It is 1:40 on a Tuesday, and the class has just come in from lunch. Two students are still buzzing, one has tears over a playground argument, and the rest are staring at you, waiting to see what happens next. This is the moment a short calm-down routine earns its keep — not as a lesson, but as a reset button you can press in under five minutes.
This list collects mindfulness apps built for children, not adult meditation apps with a kids tab added as an afterthought. Every app here has audio a child can follow, sessions short enough for a classroom, and content aimed at ages 12 and under. Some are free, some are subscriptions, and two are free for schools.
We checked every tool on its official website on November 9, 2026, looking for a real fit with PreK–6 classrooms, clear information about what is free, and content a teacher can play without prep. Where a site did not state a price or an age range, we say so.
Key takeaways
- Smiling Mind is free and nonprofit, with 700+ sessions and a Primary School Program.
- Moshi Kids offers 400+ audio stories, meditations, sounds, and music for ages 0–12, and is free for educators.
- Breathe, Think, Do with Sesame is free, bilingual, and built for ages 2–5.
- DreamyKid is free for classrooms and schools, with meditations for ages 3–17.
- Headspace costs $12.99 a month or $69.99 a year; Calm Premium is listed at $79.99 a year.
Quick comparison
| # | Tool | Best for | Grades / audience | Pricing | Free plan |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | bedtime stories and calm-down audio | Ages 0–12 | Free + paid | Free for teachers | |
| 2 | a free classroom mindfulness program | Early childhood to adulthood | Free | Free (nonprofit) | |
| 3 | teaching calm-down steps to preschoolers | Ages 2–5 | Free | Free (nonprofit) | |
| 4 | sleep stories and affirmations for kids | Ages 3–17 | Free + paid | Free for teachers | |
| 5 | structured courses for older kids | Kids content for ages 3–5, 6–8, 9–12 | Free + paid | Trial only | |
| 6 | kids Sleep Stories at bedtime | Children and adults | Free + paid | Trial only | |
| 7 | a huge free meditation library | Children and adults; kids content for ages 5–13 | Free + paid | Yes | |
| 8 | anxiety relief for worried kids | Ages 5–18 | Paid | No |
Make a tool for teachers?
Built something teachers love? We keep these guides fresh, so send us a new tool, updated pricing or a featured spot request.
Request a listingThe 8 best picks
- Pricing
- Free + paid
- Free plan
- Free for teachers
- Grades / audience
- Ages 0–12
Moshi Kids is an audio app for children, built around characters from the Moshi Monsters world. It mixes bedtime stories, meditations, sounds, music, and games, all aimed at helping kids sleep, relax, or focus. Teachers use the short audio clips called Moments to settle a class after lunch or recess, and the app's school version is free for educators.
What we like
- More than 400 audio stories, meditations, sounds, and music tracks
- Moments: 5- to 15-minute audio clips for big feelings
- 50+ character-led games, including coloring, matching, and memory
- Moshi for Schools is free for educators, with SEL-focused content
Watch out for
- The subscription is the only way to keep the full library after the trial.
- Games and stories are audio-led, so you need a device and speakers, not just a printout.
Pricing: Annual plan $49.99 a year after a 7-day free trial; Moshi for Schools is free for educators.
- Pricing
- Free
- Free plan
- Free (nonprofit)
- Grades / audience
- Early childhood to adulthood
Smiling Mind is a free mindfulness app from an Australian not-for-profit. It offers guided meditations, sleep programs, and short practices for children, teenagers, and adults, with content that runs from early childhood to adulthood. Its Primary School Program adds curriculum-aligned lessons teachers can run in class, and the app lets you search sessions by keyword, need, or age group.
What we like
- Free app, free for individuals and families for over 12 years
- 700+ sessions across 90 collections and pathways
- Search and filter by keyword, need, or age group
- Primary School Program with curriculum-aligned lessons
Watch out for
- The school program is designed around classroom lessons, so it takes more setup than pressing play.
- Some content is aimed at teenagers and adults, so filter by age before sharing with a class.
Pricing: Free. Smiling Mind is a 100% not-for-profit and the app costs nothing to use.
Breathe, Think, Do with Sesame
Best for: teaching calm-down steps to preschoolers
- Pricing
- Free
- Free plan
- Free (nonprofit)
- Grades / audience
- Ages 2–5
Breathe, Think, Do with Sesame is a free app from Sesame Workshop that teaches young children a three-step way to handle a problem: take a breath, think of a plan, then do it. Children help a Sesame Street monster friend calm down and solve everyday problems, such as spilled juice or a friend taking a toy. It is part of Sesame Street's Little Children, Big Challenges initiative.
