color your day mandala

Mindful Art
Written By Cat Brantley

This mindful art activity is simple and great for all ages. Try it solo or together with someone else. I love doing this activity after school with my daughter.

In this exercise, you will use colors to represent the feelings and emotions you experienced throughout your day within a mandala design of overlapping circles.

Why is this activity helpful?

1- Drawing repetitive lines helps calm the mind and nervous system

2 - Using colors to identify our feelings helps us name them, and learning to name our emotions loosens the grip of certain feelings we experience

3- It’s a sweet way to connect with someone after a long day, especially when “How was your day?” doesn’t get you very far :)

I hope you enjoy, and please leave a comment below if you tried it!

MATERIALS

  • paper

  • markers, crayons, colored pencils, watercolor paint (really, anything that’s colorful!)

  • something round to trace (about 4” across is great, like a small bowl or jar lid)

  • A Color Feelings Guide - not required but very helpful for children especially (here is a link to mine in my Etsy shop)

STEP 1

First, take a deep breath, get comfortable, listen to the sounds around you, and relax.

STEP 2

Draw a dot in the center of your paper, then using your round object, trace a circle around the center dot. Continue by tracing 4 more circles on your paper, using the center dot as a guide.

STEP 3

Now it’s time for color! Think back to when you first woke up this morning. How did you feel? Sleepy? Excited? Choose the color that represents that feeling, either by using a color feelings guide, or your own preference. Fill the center sections of your mandala with these morning colors - (don’t worry too much about where you put each color. Put a color where it feels good, and let young ones go with the flow, too. Starting in the center is a suggestion).

STEP 4

Continue to reflect on how you felt throughout your day, moving out from the center and filling each section with your different colors. You can then draw designs within each section of the mandala, write words that come to mind, or just keep it simple with only colors.

Try This:

As you color, practice staying in the present moment. As your mind naturally wonders or if you become critical of your work, come back to the present moment and relax. It is completely human to get distracted or to be critical of ourselves. We can notice it and then simply move forward without judgement. This is a mindfulness practice.

When you feel done, you can share your work with someone and talk through your day, or tuck this paper away somewhere special.

Cat Brantley
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