Calm Corner
Our thoughts and feelings work together inside our brains to change our behavior. In order to learn how to *calm down* we need to understand what is happening in our brains and bodies!
For Grownups:
For Kids:
Hand Model of our Brain
Dr. Dan explains what happens to our brains when we "Flip our LIDS!"
Let's take deep breaths!
How Breathing can help us calm down!
Yoga
Exercise can be a great way to calm our bodies!
Mindfulness
Mindfulness can be a great way to slow down our brains and help us feel calmer.
Breathing Exercise 1
Try to belly breathe with Elmo and friends!
Breathing Exercise 2
Rainbow breathing is relaxing! Try it!
Breathing Exercise 3
This is a great exercise for older children and adults
Calming Read-Alouds with Our Elementary Social Emotional Learning Team!
Meditating with Mrs. Howard and Piggy
Easthampton families, try meditating when you need a calming moment!
Listening to our bodies!
Center, Pepin, and Maple families try these strategies along with Mrs. Rodrigue! Click here for part 2
Feeling nervous, worried, or anxious? Try these activities:
Dear Anxiety
Check out this podcast by GoZen! There are videos for a variety of topics, including: worrying about worry, tackling perfectionism, self-criticism, body image, and more.
Tips to calm a child’s body and mind (May need to do with an adult-coregulation):
Breathing (always slowly, quietly, in through nose and out through mouth)
Belly breathing
Unicorn Breathing
Bumble Bee
Birthday Candle
Bubble Breathing
Flower Breathing
Rain Storm
Sloth
Lion
Snake
Gorilla
Hot air balloon
Hot cocoa
Soup
Horse
Crocodile
Dragon
Make one up
Notice sensations
Take a lotion and squeeze a few drops in each child hand’s for 90 seconds guide them through rubbing it in and noticing the sensations (to fingers, palms, and any other sensations they may experience)
Bring in an oil/natural plant to smell
Finger pressure points (squeeze each portion of the finger)
Drink cool water (notice the feeling as we drink– taking a drink is like a cooling break for our insides, helps us calm down)
Grounding (may need to do guided grounding with class or one to one)
5 things you see
4 things you can touch
3 things you hear
2 things you smell
1 you taste (kids often say their spit)
Chanting
Guided chanting (start really low and get loud then go back to low— “We can do it!”
Add a movement and make movements smaller/slower towards end
Positive phrase, “We can try hard things” or “mistakes are how we learn and grow”
Body Scan
Students sit with legs straight out and start with wiggling toes and ankles, shaking knees/thighs, rotating shoulders, arms, heads and then go back down (reverse process..can add in squeezing and releasing hands too)
Music
Put on music and give kids old scarves/ribbon and dance around feeling the sensations
Freeze dance (stop and notice how everyone is feeling)
Talking/Processing
Validate, “I notice you are feeling______, how can I help?” allow time and space to process what they are feeling **do not rush the process
90 second strategy (SEE next page)
Scripts such as:
“What do you need?”
“Let’s take a break together”
“I notice your body is tense, what can we do to calm your body?”
“What does your body need to feel better”
“I am here for you. You are safe”
“Tell me about____”
“It seems like you are having a difficult time______, how can I help”
Emotion-Coaching Brief: Validate and support 90 second strategy
Step 1: Validate – convey understanding of their emotional experience and prove that “it makes sense” from their perspective. It has nothing to do with you agreeing. “Hang out on their island”
What it’s not:
Invalidate negative
Invalidate positive
I can understand why you might feel ________ (emotion, experience, or pain word)match their emotionality (e.g., tone/volume of voice)
BECAUSE______________
BECAUSE______________
BECAUSE______________
Step 2: Support – emotional need and practical need. 60-90 seconds.
Emotional Need: Offer comfort, reassurance, or space.
Protect the fear (presence of actual danger), soothe/comfort the sadness, assert boundaries for anger, reassure shame, help to challenge anxiety
Practical Need: Redirect/help problem-solve
Set limits, redirect, problem-solve, take over