A summer camp for families to learn mindfulness together.
19-23 July 2021
Learn mindfulness and self-compassion together as a family in your home.
Give your children the resources to care for anxiety and strengthen wellbeing.
Practical, fun, inclusive for all.
This is an introduction to our approach, where Orlaith talks about the Happy Families course that runs during the school year.
What will it look like?
The camp runs 19-23 July from 11am to noon each day.
We enjoy short creative practices together
These sessions offer a fun, easy way into mindfulness practice, including simple guided exercises that help us to focus and bring our awareness to how we’re feeling.
With stories, songs and art, we learn to care for our hearts and for each other.
We have four areas of practice:
(1) Nourishing our joy
We practice to strengthen our sense of happiness, safety and wellbeing.
We deliberately create space to let ourselves feel playfulness, connection, gratitude, fun, relaxation, hope and wonder.
Feeling these states regularly is key for our wellbeing.
(2) Getting to know our thoughts and feelings
We learn to recognise our habits of thinking (e.g., when I get angry, this is how my body feels and these are the kinds of thoughts that come up).
Once we know our habits, we can learn to take care of them.
(3) Caring for worries
If there are strong emotions that have become a habit for us (e.g., worry at bedtime; fear or anger) then we create space for us to explore how we can take care of them.
We use our imagination and wisdom to find ways to offer support to ourselves in such moments.
(4) Caring for each other
The course gives us the chance to create a meaningful space together. A family is like a little orchestra. We might be very different instruments making different sounds, but we can learn to create beautiful harmony together.
We learn to share together as a family to practice deep listening and loving speech. We can look at our family with fresh eyes and know that our family has everything it needs to live with joy, curiosity and deep love.
FAQ
Do the adults have to participate?
If at all possible, YES! As we know, kids don’t do what you say - they do what you do! In my years of working with children, I’ve seen nothing more influential than a child seeing their parents or key adults learn how to care for their worry and nourish their joy. It models a wholesome habit for your child’s whole life. If you can’t join for the session, you can create space for your child to share what they’ve explored each day.
Can children even practice mindfulness?
That’s another big YES from me! Mindfulness is an energy that we generate to be present for this moment of our life, with kindness and curiosity. Children tend to be GREAT at mindfulness.
Can we really learn this online?
Again, YES! There are many benefits to learning at home - it feels extra safe, and reduces the social (and health) anxiety of going to an unfamiliar space. A little preparation helps loads. You will receive tips and hints to help you create a comfortable environment for your family to gain the most benefit from each session. We’ll meet on Zoom.
What is the time commitment?
We have a live 60 minute class each morning and there are fun individual and family activities along the way.
What age range is this for?
The course is aimed at families with children under 12 years. We all participate according to our age and particular circumstances (for example, very young children are welcome to have some colours to draw during the session). The most important thing is to be together in an unconditionally caring environment.
Note: teenagers are welcome to join, but please give them the choice of whether to take part. It’s often most supportive for a teen to have their own learning environment. For teen mindfulness courses, please contact Orlaith.
What are the dates?
Mornings at 11am to noon from 19th - 23rd July.
(Audio only) WELLBEING-TALK-SERIES with Clara Garcias. We discuss mindfulness and enjoy some great questions from teens in Kenya.
Starfish is a fun mindfulness practice for any age! It can help to ease worried minds, restlessness and anger.
This is a short practice called "Catch happy" by mindfulness teacher Orlaith O'Sullivan as part of "The Healthy Ireland at your library" initiative.
This Fun Breathing Meditation for Kids was recorded during our International Online Family Retreat in August 2020! Breathe and Smile!
About Orlaith O’Sullivan
Orlaith has been practicing mindfulness for over 22 years in the tradition of Plum Village / Thich Nhat Hanh. She teaches mindfulness internationally to all ages and has created several initiatives to share mindfulness in fun and creative ways.
She teaches mindfulness to children up to 14 years on the virtual learning platform Adventure2Learning.
Her courses Mindful Family, Strengths to Thrive (for teens), and Cultivating Happiness were the first courses of their kind in Ireland. These courses are founded on learning together as a family, blending mindfulness and character strengths and positive neuroplasticity. She is founder of four mindfulness community groups (two based in Dublin city for adults and for children, and two international online groups, for adults and for families).
In Ireland, Orlaith works directly with NEPS (National Educational Psychological Service), HSA, HSE, parents’ associations and after-school groups. She works with the pupils, staff and parents of schools, including: Saplings School (Kildare), John Scottus (Ballsbridge), Holy Faith (Clontarf), St Sylvester’s (Malahide), Fingal Community College (Swords) and Coláiste Dhúlaigh (Coolock).
She is International Co-ordinator for Wake Up Schools, an international grass-roots movement to support teachers and create mindful educational communities. Orlaith is also a founder member of the Community for Contemplative Education, an initiative of Mind & Life Europe.
Orlaith co-produced Ireland’s first mindfulness retreat for educators in 2018 and the world’s first online retreat for families with Plum Village monastics in 2020.
She is an advisor to the World Happiness Festival and speaks regularly at conferences, including the Mindful Kids Peace Summit, Mindfulness in Education Summit and various mindfulness in education conferences.
She was an editor/reader for the award-winning textbook ‘Happy Teachers Change the World: A Guide to Integrating Mindfulness in Education’ by Prof. Katherine Weare and Thich Nhat Hanh.
Orlaith is an experienced and passionate teacher. She holds a PhD in English and is known for weaving poetry into her practice. She is a certified teacher in Rainbow Kids Yoga. She was Child Protection Officer when working with Devon County Council in the UK; she was trained in Child Protection and holds a recent Garda Clearance.