Cool Down Strategies Revisited

Remember how I posted that post at the end of last school year with the free anger management cards (I think end of April or beginning of May 2012)? Well, we went ahead and STARTED the year, this year, with having a whole lesson on anger management. If you missed that previous post, you can click HERE to go to the free download of those anger choice cards, or you can click the picture below.

After reading the book When Sophie Gets Angry, Really, Really Angry by Molly Bang, we talked about things that might make us angry. Students then discussed what they could do when they got to the point where they were angry. Next, we talked about how it is completely ok for students to feel frustrated, angry, upset, disappointed, etc... We are, after all, human, and humans have a range of emotions. However, we talked about the fact that even if we feel angry, frustrated, upset, etc..., we can't deal with those emotion in a way that will hurt or bother others or ourselves. The class brainstormed some ideas of how they deal with their anger "appropriately" (after discussing what appropriate would look and sound like), and we talked about how you might use different strategies at school and home. After sorting out which strategies might be good to use at school, we made an anchor chart.

 I then introduced the quiet spot, and went over my expectations for when a student feels they need to go to the quiet spot to calm down. I placed a laminated copy of the above discussed anger choice cards, and students will use a dry-erase marker or vis-a-vis pen to mark which choice they picked in order to calm themselves down. They will be expected to discuss this with me later when they return or when we have a break (which strategy they chose and how it helped them calm down). I also went over the calm down sensory box that our school counselor graciously put together for us (includes a glitter jar, marbles hidden in clay, buttons to sort, and letter beads to string onto string), and we discussed those expectations as well. All in all, this turned out to be a great reminder lesson for these kiddos, and I feel like students will not be intimidated or feel threatened or scared to express their frustrations in a calm and safe manner. Fingers crossed anyway! ;-)



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Busy Busy Teacher's Life :-)

Not that I'm assuming anyone out there in the blogging world is waiting with bated breath for my next post haha, but I did realize today that I haven't blogged since last Thursday, and I just wanted to assure everyone that I haven't forgotten about you all, but this week is just flying by somehow!! :-) Anyway, here is a confession. I have a couple of students with some serious behavioral and emotional issues, and some of the fits that they throw (never at the same time - it's like they tag team them) are very "trying." As in I "try" to stay calm and zen-like, and while I do succeed (98% of the time), I have been searching like a madlady for ideas to use to help them. One of the things I try to emphasize is that it is ok to be frustrated/mad/upset/etc..., but how you deal with that and express it is important. One of the kids gets upset over anything and everything, and it's like trying to play Minesweeper as far as guessing what will set him off. Anyway, while my school and district have provided support, I am still needing something more. Pinterest has been an awesome source of calm down ideas like the glitter jar and other sensory activities, but I need some just plain old strategies. That is where you all come in. I am going to try to make some "choice cards" for what to do/strategies for when he gets mad. For instance, "When I am mad, I can count to 10." So what do you all think? What are some good/appropriate strategies/choices for kiddos to choose when they are upset or angry? I will be happy to share the choice cards when I'm completed, but I'm just trying to get some ideas right now!!! :-)

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