Calming Strategies

1. Slowly count to 10 (or as high as you need to go!)

2. Try the Push, Pull, Dangle

Push down on your seat for 5 counts.

Pull up on your seat for 5 counts.

Let your arms dangle at your sides.

3. Slowly say the alphabet. If that’s too easy, try saying it backwards.

4. Try finger tapping.Tap each finger to your thumb as you repeat “I am calm now.”

5. Starfish breathing: Hold up one hand. Using the pointer finger on your other hand, trace around your hand, breathing in as you trace up and out as you trace down. You can also trace around the points of an actual star or starfish picture.

6. Whale breathing: Breathe in and count to 5 using your fingers. When it is time to breathe out, look up at the ceiling and blow your air out like a whale using it’s blowhole

7. Bubble breathing: Pretend that you have a bubble wand in front of you. Breathe in and then breathe out slowly to try and fill the room with bubbles. Using slow, deep breaths makes the biggest bubbles!

8. Snake breathing: Breathe in through your nose and breathe out hissing your air out like a snake.

9. Lazy 8 breathing: Trace around a figure 8 laying on its' side. When you trace one side of the 8 breathe in; when you trace the other side of the 8 breathe out. Eventually students can do this in the air without looking at the 8 itself.

10. Grounding: Using all 5 senses, try to name 5 things you can see in the moment, 4 things you can touch right then, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can taste and 1 thing you can smell. Focusing on what you can immediately sense should help relieve anxiety about the past or future.

11. Do what makes you happy: Most people calm down in their own individual way. Some children love to snuggle with a stuffed animal. Others make art; while others need to run or sing or dance. There is no wrong way to calm down. Try them out and see which one works best for you!

Our classroom teachers are hard at work providing learning opportunities for our students. As we're continuing to support their academic education, they also need to continue their social-emotional learning as well! These are some apps you may find useful for children (or maybe even grownups) as we work to stay emotionally healthy. Some of these apps are free; others require a one-time cost and some may be subscription services. Most can be found on both apple and android devices.

Apps to help students identify emotions:

Avokiddo Emotions: young children dress up silly animals and learn about their personalities and emotions

Emotions from I Can Do Apps: uses real pictures of children's faces to help kids explore and identify different emotions

Zones of Regulation App: helps students categorize feelings into four color zones

Apps about mindfulness or being calm:

Stop, Breathe, Think for Kids: meditation and mindfulness made easy for kids ages 5-10

Mindful Powers: very child friendly app that empowers kids to bring calm into their lives

Headspace for Kids: simple breathing exercises for kids to focus on calm

DreamyKid: a meditation app that whole families can use

Kids Yoga Deck: kids flip through a virtual deck of yoga cards with pictures of real kids demonstrating poses

ChillOutz: fun, animated stories teaching kids to stay calm in any situation

Apps to help with focus and attention:

Bear Focus Timer: this app uses simple black and white graphics to break tasks into time chunks for kids, a method used for increasing focus and concentration

Focus Booster App: same methods as the Bear Focus Timer but geared towards all age levels

Ninja Focus: app helps with concentration and mindfulness with an engaging ninja theme

Color by Number: color a picture by number using focus and concentration

Apps to promote gratitude:

Three Good Things: simple online journal where you list 3 good things about each day. This focus on gratitude leads to greater happiness.

Thankful for: prompts to encourage a gratitude list