On Second Thought...

My kindergarten students are learning about how to calm down strong feelings. So far, we've learned four ideas that we can use anytime, anyplace: breathe, count, click, and boss. We've learned to take slow deep breaths, to count backwards, to click onto happy thoughts instead of stormy ones, and to boss ourselves around and tell ourselves what to do. As we practiced these in class yesterday, I asked the children to tell me some nice thoughts they might click onto when they need to calm down. Hands shot up, and I heard such pleasant thoughts as playing with puppies, snuggling with Mom, watching Sponge Bob, playing video games, and building sand castles on the beach. Then I called on a pretty chubby-cheeked girl, and this is what she smilingly said. "I can think about playing with my paint by number kit!" But then her smile dropped, and with a bedraggled look on her little face, she said, "But I can't do that until I'm 60 or 70."  "60 or 70?" I asked. "So you really want to paint, but your mom says you're not old enough?" "Yes," the child moped. "She says I'll make a mess so I have to wait until I'm 60 or 70." Poor pitiful child! That might not be such a cheery thought to click onto after all!