hand2mind Wooden Mindful Maze Set, 3 Breathing Boards, Ages 3+

The children lives this in their calm down corner!

These are a hit for the children in my Montessori program. I have long worked on teaching self regulation through taking deep breaths, and this visual and tactile set helps my 3-6 year olds to understand this better and practice it on their own. I give a lesson at opening circle time then store it in a calming box. Even older children like to use them and asked if they can have a set in their room too! I love how sturdy and attractive they are, not to mention that there are six designs/breathing patterns to level up and for novelty. A couple of parents even bought them for their children’s use at home.

I love this for a calm down corner. It really helped my son.

I have been a Special Education school social worker for over 25 years. These wooden "mazes" are of very high quality and will hold up for a long time. This is important, especially if they will be used in a counselor's office or in a classroom. The finish is quite smooth and will no cause splinters. I have used plastic mazes in the past and they are not as smooth for little fingers to trace. I like that there are 6 options to choose from on 3 boards (easier to store or transport). Individual children will respond better to particular relaxation breathing techniques. Each maze is a different color with various nature themes that will make it more appealing to young kids. Most counselors are familiar with teaching a variety of breathing exercises to promote calmness and mindfulness. Using a maze with some guidance is an excellent way to demonstrate. One of the pluses in this set is that it includes a well written guide on how to use it. These mazes can easily be used at home. I do believe that it will be most helpful with younger children (3-5). However, with Special Needs children, it will be beneficial to older kids and adults as well, depending on their needs.

My kids and I homeschool, and we have done work, with the help of an educational book, on dealing with anxiety. One way to cope with anxiety is to be in the now and practice mindfulness. We made outlines of our hands to trace if we are feeling anxious. These wooden boards provide a similar experience. They are well-made, smooth wooden boards that have grooves to trace with your fingers. There are three boards with two patterns on each. The pictures represent things in nature. If a child is feeling anxious, you would like a child to calm down, etc then you could have them sit in a quite place and teach them to trace the patterns on the boards. You could also encourage the child to think about the picture they are tracing and connect it to its counterpart in nature. You could have a child focus on breathing while using them. These boards aren't for everyone, but they are helpful in certain situations. I look at reviews a lot while shopping. I hope this review helps!

These truly are a great value for your money. They are made with high quality materials, and these will last a long time. The size is okay, they are a little bit smaller than I expected, but that doesn't bother me too much. The color is really vibrant and you can tell that better is a protective on it. It's the paint doesn't shut off easily. I think that is would be a great educational tool as well as a toy for most kids, I did take off one star because my son had something similar that held his interest a lot more. He used these ones in particular only once and never wanted to touch them again.

These little maze boards are amazingly made! They are smoothly sanded and polished - no splinters here! Smooth channels are perfect for little fingers but also allow grownup fingers to follow along as well! The grooved channels help provide a tactile experience which can help children focus better than a flat surface. Each board has a single, vibrant color to add a bit of interest without being overstimulating and allowing focus and calmness. You get 3 boards with a maze on each side - 6 mazes in all! Great for giving options without taking up a lot of space - perfect for those wanting a calm corner and have limited space! Also includes a little booklet that gives examples and explains how to use these for calming, breathing, fine motor skills and more. Packaging is good quality laminated cardboard that can also be used for storing and keeping these safe.

We got these to start introducing mindfulness and self soothing with our almost 2 year old and even though she doesn’t concept of anything quite yet she does really enjoy these so far. I think these will be a great way to help teach smaller children how to self soothe themselves and introduce them to being mindful and the practices that come along with that. I think these would be great for a calming corner activity either at home or in a school setting and I think introducing them to your child is a great idea and can be very beneficial. The designs on them are adorable and they are very well made pieces. There is no rough spots whatsoever so no worrying about splinters or cuts with these.

These are great at helping children learn how to breathe and calm themselves. I highly recommend it.

The product is well-crafted, with a smooth finish and charming designs that make it pleasant to use. My youngest child, who is three, enjoys tracing the patterns with his little fingers, particularly during moments when we aim to foster calmness. It provides a practical, hands-on method to guide him through breathing exercises in a natural way. I even took one along during a visit to the vet for our dogs, it fit neatly into my rucksack and kept him occupied and calm while we waited. The durability stands out, and the use of natural materials is a refreshing change from the usual plastic alternatives. That said, the patterns are fairly basic, so I can imagine older children might find it less engaging unless they have particular needs that align with its intended use. Nevertheless, as a tool for encouraging children to pause and reset, it performs effectively. A robust and portable item that's highly useful for promoting mindfulness.

My young Son is in a phase at the moment where he often struggles to manage his emotions so when I saw these I wondered whether they may be worth a try for him. We have created a'time out' type area and put several different fidget type toys, including these little mazes and when he feels he needs to step away from the situation he can do so. It seems that these have a really good theory to them - he follows the track of each wooden board with his finger and breaths along with he pattern - a great idea to help children to regulate their breathing instead of getting het up even more. They are beautifully crafted and lovely patterns - a great idea, if a little on the pricey side. However if you were buying these to have in a commercial type setting eg nursery or school then I can see how you would get your worth from them.

Very happy with this item. Great quality and for a good price. My son loves to sit down and practice his breathing while moving his finger along with the pictures.

These are a terrific calming tool for dysregulated students.