Deep Breathing Strategies

Teaching Deep Breathing

Why:

1.Breathing influences all other systems in our bodies. Slowing our breathing and being conscious of our breathing helps us to calm our nervous system. Therefore, this is a skill that students will need throughout their entire lives.

2. Easy to do anywhere – with no equipment- it is portable!

3. Produces a relaxed state of being

4. Can be calming

5. Improves oxygen to the brain which in turn improves our thinking ability

6. Provides us with a sense of control

How to Teach Deep Breathing:
Teach each technique – one at a time to the entire class when everyone is calm and in a good mood.
Show visuals of each technique and post them in a place where students can use them as reminders.
Practice, Practice, Practice at all times of the day. Students need lots and lots of practice so that the techniques can be used automatically in times of stress. It takes LOTS of practice to become an expert.
Teach students to recognize signs of stress, frustration, and anger such as face getting hot, clenched fists, heavy breathing, crying, sweating, scrunched eyebrows, pounding heart.
Teach students the difference between short, quick, shallow breaths and long, deep, calming breaths. We want students to be using deep breathing since short breaths can actually make anxious feelings increase.
Model and role-play different situations practicing self-talk such as “I am upset that he took my toy. I can breathe like a bear 7 times.” “I am nervous about the fire drill. I can take 7 bunny breaths.” “He cut in line. I can say, “It’s okay” and take 7 deep breaths.”
If students need energy, have them inhale for a count of 7 and breath out quickly- see lion’s breath in the document download.
If the students need to calm their minds and bodies, have them inhale for a count of 3 and exhale for a count of 6 or so (shorter inhale/longer exhale). See Calming Breaths in the document download.

ways-to-teach-deep-breathing-22-visual-cards Download

Kindness Month: BE KIND CHALLENGE (free download)

February is a great month to focus on kindness

as well as February 17th is National Kindness Day

Children are not always naturally kind. They need to be taught lots of different ways to show kindness as well as the importance of showing kindness. Children also need lots and lots of modeling of kindness from the adults in their lives.

Kindness Challenges…

ONE: Challenge yourself and your colleagues to show 20 acts of kindness throughout the month and share those with the students.

TWO: Challenge the students to find five things you do each day that show kindness. They need to tell what you did AND HOW it showed kindness.

THREE: Challenge for the students to think of the different ways to show and think about kindness- kindness to others, to our environment and to themselves!

Here is a free download of a FIVE DAY KINDNESS CHALLENGE- appropriate for grades K-3rd

five-day-kindness-challenge-sel-slides-for-in-person-or-at-home-learning-journeyintoearlychildhood.com_Download

Building Friendships through Transitions and Using Names

Aristotle once stated, “who would choose to live, even if possessed with all other things, without friends.”

Many of our students struggle with the basic components of building friendships such as asking to join in play, suggesting play “Let’s…”, sharing, taking turns, changing perspectives, cooperating, and using respectful language.

We, therefore, must directly teach friendship skills through intentional, deliberate discussions and opportunities throughout the day. These opportunities can be embedded into the activities and work that is already occurring in the classroom setting.

journeyintoearlychildhood.com

Mindfulness Strategies for the Holidays

Children are not naturally mindful of their feelings, their own self-worth, and the positive attributes of others. We need to explicitly teach students strategies to be present and be mindful of themselves and others. Mindfulness has been demonstrated through a growing body of scientific research to have a positive effect on mental health and well-being. Practicing mindfulness has been documented as an effective strategy to regulate emotions and feel compassion and empathy.

FREE DOWNLOAD of some mindfulness activities during the holiday season

holiday-themed-mindfulness-strategies-journeyintoearlychildhood Download

Examining SEL Defintion and Week 2 of SEL Remote Style

In the blog post, Social Emotional Learning Remote Style, posted on September 10, I added the SEL definition from CASEL. As a district SEL team, we did a deeper dive into the defintion by pulling out the verbs, nouns and adjectives. It helps to provide a perspective of the key words and the focus, especially when you group together all of the words in one part of speech and ponder each set separately and then together.

We are all in this together for distance learning. Therefore, I am sharing as a FREE DOWNLOAD the second week of social emotional activities for home.

prek-k-and-1st-social-emotional-learning-at-home-week-2-1 Download

SEL Remote Style- Sharing a Week of Online Activities

See more SEL resources in my teacherpayteachers store- many items are FREE

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Journey-Into-Early-Childhood

Social Emotional Learning: Remote Style

The Collaborative for Academic Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL) defines SEL as “…the process through which children and adults understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions.”

CASEL also reminds us that social emotional learning starts at home. Families play a crucial role in the child’s development of self-regulation, emotion management, problem-solving skills as well as the building of a healthy positive self-esteem.

Social emotional learning is more critical than ever right now but the challenge for teachers is how to help students engage in SEL activities through remote or distance learning. I developed a week of activities for families to complete together. Keep checking back to journeyintoearly childhood.com for further weeks of activities or just sign up to receive the blog directly to your email on the home page. https://journeyintoearlychildhood.com/

Please feel free to use any part of this slide deck that will benefit your students. If sharing with other staff members, please refer them to this website page.

FREE DOWNLOAD

See additional SEL resources in my TpT store- many free resources:

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Journey-Into-Early-Childhood

Equity in Early Learning

I posted this back on November 20, 2019. Our work toward building a culture of equity for all continues as we all strive for awareness, understanding and continue to support each other and build each other up.

The National Association for the Education of Young Children have developed a new position statement which helps to support our work toward equity with both our students and within our field of early learning.

NAEYC Statement on Equitable Education:

All children have the right to equitable learning opportunities that enable them to achieve their full potential as engaged learners and valued members of society.

Each child will…

demonstrate self-awareness, confidence, family pride, and positive social identities;
express comfort and joy with human diversity, use accurate language for human differences, and form deep, caring human connections across diverse backgrounds;
increasingly recognize and have language to describe unfairness (injustice) and understand that unfairness hurts;
have the will and the skills to act, with others or alone, against prejudice and/or discriminatory actions.

For full statement, visit https://www.naeyc.org/resources/position-statements/equity-position

Review (based on your role in education):
Recommendations for Everyone
and/or
Recommendations for Early Childhood Providers
and/or
Recommendations for Administrators

Reflective Questions:
1. Read the recommendations, what are the areas in which your teaching and/or program are strong?
2. Read the recommendations, what are the areas in which your teachers and/or program need some tweaking?
3. Make a plan for this school year- what is one change that you and your team can implement?
4. Make a long term (1-3 year plan) for you and your team- how can you tweak your program to become more equitable and meet the recommendations as set forth by NAEYC.

More reflective topics on racial equity to explore during PLCs or team meetings:

http://racialequityawareness.weebly.com/

“For it isn’t enough to talk about peace.

One must believe in it.

And it isn’t enough to believe in it.

One must work at it.”

-Eleanor Roosevelt

TOP 10 Reasons Why to Greet Students at the Door Each and Every Morning

TIPS:

Teaching Deep Breathing