Librarians are already doing their part by posting “All Welcome Here” posters, presenting educational programs that offer insight into different cultures, and providing safe, bully-free environments, but it’s also important to focus on some internal housekeeping with some of our most impressionable members. The following activities have proven successful with tweens in my library and community.
ZENTANGLES
Zentangles is meditation through doodling. It was much bigger a few years ago, but it’s still a great concept to teach kids. You don’t even have to call it Zentangles if you don’t want to, but the name might intrigue younger teens who weren’t around for the initial craze. It helps kids find a creative outlet and confidence. Maybe they didn’t consider themselves great artists or avoided art because they never knew what to draw. Zentangles can remove the pressure of a completed image and set children’s creativity, and their minds, free.
YOGA
Yoga is more than stretching the body; it is also about reflection on thoughts and modifying breathing to cope with stress. Earlier this summer, our library hosted an “Empowerment Through Yoga” workshop. It focused on positive self-thinking while stretching the body. We started by sharing what stresses us out and what we do to help get through it. During the stretches, kids were encouraged to think about the good things in their life and to manage stress through their breathing. The workshop concluded with a meditation jar craft. The kids expressed themselves through art with a guided craft that wasn’t intimidating or complicated. Even if they didn’t use it for meditation going forward, the jar would still serve as a reminder to take a step back and remember to be happy about who they are.
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