A three-part educational video series for kids (and the kids at heart)

Updated: October 24, 2025
Author: Kate Nelson

This project grew out of my work with children who sometimes have big feelings and small words to match them. I wanted to design something short, kind, and clear – something that could help kids slow down for a moment and understand what’s going on inside.

So I created three one-minute videos about mindfulness:

1. What is Mindfulness?

2. How Breathing Helps the Brain

3. Try a Mini Mindful Pause

Each video stars either Sunny, a curious little student, and Brain, her cheerful pink sidekick who’s trying its best to stay calm under pressure and teach us how to relax during overwhelming moments.

My goal was to help Grades 2-5 learners understand mindfulness through gentle storytelling, simple visuals, and calm narration. The videos were created with Canva Video Editor, using my own iPad drawings exported through Photo Booth as transparent graphics. Some Canva-provided animations and sounds helped bring the characters to life.

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Understand

DESCRIBE THE CHALLENGE:

Children need accessible ways to understand and regulate their emotions through mindfulness – especially in everyday classroom or after-school settings.

CONTEXT AND AUDIENCE:

These videos are designed for children aged 7-11, but they’re flexible for teachers and parents to use too. Many kids this age are just beginning to name emotions like frustration, excitement, and worry.

In typical cases, learners may struggle with patience or transitions (like cleaning up or leaving recess). In extreme cases, students with anxiety, ADHD, or developmental disabilities might find emotional regulation overwhelming.

These short videos meet them halfway – using familiar rhythm of short-form media (think Youtube Shorts or TikTok) while shifting the tone to be slower, softer, and more mindful.

POV STATEMENT:

A child who feels upset or overstimulated needs a calm, friendly video guide that helps them pause, breathe, and name what’s happening inside.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

The learning goals for this series are to help Grades 2-5 learners understand mindfulness as “kind attention to the present moment,” recognize in simple terms how slow, steady breathing can calm both the body and the brain, and practice a brief mindful pause independently. Along the way, a quieter set of aims runs underneath: building emotional vocabulary, encouraging gentle self-check-ins (“how do I feel right now?”), and nudging metacognitive awareness so students can notice what helps them refocus. Each video – definition, explanation, and try-it, was designed backward from these objectives so every scene, caption, and animation supports clarity, calm, and carryover into real classroom moments.

Plan

IDEATION:

The idea for this project was first sparked during a yoga class I took, when the instructor asked us to imagine ourselves as children – too upset to explain what was wrong – and to think about how much better we might have felt if we had known how to pause and breathe through the problem. As someone who works with children every day, that moment inspired me to create a resource that helps kids understand that kind of mindful pause. From there, I began doodling – a girl sitting at her desk, which became the early base for the second video – followed by the expressive little Brain character, and later, a simplified boy version that worked better for animation. I drew inspiration from educational explainer videos and resources by Headspace, AsapScience, and Peekaboo Kidz, all of which balance playfulness with clear learning. My most promising prototypes were the boy-and-brain animations, which captured mindfulness in a warm, relatable, and gently humorous way.

STORYBOARD OR SCRIPT:

My storyboard and script were created through hand-drawn scenes designed to express calmness, emotion, and learning through gentle visuals. Each frame was drawn on my iPad and sent through the Photo Booth app to create transparent PNGs for animation in Canva, where I layered, timed, and animated the drawings to match the narration.

The second video, “How Breathing Helps the Brain,” introduces Brain and a boy sitting at his desk, feeling anxious about a test. A red alarm beside him represents the brain’s stress signal—its “alarm” going off when we feel worried or overwhelmed. When Brain appears, he explains how breathing helps calm this response, connecting the science of mindfulness to the body. Shelley Murphy’s Fostering Mindfulness (2019) was an important reference in shaping this video. Her discussion of how mindful breathing supports the brain’s emotional regulation and attention systems helped me frame this explanation in an age-appropriate way. Murphy’s work also guided the box breathing (or square breathing) sequence that follows, where Brain leads the boy—and the audience—through four counts of inhaling, holding, exhaling, and holding again. The visual cues of arrows, clocks, and breath icons were designed to mirror Murphy’s emphasis on pacing, rhythm, and embodied mindfulness.

