CBeebies launches a mindfulness app for kids voiced by Stephen Fry - here’s how to download it

CBeebies has released a new mindfulness app activity voiced by Stephen Fry to help children during lockdown The app experience, called Your Mindful Garden, aims to teach children between 0 - 6 years old, how to develop mindful habits. It’s aimed at helping them through difficult and unexpected times such as the coronavirus pandemic. The new app activity comes after the BBC expanded their education website BBC Bitesize, to help children learn during lockdown. What activities are included in the app? According to the CBeebies website, Your Mindful Garden provides three activities to complete daily, which aim to increase “focus, creativity and calm” in children. “Your Mindful Garden teaches valuable techniques to help children de-stress and unwind - useful skills both in these tough times and for later in life,” reads a statement on its website. In-app hide and seek with CBeebies characters is one example of the concentration based activities, while some creative activities include raking patterns in a zen garden. Creative and concentration based activities “help to clear and relax the mind”, according to the children’s television channel. The third and final activity is always geared towards calming the child. This can range from physical activities such as stretches to breathing exercises. “From learning to stretch with a new monkey friend to breathing along with a frog, it’s all about learning valuable techniques that can help improve children’s wellbeing,” the website says. Why is it called Your Mindful Garden? The app activity gets its name from one of its core components. Your Mindful Garden asks children to virtually dig a hole in the app to plant a mindfulness tree. Once they have completed a full set of three daily activities, they are rewarded with an in-app surprise element which is added to their tree. Stephen Fry, who voices the app experience said: “It was such a pleasure to be involved with a simple, but beautifully designed idea like this. I hope and believe that many children will find the game fun, engaging and helpful in their journeys through life.” How can I get the app? Your mindful Garden which was developed with the help of a professional mindfulness consultant, is now available for free in the CBeebies Go Explore app, which itself can be downloaded from the App Store, Google Play or Amazon App Stores.