Fruit Themed Mindful Maze Boards, Calming Toys for Kids, Finger Path Breathing Boards, Calming Corner Items Kids Social Emotional Learning, Mindful Sensory Cardboard Birthday for Kid 3+

Very sturdy and colorful! Purchased for a calming area in my classroom.

This is a great addition to mr classroom calming corner

Great product for my calm down area in my classroom.

I bought this for my toddler’s day care so she could have somethings to calm her down when she has an emotional blow out

The idea is great, however if you don’t use the finger protector some the edges are quite sharp and make little cuts in the finger. We ended up returning it.

Here is a set of four boards, each with a different texture, color, and shape of path which a toddler or young elementary school child can trace with their fingertip. As they follow the path, they are meant to synchronize their breathing to the movement of their finger. For example, as they go up and down the wavy lines representing water, or as they move along the rounded fluffy shapes of the cloud, little reminders show where and when to inhale and exhale. (For young children who don't yet read, they will need adult help to begin, but the breath points are set in logical places which follow the shape of the lines being traced, so they would soon be memorized.)This is a handy tool and a tangible reminder of controlling your breathing, being in charge of breath, which is so tied to emotion. In particular, when children are overwhelmed with anxiety or with anger, their flight-or-flight responses will send their heartbeat and lungs into overtime, and they become increasingly stressed and upset. But if they can be brought (or bring themselves) to focus on making their breaths slow and even, they can calm their bodies down, and be prepared again to learn, or to play with others, and so on. Rather than simply telling them, however, to count to ten, or to take deep breaths, these boards with their textured paths offer a concrete, hands-on approach.The boards are surprisingly thick and sturdy, with rounded corners and holes punched along the top edge in order to connect them with the three included plastic rings. This allows the boards to stand up a bit like an easel or page-a-day calendar, but I found that the boards really didn't slide smoothly along the rings, but instead experienced a bunch of drag. I also think the paths are easier to trace when the boards lay flat on a table or lap, so the rings really do nothing for me. That's a matter of preference, though. There's no question that the boards seem extremely well-made, and it's nice that the four are all so completely different from one another, as a child may respond better to a certain texture, or find a particular path more soothing to follow. This way, they have their pick from among a few options, to see what works best for them.These would do well in most daycare programs and school classrooms, and may also be a good choice for your home, if you think your child or grandchild could use help finding ways to calm themselves. Every child is unique, so there's no guarantee that this is the best tool for them, but this is a high-quality product and the method has proved helpful for many.

I have a special needs child and we have been working on breathing and calming exercises when he gets very upset or triggered, and this book has been a wonderful support system in this process.It is a great sensory mindful maze board that helps guide young fingers through a series of 4 different pictures (depending on their mood or what they respond to best in the moment), and helps them focus on their breathing while their fingers glide over different textures and pictures of one of the four pages.You can turn it into a game while helping teach them the tools that they need to self regulate and destress in a situation that their stress levels may be elevated.There is a picture of a leaf that has the texture of leather or a mat for them to run their fingers over as they take deep breaths, and there is another picture that has an ocean/sea picture that has cloth/carpet-like textures for them to run their fingers over as they take deep breaths, and there is another picture of a cloud over a rainbow that has very soft plush cotton textures for them to run their fingers over as they take deep breaths, and lastly, there is a photo of a golden star in the sky that has glitter-like textures for them to run their fingers over as they take deep breaths.And in all of these pictures, there are helpful directions in when to inhale and exhale as you run your fingers over the pictures (and the order in which to run your finger over which part of the picture).This is such a helpful tool for anyone (even adults!) who might need to have something being their attention elsewhere when they are stressed or ridden with anxiety and need something to help calm their breath and nervous system, and to ease their anxiety.I can’t recommend this sensory mindful board enough!

For such a simple idea these work very well. My kids turn to these as a first line for self regulation even without realizing they're doing it, and when consciously coaches they work even better.Pros:- Variety of kid friendly pictures and textures- Different shapes encourage different rates if breathingCons:- Instructions all in white and arrows guide you in direction of finger but not breath. Fine if your kids can read, but simple tweaks like gentle color coding (eg blue for out, pink for in?, could be added with low liner highlighter after) or some sort of wind pattern would help pre-readers.- The pattern is always the same IN-OUT-IN, none of the other beneficial patterns (e.g. IN-IN-OUT for sleep) are represented- Some of the patterns are activating. For example visually the gold sequin star is stimulating, and for breath work a cloud where you take a breath at each curve seems to encourage very shallow quick breathing.In terms of durability, think heavy duty board book cardboard with that plasticky surface. Probably sufficient for home use and has survived our toddler in a calm mood, but could still get taken out if we implemented with them in a temper tantrum. For office of class use it should still be okay in order settings (again maybe not as an anger aid if they're destructive) but will probably only last a year or so.