inner kids model

mindful living for busy families

Inner Kids is a fun, pragmatic approach to sharing mindfulness with the whole family, developed by Susan Kaiser Greenland. Mindful games look simple, but don’t let that fool you — through activity-based mindfulness Inner Kids brings attention, balance, and compassion to your daily routine by:

Teaching universal themes that promote a wise and compassionate worldview
Developing six crucial social, emotional, and academic life skills that, with sustained practice, can develop a gentle, steady capacity to attend and regulate emotions
Utilizing six methods that have been used by meditators for centuries to develop mind-body awareness and better navigate the ups and downs of daily life
The Inner Kids model is loosely designed to follow the sequence Play, Practice, Share and Apply. The last three steps of this sequence track my favorite shorthand description of the scientific method, one that comes from Douglas Adams Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: "See first, think later, then test."

Inner Kids Model

Life Skills

Six social, emotional & academic life skills.

Methods

The themes and life skills taught in the Inner Kids model are introduced through one of six methods.

Themes

In mindfulness and meditation, we explore universal themes that help us navigate life's ups and downs with wisdom and compassion.

Mindfulness Meditation + the Scientific Method

The Inner Kids model is loosely designed to follow the sequence Play, Practice, Share and Apply.

Tips + Faqs

tips for sharing mindfulness and meditation with children, teens, and families plus answers to frequently asked questions.

mindful games

Watch

Drop the Monkeys for Young Children

We build a chain of plastic monkeys to demonstrate how to notice thoughts and let them go.

Ice Cube Meditation

The melting-ice game for older children, teens, and adults.

Thoughts, Emotions, and an Awareness Meter

We use an awareness meter and barrel of plastic monkeys to demonstrate how to work with thoughts and emotions when we meditate.

Susan demonstrates the Snow Globe Game

By moving our attention away from what we're thinking to an experience in the moment, our minds help our bodies settle.

Friendly Wishes & Imaginary Hugs

A delightful adaptation/mash-up of two mindful games — Friendly Wishes and Imaginary Hugs.

Drop the Monkeys for Older Children and Teens!

A colorful chain of plastic monkeys demonstrates how to notice thoughts and let them go.

Meditation in a Jar

Watch how easy it is to settle your mind when it's busy! then, listen to this guided meditation to give it a try.

Meditation For When You’re Upset - Smell the Roses, Blow out the Candle

Feeling upset or annoyed? Here's a tip for calming down anytime you feel worked up.

Pass the Cup

Using teamwork, and by paying attention to what’s happening around us, we pass a cup without spilling a drop of water.

Melting Ice

We hold a cube of ice until it melts to notice the difference between a feeling and a reaction. (Game led by Gene Lushtak.)

Friendly Wishes

We imagine that everyone is happy, safe, healthy, and living in peace to practice kindness and concentration.

Tic-Tock

We sway from side-to-side, while chanting a rhyme, to help us become more aware of our bodies.

Rock-a-Bye

We pretend to rock a stuffed animal to sleep on our bellies to relax our bodies and quiet our minds.

Balloon Arms

We practice focusing by slowly moving our arms up and down, or back and forth, in sync with each other’s movements.

Fading Tone

We listen closely to the sound of a tone as it fades away to help us relax and focus.

Inner kids model videos

Watch

Susan’s Books + More

Learn about Susan’s books and other offerings, and how they relate to one another.

Games from IK Class at Toluca Lake

A clip of an Inner Kids mindful awareness class from the documentary Spiritual Revolution produced and directed by Alan Swyer. With Gene Lushtak, Daniel Davis, Peri Doslu, Karen Eastman, and Susan Kaiser Greenland

Teaching the ABCs of Attention, Balance and Compassion: Susan Kaiser Greenland at TEDxStudioCityED

Founder of the Inner Kids program, Susan Kaiser Greenland adapted adult meditation practices for kids, seeing a marked improvement in their capacity to focus, calm themselves, and manage stress. She is also the author of The Mindful Child.

Kids on Mindful Awareness

A segment from a documentary about the Inner Kids program broadcast by GoodTube.org. Los Angeles students participating in a school-based Inner Kids class talk about their experience.

Classroom Teachers on Mindful Awareness

A segment from a documentary about the Inner Kids program broadcast by GoodTube.org. Classroom teachers in Los Angeles who are participating in a school-based Inner Kids class talk about their experience.

Parents on Mindful Awareness

A segment from a documentary about the Inner Kids program broadcast by GoodTube.org. Parents in Los Angeles whose children participated in a school-based Inner Kids class talk about their experience.