beautiful and meaningful objects that are not made at the expense of people or planet. See more at fairplay.nz or @fairplay.nz on Instagram.

PHOTOGRAPHY: Casarah Cooper