Virtual Calming Toolbox
Sometimes life gets challenging/overwhelming. This Virtual Calming Room is a place for students and families to find tools and strategies for managing emotions and feelings. We are here to support you!
The Edgar School District Pupil Service Team wants you to know that your feelings are valid, no matter what they are. You might feel scared, confused, overwhelmed, angry, alone, grateful, or completely calm. Your feelings are normal; the situation is not. Don't forget to take care of yourself and the ones you love.
Disclaimer: The following links are purely for educational purposes and are not intended as psychological interventions or as a substitute for psychological treatment. If you are in need of psychological help you should seek the consultation of a licensed mental health professional.
Social-Emotional Learning
Short video on what is SEL and why it matters.
We will be posting social-emotional links here during the mandated school closure. Keep checking back later!
Here are a few activities to try at home:
30 Things We Can Do For Emotional Health
Mindful Breathing Exercises (Youtube)
Here's a Social Emotional Home Learning Packet created by a fellow counselor that you can DOWNLOAD if you would like to incorporate SEL into your new home school routine.
Calm Down Strategies and Relaxation Techniques
Here are some calm down strategies and relaxation techniques for when we are feeling angry, anxious, or sad. Not every strategy works for everyone, but everyone should find the coping skill that works best for them. Practice these strategies at home!
Positive Self-Talk in the mirror and give myself a hug.
Exercise (stretch, dance, jump in place, push the wall, walk, wiggle)
Yoga/Stretching
Animal Movement (be a turtle, snake, flamingo, furry cat, or frog)-These are silly and involve physical movements.
Make a Movie (friend, family, funny joke, happy movie, school memory). Close your eyes and play the movie in your head to relive it. Only choose a positive/happy memory.
Imagine (What do you hear, smell, see, feel in different scenarios) Focus on all five senses.
Breathing Techniques (finger breathing, trace the 8, belly breathing with a toy, cupcake breathing, butterfly breathing, polar bear breathing, flower breathing, candle breathing, back to back, rainbow breathing, stuffed animal)
Body Scan-Start at toes and work up to the head tighting and releasing all of the muscles in your body.
Stress ball, playdough, blocks, or kinetic sand as tools.
Color, Draw, Journal, Write, Read
Belly Laugh!
Drink cold water.
Listen to relaxing music.
Talk to an adult.
Push, Pull, Dangle (push down on a chair/floor, pull up on the chair, dangle hands to the side.)
Ideas to Stay Busy Without Visiting Public Places
1. Board Games and Puzzles.
2. Crafts. Give your kiddos a box of random materials and see what creative things they can make!
3. Visit your Pinterest boards. I bet you have a lot of projects and things there that you've not done because you just didn't have time!
4. Cleaning projects.
5. Write letters to family or friends to send in the mail.
6. Take an online/virtual language class.
7. Learn a new hobby with youtube. Knitting, crocheting, painting, etc. There's lots of online tutorials.
8. Have a bake off/cook off like you see on cooking shows or teach your kiddos how to cook!
9. Write a play and act it out.
10. Make a movie. iMovie on your iPhone is pretty easy to use.
11. Science kits/Science experiments. This will be educational and fun!
12. Play dress up. Make next year's halloween costumes. You have lots of time to be creative!
13. Clean out closets with toys and help your kiddos list them on marketplace or eBay to sell.
14. Build things with legos and blocks.
15. FaceTime with grandparents and do a performance!
16. Volunteer to read or sing with someone in a nursing home over FaceTime, if possible. Write letters or make cards for a nursing home and send them in the mail. They can't have visitors, so they are getting lonely.
17. Make a present to give their teacher or a friend whenever they return to school.
18. Start a youtube channel! They all want to be youtubers when they grow up. So, start a kid-friendly youtube channel and share it with family/friends.
19. Plan a summer vacation! Hopefully, we'll be able to travel by then.
20. Let them be bored. Just see what they come up with to entertain themselves!
21. Play outside! Ride bikes, shoot hoops, play catch, etc. with family (but don't arrange play dates and sleepovers).
22. Build a fort.
23. Watch your favorite cartoon movie from your childhood.
24. Make a scrapbook of family photos.
25. Teach the dog a new trick! There's dog training videos on youtube.
26. Check out the "Students" link on my website for a list of educational websites and games for students.
27. Have each kid pick a topic they would like to learn about and teach each other.
28. Build a giant structure in the living room using whatever you can find to build with.
29. Relay races in the backyard.
30. Make picture videos by taking pictures and putting them together as a story.
31. Visit virtual museums online.
32. Take a virtual trip!
33. Plant a garden as it warms up, or maybe just a few plants.
34. Camp out in the backyard and make s'mores.
35. Lay out sleeping bags and blankets in the yard and star gaze. Try to find constellations.
36. Lots of educational websites are waiving membership fees right now, check them all out so you can see which ones you might want to pay for in the future.
37. Build a house out of old cardboard/amazon boxes and have them decorate them with markers.
38. Have a board game tournament.
39. Take painting or drawing classes on youtube.
40. Exercise videos-yoga, dance videos, etc.
41. Draw self-portraits.
42. Sidewalk chalk
43. Make a video and send to your teacher (or me).
44. Go hiking.
45. Have a puppet show with sock puppets made from mismatched socks.