The final video, “Try a Mini Mindful Pause,”, builds on that foundation with Sunny and Brain co-leading a short, natural breathing exercise. Unlike the structured square breathing in the previous video, this sequence focuses on steady, rhythmic breathing—encouraging children to pause, breathe, and refocus in real time.

Throughout the storyboard and scripting process, I prioritized warmth, simplicity, and emotional safety. Soft colours, friendly character designs, and gentle narration were all chosen to help children feel calm and included. My goal was not only to teach what mindfulness is, but to let viewers experience how mindful breathing can change how we feel inside.

PRINCIPLES APPLIED:

Throughout this project, I applied Mayer’s Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning to guide every design decision. The Modality Principle was central: I paired clear, friendly narration with visuals so children could process information through both auditory and visual channels. The Coherence Principle shaped my art style – I simplified backgrounds and used calm colours so attention stayed on Sunny and Brain (the guides).

The Segmenting Principle helped structure the series: each video lasts around one minute and focuses on a single idea: (1) What mindfulness is, (2) How breathing helps the brain, and (3) Trying a mindful pause. This ensured the learning content remained digestible and focused, reducing cognitive overload for younger viewers.

Accessibility was another key consideration. To support learners with hearing impairments – or anyone who prefers or requires text support, I included captions that matched my narration closely. This decision aligns with inclusive design practices and ensures that each video is understandable regardless of hearing ability, language background, or listening environment. My goal was to make the series equally accessible to children learning English as a second language or those who simply engage better with visual text reinforcement.

The Personalization Principle guided my tone of voice: calm, conversational, and gently playful — mirroring the way I speak with children at work. The Voice Principle was maintained through my own natural narration rather than a generated voice, to preserve warmth and authenticity.

Finally, Shelley Murphy’s Fostering Mindfulness (2019) informed both the content and pacing. Her writing on how mindful breathing supports the brain’s emotional regulation and focus helped me design scenes where children could practice what they were learning. The result is a series that blends the educational strength of multimedia learning with the emotional safety and accessibility of mindfulness practice.

PEER FEEDBACK:

The feedback I received throughout the Challenge B process was generous and encouraging, offering both practical and reflective insights that helped shape my final videos. My first round of feedback, from peers like Caelan, Emma, and Charlie, focused on my ability to connect personal experience with theory. They appreciated how I linked my own mindfulness practice to Mayer’s multimedia principles, especially pacing, narration, and visual clarity. Their comments reminded me to include more concrete examples of how those principles would appear in my own work — an idea that carried forward into my prototype.

During the prototype review stage, peers like Sai and Julia offered feedback that deepened my design thinking. They highlighted the strength of my structure and calm tone, noting how the short, themed segments reflected the Segmenting Principle and created a peaceful learning environment for children. Julia also encouraged me to bring more of my early sketches and visuals into the prototype phase — advice that influenced how I presented my progress in Substantive Post #2. Sai suggested I add clearer signalling to direct viewers’ attention, which inspired subtle design choices like motion cues and breath indicators in the final videos.

Finally, feedback on Substantive Post #2 from Therese, Tanuj, and Alexis helped me articulate how iteration connects to growth. They appreciated my reflection on design as a looping process and how I built confidence from feedback. Their encouragement to expand on revision and process led me to write more openly about my creative learning curve — including the decision to simplify my character design and clarify my audience. Overall, my peers’ comments helped me see my videos not only as creative media but as structured, educational tools that model mindfulness through both form and content.

Reflect and Refine

Note: This project was completed individually, so this reflection represents both the design process and my personal learning experience.

Looking back on this project, I’ve learned how much design is really about listening — to feedback, to your audience, and to the feeling you want the learner to leave with. When I first started, I was thinking mainly about how to make something creative and visually engaging. But as I moved through the phases of feedback and revision, I began to see how design can also be an act of care — a way to meet learners where they are, and to build calm, curiosity, and understanding through small, intentional choices.

Working independently meant that every stage of the process was mine to navigate, from developing the idea and drawing the characters to narrating, editing, and revising. It was definitely challenging at times, but it also gave me freedom to follow my instincts and make something that feels true to my voice. One of my biggest takeaways was how simplifying the visuals actually made the message stronger. The first version of my “girl at the desk” drawing was full of tiny details that looked nice but made the scene too busy to work with. When I redesigned it into the “boy at the desk” version, everything became easier to animate and more focused — it matched the calm, gentle tone I wanted children to feel.