What we like
- Bilingual in English and Spanish
- Teaches the Breathe, Think, Do problem-solving strategy step by step
- Built for parents and caregivers to use with children ages 2–5
- Completely free, with no in-app purchases or subscriptions
Watch out for
- The app is built for one child and a caregiver, not for a whole class at once.
- It needs a strong Wi-Fi connection to download fully, according to the app description.
Pricing: Free, with no in-app purchases.
- Pricing
- Free + paid
- Free plan
- Free for teachers
- Grades / audience
- Ages 3–17
DreamyKid is a meditation app made only for children, founded in 2016. It offers everyday meditations, sleep stories, affirmations, guided journeys, and healing activities, plus issue-based content for worries such as ADHD and anxiety. Teachers can request a free classroom account, and the app has been free for classrooms and schools since 2016.
What we like
- Meditations, sleep stories, affirmations, and guided journeys for ages 3–17
- Issue-based content for ADHD, anxiety, and other worries
- Free for classrooms and schools through a promo code for teachers
- Founded in 2016 by Ty Wenzel and Jenna Walter
Watch out for
- The app is aimed at families, so classroom use runs through the school offer rather than a teacher dashboard.
- Annual pricing is shown as a monthly equivalent on the checkout page.
Pricing: Monthly $9.99, or $5.85 a month on the annual plan; free for classrooms and schools.
- Pricing
- Free + paid
- Free plan
- Trial only
- Grades / audience
- Kids content for ages 3–5, 6–8, 9–12
Headspace is a meditation and sleep app with a dedicated kids section, split into age groups 3–5, 6–8, and 9–12. Exercises run from about 1 to 10 minutes and cover calming down, kindness, and sleep. The full library holds more than 1,000 expert-led exercises, including sleepcasts, wind-downs, and soundscapes, and the app runs on Apple and Android devices.
What we like
- Kids section with age groups 3–5, 6–8, and 9–12
- Short exercises from about 1 to 10 minutes
- 1,000+ expert-led exercises, plus sleepcasts and soundscapes
- Monthly and annual plans, plus family and student plans
Watch out for
- The kids content is a section inside a much larger adult app.
- Prices may differ if you subscribe through Apple or Google Play instead of the website.
Pricing: $12.99 a month or $69.99 a year, with a 14-day free trial on the annual plan.
- Pricing
- Free + paid
- Free plan
- Trial only
- Grades / audience
- Children and adults
Calm is a meditation and sleep app with a large library of Sleep Stories, including stories for children featuring Peppa Pig, Minions, Winnie the Pooh, and Transformers. It also offers meditations and lullabies for kids, and a 60-second Breathe Bubble for a quick breathing break. The app runs on iOS, Android, the web, Apple TV, Apple Watch, and Google WearOS.
What we like
- 500+ Sleep Stories, including stories made for children
- Kids Sleep Stories with Peppa Pig, Minions, Winnie the Pooh, and Transformers
- 60-second Breathe Bubble for a quick classroom reset
- Meditations and lullabies for kids alongside the adult library
Watch out for
- The kids stories sit inside a large adult library, so preview before playing for a class.
Pricing: Calm Premium is $79.99 a year after a 7-day free trial.
- Pricing
- Free + paid
- Free plan
- Yes
- Grades / audience
- Children and adults; kids content for ages 5–13
Insight Timer calls itself the number one free app for sleep, anxiety, and stress. Most of its library is free, including kids and family meditations, kids sleep journeys, and a For Parents section with courses such as a 15-day Kids' Sanctuary course. An optional MemberPlus subscription adds courses and premium content, plus offline listening.
What we like
- Large free library of guided meditations, talks, and music
- Kids and family meditations, including sleep meditations for ages 5–13
- For Parents section with kids meditations and courses
- MemberPlus adds courses, premium content, and offline listening
Watch out for
- The library is very large, so finding the right kids track takes a search, not a browse.
- Some courses are paid, including the Kids' Sanctuary course.
Pricing: Free to use; MemberPlus is $9.99 a month or $59.99 a year, with a free trial available.
- Pricing
- Paid
- Free plan
- No
- Grades / audience
- Ages 5–18
GoZen! is an online social-emotional learning library for kids and teens, built around animated video programs that teach anxiety relief, anger management, and other resilience skills. It holds more than 400 bite-sized lessons, 10 animated programs, and 33 live-action courses taught by teenagers, plus hundreds of printables and discussion prompts. Everything is grounded in cognitive behavioral therapy, positive psychology, and neuroscience, and it works on a computer, tablet, or phone.
