Push, Pull, Dangle!

Here's a funny story that happened in a kindergarten guidance class last week. For a couple of months now, I've been teaching the kids about calming down strong feelings so that they can think about the best way to handle their problems. We've talked about exercise, rest, playing or doing a calming activity such as reading or drawing, talking to someone about our feelings, etc. While these are all good ideas at certain times, they're not things that we can ALWAYS do due to time and place issues. For example, we can't go run and play or take a bubble bath or take a nap in the middle of class, in the car, or in the grocery store. Therefore, I've taught them 5 ways to calm down that can be done anytime and anywhere. We call these ideas Breathe, Count, Click, Boss, and "Push, Pull, Dangle". The children understand these methods because we've spent lots of time learning about and practicing them. In case you're wondering, the "Push, Pull, Dangle" is a way to use physical energy when you're not able to move around. You just push down hard on the tops of your legs for a count of 10, then pull up on the backs of your legs for 10, and then flop your arms and relax. Well last Wednesday I had to teach a double class of kindergarten students. Since it was the last full week of school and we had about 43 children in the room, I was having a bit of trouble getting them to settle down so I could start teaching. Most of the children were focusing, but as is often the case, a couple were acting silly. Two boys in different areas of the room were scooting up to their friends, intentionally trying to crowd them, get their attention, and giggle about it. Feeling exasperated and seeing the opportunity for a teachable moment, I said, "Okay, I have a strong feeling of frustration. I need to take a belly breath." I intertwined my hands into a locked position, put them on my belly button, and proceeded to take a deep breath. This is one of the calming techniques the children understand. just as I drew my first belly breath, one of my favorite little girls, a freckle-faced spitfire whom I've tried to help with behavioral concerns this year, blurted out in a loud voice, "Push Pull Dangle!" Needless to say, her timing was perfect, and my belly breathing quickly turned into belly laughter! As we all know, laughter can be another way to calm down strong feelings, and after her advice, the whole class had a little giggle-fest and began to focus. Thank you, KK!