Calming Yourself Down Poster

School is out (in most places) for the summer but it's not hard to recall the turmoil that can happen on the playground or in the classroom (bathroom, hall, lunchroom) or anywhere for that matter.

As adults it's hard to see how hurtful someone calling you a "big meanie" or cutting in line can be when we're dealing with budgets, health issues, and other "big, adult" problems.

But we need to remember that for our little ones (or not so little ones) these everyday occurrences are a big deal.  And they can cause some kids to blow.

So it's important that we teach our kiddos to recognize their own (and others) emotions and manage them.

Too many adults in our world haven't learned these crucial skills as one can attest by driving down the road and witnessing all the road rage.  (Maybe we'd need less medication in our world if we all learned and practiced these skills more regularly.)

Our school has used the Second Step program that teaches empathy, emotion management, and problem solving for as long as I can remember.  And like all things, there are some components I like and some I dislike.

But one that I have always liked was the way they teach kids to recognize their own emotions and manage them.  I see a lot of adults who haven't learned this biggie and know that I sometimes struggle with this one too.

Second Step has some posters that come with the program but they are really blah so a few years ago I redid them.  They were a bit better but . . .  Let's be honest here.

Not

nearly

enough!

I mean a primary classroom is supposed to be happy and homey and all those other feel good things.  I honestly spend more time in my classroom than my own house people!

And research shows how color makes all things more appealing.  (As if I needed to have research prove that to me . . . at a cost of billions of dollars!  lol)

So this is the first Second Step poster to be redone.  It is "Calming Yourself Down".  Feel free to nab and enjoy.  I hope you can use it . . . for yourself or your classroom.  :)

Stay tuned for more as I tackle the job of redoing these posters!