Joan Snow Pre-K Center
Parent Training and Support
SELF-MANAGEMENT
At-Home Activities
How to Teach self-management skills to young children?
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Self-Management is a component of the SEL (Social-Emotional Learning) curriculum.
In a nutshell, self-management is the ability to recognize and understand emotions,
identify triggers, and control not only emotions, but also the behaviors (reactions), and thoughts.
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Self-Management is a set of skills that needs to be taught.
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Main Goals:
- Be intentional in teaching the skills
- Provide different ways of teaching the skills
- Create multiple opportunities for the child to practice the skills
- Teach calming strategies
- Teach how to deal with strong emotions showing how to do it
- Teach communication skills
- Create a cozy corner to allow the child to have a safe place de-escalate from a strong emotion
-Provide teachable moments after the child is feeling better
-Provide support with patience and love. Remember they are starting to learn.
-Give specific feedback. It gives your child the motivation to keep practicing their skills and learn new ones.
- Be a good role model - "Not just tell, show"
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CHILDREN LEARN THE BEST THROUGH PLAY.
SO, LET'S PLAY.
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To learn more about self-management click here.
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VISUAL ARTS AT HOME
Mindful Breathing Wand - a Tool for the Cozy Corner
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Objective: This is a tool used in the cozy corner to help calm down your child when experiencing a strong emotion.
This is one simple tool that allows your child to take a deep breath in and a deep breath out while blowing the mindfulness breathing wand.
It is a fun activity. Your child will be learning this strategy of deep breathing without noticing.
Resulting in calming down the heartbeats and de-escalating from the strong emotion (anger, frustration...)
Materials: 1 large straw or 1 empty toilet cardboard paper roll or 1 empty paper towel roll or one empty penny organizer, 1 rectangle piece of colorful paper (1inch X 6 inches), tape, scissors, 10 pieces of colorful light height ribbon cut in 10 inches long, stickers for decoration.
Duration of the activity: 5-10 minutes
Instructions:
You will be doing an art project together with your child. Allow your child to participate.
1) Invite him/her to have a fun time.
2) Get a rectangle piece of colorful paper
3) Tape the ribbons on one long side of the rectangular colorful paper (facing out)
4) When it is done, tape it around the straw on the pointy side of the straw
5) Decorate the straw as you wish (ask your child to personalize it with stickers or drawings, his/her name...)
How to use it:
Inhale slowly and exhale slowly blowing on the breathing wand a few times. Repeat it a few times.
Show your child how it works and instruct him/her to let is always available on the mindful tools in the cozy corner.
Teach him/her that every time she/he needs to calm down to use the wand.
Accommodation:
If your child is not able to use the tape, ask him/her to give you the supplies. He/she will feel included.
Include your child in as many tasks as possible, from choosing the materials, cleaning up the table to make the activity, choosing the colorful paper, collecting the supplies...clean up at the end. Make it fun.
You can accommodate this activity by giving a simple direct instruction like "Do you prefer this color of this color? showing the two choices of colors.
Allow time for your child to make choices. If he/she chose both, use both colors.
Talk:
Use this time to show again the cozy corner and reinforce the use of the cozy corner. Such as:
"This is your corner, whenever you feel upset, sad, or mad you can come and take your time to calm down and relax."
Remember to wait to talk with your child after he/she de-escalate and feel better. This way your child will be able to express better what happened and how he/she is feeling.
In addition, at this time, you can:
1) Tell your child that is ok to feel sad, upset, or mad sometimes. Tell that everybody has those feelings. Include you and your family in it. It will allow your child to learn that he/she is not the only one that have these feelings.
2) Teach your child that to calm ourselves down and feel better we can make good choices such as: come and talk with mommy or daddy, use the cozy corner, count some pompoms, deep breathing with the wand, hug a stuffed animal, draw...
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MINDFULNESS AT HOME
Creating a Cozy Corner
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Objective: To create a safe and quiet place in your home, where your child can go to calm down their physical and/or emotional state in a healthy way.
A cozy corner will have a few tools to serve as a choice for your child to use in case of need to feel better.
Materials: mat or rug (optional), soft pillows, sensory toys, mindful jar,
Duration of the Activity: 1 hour or more (divide this activity into parts)
Instructions: This activity will require preparation. It is time-consuming but really worthy.
is good for children and parents.
Talk: Use this time to talk about how good is the feeling of staying quiet and how we can this way realize our feelings and thoughts.
Encourage your child to realize what he/she is hearing, smelling, feeling in their bodies... with curiosity and gratitude
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Other breathing techniques: Play pretend blowing bubbles, flowers, or candles.
Inhale count until 5 and exhale pretending you are blowing out a candle.
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MUSIC AND MOVEMENT AT HOME
Controlling Our Own Body
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Objective: This activity allows your child to experience following directions and experience how we can control our own body.
Materials: internet, space to dance
Duration of the activity: 10-15 min
Instructions: Click the link: Freeze Dance by The Kiboomers. Follow the instructions of the song. Stand up and dance together.
Talk: Use this time to teach your child how important is self-control when interacting with others. Teach how important is to follow directions to get ready for kindergarten.
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Other music: Simon Says by The Kiboomers , Shake Your Sillies Out by The Learning Station,
READ ALOUD AT HOME
Book: Breathe with Me by Mariam Gates and Sarah Jane Hinder
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Objective: Reading and showing the pictures is another way to teach with visuals. It also is an opportunity to incorporate literacy into your daily life. This book is one of the best children's books to introduce breathing techniques to you and your child.
It is fun, short, and colorful.
Materials: internet
Duration of the activity: 10-15 mins
Instructions: Click on the image below to get access to the read-aloud.
Do the breathing exercises together with the author. Do it together with your child.
Allow yourself to experience the benefits of mindfulness breathing. Encourage your child to follow alone.
Try to identify which one your child likes the most. You can incorporate the technique at the cozy corner on moments he/she needs to de-escalate from a big emotion.
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Self-care is good for our children, and for us too.
So, this video is a read-aloud of the book and it also brings guided breathing techniques for you to experience with your child. Do not be shy. Try it out.
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Talk: Use this time to talk with your child about the book. These are some ideas:
- Ask your child his/her favorite part of the book
Create a game:
-Try to make the breathing technique and your child have to guess which technique you are using.
-Tell the name of the technique and he/she needs to show how it is done.
-Teach somebody else the technique.
-Draw a picture of the techniques to let them in the cozy corner.
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Be creative.
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Accommodations:
For children with communication limitations: Just ask him/her to do the same as you do.
You can say "Do this...(show breathing technique)"
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SEL GAMES AT HOME
Role Play - Scenarios
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Objective: To practice the skills of recognizing the best ways to react when having a strong emotion.
Materials: none
Duration of the activity: 10-15 mins
Instructions:
1)Read to your child this card:
Once upon a time, there was a boy called James who was playing ball at the park. Suddenly, another boy called Ted came and wanted to play ball with James. James wanted to play by himself. James did not want to share the ball with Ted. James's mom asked him to play with his friend and he refused to let his friend play with the ball.
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2) Ask your child "What would you do if your friend asks to play ball with you?
3) What can you tell James to make him feel better?
4) Do you think that James made a good choice?
3) What do you think that is the best choice?
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