I also drew inspiration from Shelley Murphy’s Fostering Mindfulness, which helped me better understand how breathing affects the brain and emotions. Her writing on mindful breathing guided both the structure of the second video and the inclusion of “square breathing” (or box breathing) as a simple, teachable practice. I wanted the science of the brain and the act of breathing to connect — not just as information, but as something kids could actually try for themselves. That’s why the sequence of Brain and the boy breathing together became one of my favourite parts of the whole project.

Throughout all three videos, I was also really intentional about accessibility. I made sure to include captions that matched my narration so that any viewer — whether they have a hearing impairment, prefer reading to listening, or just need quiet time — could still follow along and understand the message. Making something that felt inclusive and gentle was important to me, because mindfulness should be for everyone, regardless of how they experience the world.

As someone who hopes to teach this same age group one day, I can easily imagine using a resource like this in a classroom. I’d love to play these videos as part of a morning routine or after a tricky moment, and then talk with my students about what mindfulness means to them. Having something visual, short, and calm that we could revisit together would make those conversations feel more accessible and natural — like saying, “let’s breathe through this together” instead of just “calm down.” I think that’s what I’ve learned most from this process: mindfulness and design both work best when they invite people in, not when they tell them what to do.

If I were to keep developing the project, I’d like to explore more interactive or personalized mindfulness activities that let kids choose what works best for them. But for now, I’m really proud of how these videos turned out. They’re calm, curious, and kind — exactly the kind of energy I’d want to bring into my future classroom.

References:

ASAPScience, (video), “The Scientific Power of Meditation”, on Youtube. Written by: Rachel Salt, Gregory Brown and Mitchell Moffit. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aw71zanwMnY

EdTech Uvic, EDCI 337: Theories of Multimedia Learning. https://edtechuvic.ca/edci337/2025/09/05/theories-of-multimedia-learning/

Gordon, T., & Borushok, J. (2019). Acceptance and mindfulness toolbox for children and adolescents : 75+ worksheets and activities for trauma, anxiety, depression, anger and more. PESI., http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/uvic/detail.action?docID=6260894.

Headspace, Mindfulness with Kids. https://www.headspace.com/content/topics/mindfulness-with-kids/99?origin=content_hub_home

Murphy, S. (2019). Fostering mindfulness : Building skills that students need to manage their attention, emotions, and behavior in classrooms and beyond. Pembroke Publishers, Limited.

Peekaboo Kidz, (video), “The Five Senses”, on Youtube. Written by: Peekaboo Kidz. Produced by: Rajjat A. Barjatya. Script Writer: Sreejoni Nag. https://youtu.be/q1xNuU7gaAQ?si=XPKMC1m7bX2H_awz

When I think about the design process, I picture it as a loop rather than a line. Each stage, understanding, planning, trying, and reflecting, teaches me something new and reshapes what comes next. I’ve realized that design is less about reaching a polished endpoint and more about responding to feedback and discovery. The Double Diamond model from our course helped me visualize this pattern: the first diamond encourages open, divergent exploration, and the second guides convergence toward clear, purposeful choices. It connects closely with Backward Design, which reminds me to start with the end goal in mind – what I want the learner to understand, feel, or take away – before I get too caught up in the visuals.

Challenge A: Comics

In Challenge A, I designed a short comic to help children, especially those with developmental disabilities, recognize and express emotions. Using AI-generated imagery and colour, I explored how visual cues can communicate feelings. Through iteration, I simplified panels, adjusted pacing, and emphasized empathy over detail, which helped me learn that clarity and warmth reach young readers more effectively than complexity.

Challenge B: Videos

That learning flowed directly into Challenge B, where I’ve been layering movement, sound, and timing into the design process. Using Powtoon and my iPad drawings, I’ve been building short mindfulness videos inspired by Headspace and ASAPScience. I’m also learning the practical side of design—editing animations, drawing scenes, and managing files across multiple devices and workflows. Now that I’ve received peer feedback on my prototype, I plan to refine my visuals, narration, and pacing further. Each round of revision feels like an opportunity to grow both creatively and technically, turning experimentation into confidence and curiosity.

To visualize part of my creative process, the screenshot below captures an early stage of my video prototype, where I combined my own drawings with timing, narration, and accessibility features using Powtoon.

