MANAGING OUR EMOTIONS

Managing Our Emotions Through Breathwork & Redirection

Facilitating our ‘Mindful Kids’ Resilience program this week we focused on our “Stop, Breath, Squeeze, Communicate” tool.

In our classroom we have created a quiet space for children to freely visit when feeling overwhelmed with situations or when they are requested to redirect their thoughts to something calmer.

This tool along with other tools (sensory bottles, emotion cards, and a resilience basket with many breath work techniques) are readily accessible to the children to assist them in managing their emotions.  

Benefits Of Breathwork

We often hear people say ” Just breathe”! But we are breathing! We breathe on Auto pilot everyday.

Exactly! Auto pilot! What is that? The autopilot allows us to extend our working memory by creating habits, such as brushing our teeth. We do this without thinking. Autopilot breathing is similar, we constrict our breath and forget to breathe until we bring ourselves into the present moment and focus our attention on the fact we are holding our breath.

Teaching deep breathing in concrete first before speaking in abstract is essential to using the breath mindfully. To purposely shift our breathing from auto pilot to intentional breathing.

Breath work allows children to change their brain waves and redirect their focus onto their breath and away from the issue that has escalated them into a heightened state.

Through these tools, they discover that altering and controlling their breath can change and affect the way they feel.

When we teach children how to control their breathing, we give them the ability to focus, and control their reactions to any situation. When our breath is shallow and rapid, it can trigger the release of cortisol (stress hormones).

Learning to be in control of our mental world and regulate our own emotions is a life skill.

Redirecting Behaviour

Redirection takes a negative situation and morphs it into a positive one.

It’s a technique to help children understand what appropriate behavior is and how to manage their behaviors.

We use redirection to promote desirable behavior, prevent injury, and promote learning and exploration.

What It Looks Like In The Classroom.

Stop – breathe – Squeeze – Communicate is a resilience tool that facilitates changing the of state of mind.

1. Stop

To grab the child’s attention in order to change their thought pattern and direct them to a calm area.

• Breathe

Breathe in through your nose and slowly breathe out through your mouth. This changes brain waves and pivots state of mind.

• Squeeze

Squeeze a soft ball while breathing in and release grip while breathing out. This contrast allows the body to release the energy in motion, from the cellular body as well as the mind.

• Communicate

Now that the child has shifted from a “fight and flight” to a “rest and restore” response, you can have a conversation with them, because they can NOW hear you. Prompt them with questions about how they feel? Have them share why they are angry or frustrated and choices of behaviour moving forward. Help them find a solution if they are seeking one..

This tool can be modified to any age group.  Deep breathing changes brain waves and helps us to tap into our parasympathetic nervous system, which is our rest and restore state of mind.

Involved Learning

To facilitate this tool effectively, we involved the children in making their own release ball to add to the classroom basket.

After each child had made their own balls, we regrouped on the mat to practice our emotional tool.

Each child had the opportunity to sit down in the quiet space provided and squeeze their ‘release’ ball. Breathing in whilst squeezing their ball and as they breathed out slowly, they release the tension on their ball, we continued this 3 times. The children were able to recognize how relaxed their bodies felt after this exercise.

Creating Your Own At Home

We encourage families to create their own release balls at home and practise this redirection and breathing technique, to assist children in consolidating their teachings at kindy, but also allows families to gain the results from the power of breath.

We are sharing our method for the most effective results;

1. Scoop rice or flour into a small plastic bag (freezer bags work best) with a spoon. Sizes may very per child, bags with rice should sit nicely inside child’s hand.
2. Tie bag off and cut off the excess of the plastic bag with scissors.
3. Choose 2 balloons and cut the tops off the necks.
4. Push rice bag into 1 balloon and repeat this again from the opposite direction, covering the first balloon with the second one to create a ball shape.

 Once you have your release ball, find a quiet space to still your mind.

Breathe in through your nose, while squeezing the ball, and out through your mouth, while you release your grip. Repeat 3 times or as many times as you need until your body feels relaxed and your mind is clear of thought.

Combining both the breathwork and redirection techniques together, can help families at home regain control of a situation when a child is acting out or even when they are feeling overwhelmed with change.

Thinking Outside The Ball

When we are out we don’t usually carry a ball in our pockets or our purses, so you can use this method instead:

Follow the same steps of; STOP – BREATHE – SQUEEZE – COMMUNICATE, but instead of using a ball, get down to your child’s level and have them squeeze both your hands as hard as they can, while they are in a heightened state.

Then have them continue to squeeze your hands slowly and sink the squeezing with their breath. Squeezing your hands while breathing in through their nose and releasing their grip, breathing out through their mouth. Once they have calmed down, then communicate with them.

That’s all this month from Miss Hannelie, Miss Ruby and the Snakes (Jomgwongs) children

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