Mindfulness Calendar

Do you often find yourself stressing or worrying about the past or future? That’s okay, so do I! This activity teaches you how to make your own mindfulness calendar that you can utilize every month. By the end of this activity, you will have a mindfulness prompt for each day of the month to help ground you each day.

Supplies:

• Foam board

• Marker(s)

• Glue Stick

• 36 Paperclips regular size

• Scissors

• Construction paper in any color(s)

Before you begin, make sure you are doing this activity on a clean and flat surface. You can always get help from an adult while doing this activity! Also, this is a timely activity so take breaks if you need to.

Step 1: First, we are going to create the 36 pouches for our calendar. We are creating 35 pouches to account for all monthly layouts. For example, January has five weeks. We are also making one extra pouch to hold the banners for the months. To make the pouches for the days you first need to get a sheet of construction paper. Then, fold the paper into halves and cut them out using your scissors. Next, take the halves you just cut out and fold both of them in half. Then, using your scissors, cut these halves out. You should have four squares now.

Step 2: Take one of your squares and hold it so that the paper is the long way. Then, fold the bottom of the paper away from you but leave a small space at the top. Next, take the left and right side and fold it behind the paper. On the front, there should be a space where you can slip your finger inside. You will need to do this 34 more times to make the 35 pouches you need for the days.

Step 3: Now that you have all of your pouches for the days, we can create the numbers for each pouch. To do this, we will need to fold our paper into fourths. First, fold the paper away from you, keeping it towards the bottom. Then, flip the paper over so that the side you just folded is at the top. Next, fold the top of the paper down. Repeat this process two more times until you get to the end of the paper. Then, use your scissors to cut on the folded lines. I used two sheets of construction paper to make 8 strips.

Step 4: Now that you have your strips, stack them and cut small squares out. By stacking them, we can cut out more squares. Continue cutting until you have 31 squares.

Step 5: Now that you have your squares, you will need to label them from 1 to 31 since this is the maximum amount of days a month can have.

Step 6: Now, we will create the banners for the months. You will need your scissors, construction paper, and marker for this step. We are going to cut out 12 banners for each month of the year. To do this, we will fold the paper into fourths again by folding the bottom away from us and then flipping the paper over and folding at the top so that the banners are wide. Next, cut from the banners out using your scissors. I used three sheets to get 12 strips.

Step 7: Now that you have the 12 banners for your month, you will need to label them for the 12 months.

Step 8: Now that we have our banners, we can create the pouch for the months. We are going to make this the same way as the pouches for the days but we are going to make it wider so that you can put your banners inside. First, get a sheet of construction paper and lay it the wide way. Then, fold the paper away from you leaving some space at the top. Next, get one of your banners and line it up at the top. Then, use your marker to make two marks so that you know where to fold. We are doing this so that we make sure to leave enough space for the banners. Now, fold the edges behind the paper. Now all of the months can be placed in the pouch and easily changed!

Step 9: Now, we will create the prompts. The prompts will be placed in the pouches so that you will have one prompt for mindfulness each day. Using your construction paper, write out 31 prompts. You want your prompts to fit in your pouches so make sure they are small or can be folded numerous times so that the paper is smaller. These prompts should encourage you to stop and focus on what is happening in your life currently. A few examples that I will use are “stop what you’re doing and take ten deep breaths then think about what is upsetting you,” “meditate for 15-30 minutes today,” “write about your experiences and feelings today for 15-30 minutes.” and “what changes can be made today to better your mood?” Once you have 31 prompts, cut them out. When all of your prompts are cut out, you’re finished with preparation.

Step 10: Now, get your foam board and your markers. At the top of the board in the middle, I’m going to title my calendar “Danasia’s Mindfulness Calendar” using my marker. I am also going to decorate the calendar with flowers. You can title your calendar whatever you want and decorate if you would like! You can make the title and decorations whatever size you want just be sure that they don’t take up too much room so you can glue down your pouches!

Step 11: Below my title, I am going to glue down the pouch for my months. Place glue on the back of the pouch and the flaps and then press it down onto the board until it sticks.

Step 12: Now, grab the 12 banners for the months and set aside the month you are going to start using this calendar. I’m going to start using my calendar in January, so I will set that banner to the side. Then, place the other 11 months into the pouch. Next, use your paper clip to attach the January banner to the pouch. This allows us to change and store the months easily!

Step 13: Now, we will glue down the pouches for the days. Place glue on the back of the pouch and the flaps and press it down onto the board as you did for the last step.

I am going to glue them down 1-2 inches apart but you can choose to space them out more if you would like. Just be sure to leave at least an inch between each pouch so the calendar doesn’t look crowded. Glue down the 35 pouches so that there are seven in each row until there are 5 rows.

Step 14: Now use your paper clips to attach the 31 days of the month to the pouches based on the month you will start using this calendar. For example, I am going to start using this calendar in January. For the upcoming year, the first of January is on a Sunday, so I will paperclip the number 1 square to the first pouch of the first row until I reach 31. Tip: To make this step easier, attach the paper clip to the pouch and then slide the paper under the paper clip to attach it to the pouch. Now, you can change the month easily. We’re almost done!

Step 15: Now that all of your pouches are glued down and the numbers are placed, get your mindfulness prompts. Place one prompt into a pouch for each day of that particular month. Some of my prompts are too big to fit in the pouch, so they will need to be folded before I can slip them into the pouches. To do this, I’m going to hold my prompt so that it is the long way and fold downwards until it’s rolled up and will easily slip into the pouch. Now we’re done!

Your mindfulness calendar is now done! I hope you enjoyed this activity as much as I did! Be sure to clean up your area and put away all materials. If you find yourself overwhelmed or anxious, you can always read a prompt from your calendar! And remember, you can always make more prompts to switch out each month!

~ Made By: Danasia M.