Browsing by Author "Mäkinen, Leena"

In recent years, there has been interest in the effects of conscious presence, ie using mindfulness in children’s learning. According to previous studies, mindfulness exercises have been observed to improve managing children's feelings and reducing discomfort. The purpose of this study was to find out are the mindfulness exercises suitable for pre-school aged children and how do the children feel about the exercises. In addition, the aim of the study was to find out if there are any changes to the children’s attentiveness. The subject of the study was a pre-school class of 14 pupils. The majority of pupils were boys. The study was a qualitative study and methods used for data gathering were observation both as individual and as a group. Exercise work methods were fairy tales, exercises and discussions, based on Mindfullness guides. The study material was collected in the spring 2016 during ten training sessions. All 14 pre-school children participated in the study. The material was analyzed by material-based content analysis. Based on the study, it can be stated that mindfulness exercises were suitable forpre-schoolers. Positive changes were noted during and after the intervention period. Pre-schoolers liked the exercises and hoped the mindfulness slots to be continued. The pre-class atmosphere calmed down due to intervention. Research showed that exercises can help to strengthen children concentration and attention. Although the results of the study are not generalizable outside the target group, the results encourage the use of similar exercises in pre-school classes.