Mindful Moments: Understanding and Practicing Mindfulness for Kids (Grades 2-5)

Author: Kate Nelson

Updated: October 12, 2025

Brief Project Intro:

I am creating a short educational video series called “MIndful Moments” to introduce mindfulness to children in Grades 2-5. I am working independently on this project.

I chose this topic because, in my experience working with children across different learning environments, I’ve consistently noticed how difficult it can be for them to calm down and express their emotions when upset. There are many existing resources that support families and educators in introducing mindfulness to children and helping them approach challenges such as trauma, anxiety, and stress. Two that have particularly inspired me are Headspace for Kids and Families – which offers guided meditations for calming down, managing anxiety, and winding down, and The Acceptance and Mindfulness Toolbox for Children and Adolescents by Gordon and Borushok – which provides developmentally appropriate exercises for teaching emotional regulation and awareness.

My goal for this project is to design three one-minute videos that blend education and guided practice, in a mix of explainer and how-to videos. I want them to feel approachable, calm, and relatable for children across this age group – simple enough for younger students but not too ‘young’ for older ones.

In this process, I’ve been experimenting with combining Powtoon animations and hand-drawn iPad illustrations while narrating in my own voice. The process has required a lot of thought around pacing, tone, and accessibility to make sure the concepts are engaging and meaningful for students.

Understand (Discover, Interpret, Specify)

DESCRIBE THE CHALLENGE:

Many children struggle to regulate emotions, calm their bodies, and express how they feel during stressful moments. They need simple, accessible strategies to practice mindfulness and learn emotional self-regulation.

CONTEXT AND AUDIENCE:

My intended audience for this project is children in Grades 2-5, typically ages 7-11. This age group is often curious, imaginative, and increasingly aware of their own emotions and experiences, which makes it a great stage to begin exploring mindfulness in a simple, age-appropriate way. The videos will use calm narration, storytelling, and clear visuals to make mindfulness concepts approachable and enjoyable rather than instructional or overly serious.

Within this age range, there’s a wide variety of learners. Typical cases might include children who are learning how to handle everyday frustrations, distractions, or feelings of stress. More extreme cases could include children who experience higher levels of anxiety, emotional sensitivity, or neurodiverse traits such as ADHD or autism spectrum conditions. The videos are not meant to serve as therapeutic tools for these experiences but instead offer gentle, accessible introductions to breathing, awareness, and calm focus – ideas that can benefit a range of learners.

Although the project is primarily designed for children, I hope that teachers or families may see value in sharing it with their own students or children. My intention isn’t to provide expert advice, but to create a fun, creative, and meaningful entry point into mindfulness – something that helps kids pause, breathe, and reflect for just a moment in their day.

POV STATEMENT:

An elementary student who feels overwhelmed or frustrated during the school day needs simple, guided mindfulness strategies so that they can calm their mind and body, refocus, and communicate their emotions more effectively.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

The “Mindful Moments” video series is designed to help children begin understand and practice mindfulness in a simple and engaging way. The main learning objectives are for learners to recognize mindfulness as paying attention to the present moment with curiosity and kindness, understand how breathing can influence the brain and body during moments of stress, and try short mindfulness activities – like breathing exercises or sensory awareness – to calm their minds and refocus.

Beyond these surface goals, the videos will also aim to promote deeper learning outcomes. By gently encouraging reflection, children can begin to notice how they feel before and after practicing mindfulness, helping them build self-awareness and patience. These ‘secret’ goals include developing an early sense of emotional regulation, curiosity about their own thoughts and feelings, and empathy for others who might experience similar emotions.

Plan (Ideate, Sketch, Elaborate)

IDEATION:

I brainstormed ways to present mindfulness in a short, meaningful format that balances explanation and participation. I decided on three different concepts expressed in each video:

1. What mindfulness is,
2. How breathing impacts the brain, (with inspiration and learning from the ASAPScience video)
3. How to practice mindfulness in the moment.

My most promising prototype uses narration and illustration together, allowing the viewer to listen, watch, participate. The tone is warm and calm – something a child could follow independently or with an adult.

STORYBOARD OR SCRIPT:

Video 1 – “What is Mindfulness?”