What we like
- 400+ bite-sized lessons and 10 animated programs on anxiety, anger, and more
- 33 live-action courses taught by teens
- More than 1,000 SEL resources, including printables and discussion prompts
- Free sample videos to try before joining
Watch out for
- The price is higher than a single meditation app, so it fits best when anxiety is the main need.
- Content is organized by topic, so pick the program that matches the child in front of you.
Pricing: Household membership is $197 a year for the full library; free sample videos are available.
How we chose
We started from tools PreK–6 teachers actually use and checked every one against its official website, pricing page and feature pages on November 9, 2026. We kept tools that fit elementary classrooms, noted whether a free plan exists, and wrote down honest limitations next to the strengths. Nobody paid to be included, and we don't use affiliate links on this page.
- Fit for PreK–6 classrooms, special education or homeschool
- Clear information on the official site about what the tool does and who it is for
- Free plan or free-for-teachers option noted where one exists
- Still active and maintained, with rebrands noted
How to choose the right tool
Start with the problem, not the app. If the class needs to settle after lunch, pick a short audio tool such as Moshi Kids or Calm. If one child is anxious, GoZen! teaches the skill behind the feeling. If you want a daily routine, Smiling Mind's school program is built for that.
Check what is actually free before you plan a lesson. Smiling Mind and Breathe, Think, Do with Sesame cost nothing, Moshi Kids and DreamyKid are free for educators, and Insight Timer's main library is free. Headspace, Calm, and GoZen! need a paid plan after a trial.
Match the length to the moment. A 60-second Breathe Bubble or a 3-minute breathing routine fits between lessons. Save 10-minute sleep stories and full programs for rest time or the end of the day.
Preview every track before you play it for a class. Voices, music, and pacing vary a lot between apps, and what calms one group can bore or unsettle another. Play it once yourself first.
Plan for the day the Wi-Fi drops. Keep a printed breathing routine or a calm-down corner ready, so the routine survives a dead battery or a blocked network.
Let students choose. Offer two apps or two tracks and let the class vote. Children use a calm-down tool more often when they picked it themselves.
Best pick by situation
- Your class comes back from lunch loud and unsettled: Moshi Kids — Moments are 5- to 15-minute audio clips made for big feelings
- You need a free mindfulness routine for the whole school year: Smiling Mind — free app with a Primary School Program of curriculum-aligned lessons
- Your preschoolers melt down over small problems: Breathe, Think, Do with Sesame — teaches the Breathe, Think, Do steps to ages 2–5, free and bilingual
- You want a wind-down track for rest time or the end of the day: DreamyKid — sleep stories and everyday meditations for ages 3–17
- Your students are anxious before tests: GoZen! — animated anxiety-relief programs for ages 5–18
- You want a large free library for older elementary students: Insight Timer — free app with kids meditations and a For Parents section
- You need a familiar sleep story for a child who will not settle: Calm — kids Sleep Stories include Peppa Pig, Minions, and Winnie the Pooh
Pair it with printables
For calm-down corners and small-group work without a screen, these Activity Express printables pair naturally with the mindfulness apps above.
Frequently asked questions
Which mindfulness app for kids is completely free?
Smiling Mind and Breathe, Think, Do with Sesame are free, with no subscription. Insight Timer's main library is also free, and Moshi Kids and DreamyKid are free for educators and schools.
What is the best mindfulness app for preschoolers?
Breathe, Think, Do with Sesame is built for ages 2–5, is bilingual in English and Spanish, and teaches a simple three-step calm-down routine. Moshi Kids also covers ages 0–12 with audio stories and short Moments clips.
Can I use these apps in a classroom?
Yes, with a speaker and a device. Smiling Mind has a Primary School Program, Moshi for Schools is free for educators, and DreamyKid offers free classroom accounts. Preview each track first, since most of these apps are made for families.
How much do Headspace and Calm cost?
Headspace costs $12.99 a month or $69.99 a year, with a 14-day free trial on the annual plan. Calm Premium is listed at $79.99 a year on Calm's site, with a free trial available.
Is there a mindfulness app for anxious kids?
GoZen! is built for anxiety relief, with animated programs for ages 5–18 grounded in cognitive behavioral therapy. DreamyKid also has issue-based content for anxiety and ADHD, and Insight Timer has kids meditations for anxiety.
Make a tool for teachers?
Built something teachers love? We keep these guides fresh, so send us a new tool, updated pricing or a featured spot request.
Request a listingDisclosure: no tool on this page paid to be included and we don't earn commissions from these links. Featured placements, if we ever offer them, will be clearly labeled "Sponsored". Details were checked on each provider's official website on November 9, 2026 and can change.