Fun with Character: Blow Away The Grumpies

Using simple children’s bubbles, help the students learn to blow away the grumpies. In an outdoor setting, set up pans of ‘bubble juice’. Give each student a chenille stem and have them construct a bubble wand. Any shape will work. Tell the students to think of a negative thought (a grumpie) that they have about themselves or their world. Make them aware that they will not have to share this grumpie. It stays personal. Have them inhale slowly, then blow the grumpie into the bubble. Watch the bubble until it breaks or floats out of sight. Let them do this several times. Try to maintain quiet during the exercise to create a meditative space. Now have the students close their eyes and do the exercise again, but just imagine the bubble toys. You can talk them through, thinking, inhaling slowly, and blowing slowly out. Help them picture the bubble and it floating away. Encourage them to use this exercise in their head whenever they need to get rid of a grumpie.

To process the activity, ask these or similar questions:

• Is it fun to play with bubbles?

• Was it easy to come up with a grumpie?

• How did it feel to blow it away?

• Do you realize that most of the negative thoughts we have about ourselves are simply not true, or not true enough to cause us harm?

• How many thought that they were the only ones with that particular grumpie? Realistically, many of the grumpies were probably the same.

• Will you use this exercise to get rid of negative thoughts and help you stay positive?