• Intro: “Have you ever felt your mind racing or your body buzzing?” -> animation of a fast-moving stick figure.
• Middle: Explains mindfulness as paying attention to the present moment, noticing sounds, sensations, and breathing.
• End: “Try noticing one thing around you right now – what do you see or hear?”

Video 2 – “How Breathing Helps Your Brain”

• Intro: “When we’re stressed, our brain thinks there’s danger – even if there isn’t.”
• Middle: Illustrate a brain and lungs, explaining how slow breathing calms the body.
• End: Guide viewers through one cycle of box breathing (inhale 4, hold 4, exhale 4, hold 4).

Video 3 – “Try a Mini Mindful Pause”

• Intro: “Let’s try a one-minute mindful pause together.”
• Middle: Guide a “3-2-1” awareness practice: “3 things you can see, 2 things you can hear, 1 you can feel.”
• End: “Take one deep breath. How do you feel now?”

PRINCIPLES APPLIED:

In designing the “Mindful Moments” video series, I am applying several of Mayer’s Multimedia Learning Principles to make the content clear, engaging, and accessible for children. The coherence principle guides my decision to include only visuals that directly support the narration, keeping the screen simple and free of distractions. Following the modality principle, I will use my own narration paired with illustrated visuals rather than on-screen text, allowing learners to process information through both visual and auditory channels without becoming overloaded. The signalling principle will appear through the use of arrows, highlights, and pacing to draw attention to key concepts, such as the rise and fall of the breath or the difference between a tense and calm brain. I will also apply the segmenting principle by dividing information into three short, focused videos – each covering one main idea into manageable, one-minute segments. Finally, the personalization principle will shape the narration style: calm, friendly, and conversations, modeling mindfulness and creating a relaxed tone that feels approachable for students. Together, these principles will help make the videos more effective by maintaining focus, supporting comprehension, and encouraging active participation in each mindfulness practice.

• Explain the principles guiding your solution, referencing the Educational Multimedia Design Principles explicitly.

Important Note: Complete drafts of Phases 1 and 2 before starting your prototype.

Create and Share the Prototype

At this stage, I have not yet created the videos themselves, but I’ve outlined the structure, tone, and style that will guide their development. My prototype consists of the scripts, concepts, and design plans for each of the three short videos, which I plan to bring to life using Powtoon and my iPad illustrations with Apple Pencil for animation. Each video will include narration by me, along with pauses and counting to encourage viewers to follow along in real time.

The third video, “Try a Mini Mindful Pause,” will likely serve as the first completed example for my final submission, since it includes a practical mindfulness exercise that can be tested for flow and timing. Although I’m submitting this prototype later than planned, I’ve put significant thought and care into the design process so far. I’m looking forward to feedback from my peers on how the concept, pacing, and narration style might best support learning and engagement in the final product.

References:

“The Scientific Power of Meditation” by ASAPScience

Updated: October 11th, 2025
Author: Kate Nelson

As someone who practices meditation regularly, often using apps like Headspace or attending yoga classes to help me breathe, reflect, and calm my nervous system, I’ve definitely felt the effects in how I respond to stress and overwhelming situations. However, I have never fully understood the scientific benefits of meditation for everyone who practices it. This video, “The Scientific Power of Meditation” by ASAPScience, really helped me clarify that and ‘put a face to the name.’

I love how simple the explainer video is to understand, with clear visuals, a clear voice, and a touch of humour that keeps things engaging without losing focus. The animation style makes complicated ideas about the brain easy to follow and remember, which is something I hope to reflect in my own Challenge B project.

From the lens of Mayer’s Multimedia Learning Theory, the video does a great job balancing visual and auditory information. The narrator speaks as illustrations appear on screen, showing the modality principle in action. The coherence principle is present since every visual directly supports the narration, and the signalling principle appears through arrows and highlights that guide attentionto important details. The pacing uses the segmenting principle, dividing the science into small, understandable chunks. Finally, the casual and friendly narration shows the personalization principle, addressing potential audience emotions and helping viewers connect to the topic.

Overall, this is an amazing example of how simplicity, pacing, and a bit of humour can make learning something like meditation both enjoyable and meaningful.

References:

ASAPScience, (video), “The Scientific Power of Meditation”, on Youtube. Written by: Rachel Salt, Gregory Brown and Mitchell Moffit. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aw71zanwMnY

Headspace, meditation (webpage, app). https://www.headspace.com