For the last six weeks, Early Years have been taking part in sessions to help us to recognise and regulate our emotions. Claire has been showing us how.
Week 1
We learnt the secret in week one. When our emotions come to visit we need to do our secret breathing. We breath in and out slowly to help us.
Claire used a special ball to help us to see how to breath. We made a special heart to put in our calm box. It shows the many emotions we can feel. We made our calm box at home for our You and me task.
Week 2
This week we learnt about hot chocolate breathing. You take your imaginary hot chocolate- you sniff it and then blow on it. This helps us to calm ourselves down when we feel sad. We learnt to express our feelings using the musical instruments. We made a hot chocolate to put in our calm box.
Week 3
This week we learnt how to meditate. We learnt to use our secret breathing while holding our special stone, thinking quiet thoughts. This went into our calm box.
Week 4
We loved bouncing the feathers on the cloth. Excitement definitely came to visit. We learnt to do high five breathing. As you go up each of your fingers you breath in and as you go down you breath out. This helped us to calm down when excitement visits. We made a high five hand to go in our calm box.
Week 5
This week we looked at more feelings, including being brave or feeling nervous ready for our Christmas performance. We made a medal to hold when we need to feel brave. The children’s emotion language was amazing. We also learnt to bubble breath. Take your bubble wand, breath in and then blow your bubbles.
Week 6
Today it snowed. We talked about those feelings that happen when we fall down, like sad or embarrassed and returned to our hot chocolate breathing. We looked at snowflakes and how they were all different. We made one of our own for our calm box.
We have loved our sessions with Claire. The children have grown more emotional resilient and know how to calm down when sad, excited or angry come to visit. They can describe their feelings. They have also shared their techniques with their grown ups.
If you are feeling sad, excited or angry, Early Years would tell you-you need the secret! Give one of the breathing techniques a go!
