Thursday, September 10, 2009

Emotional Outburst: how to defuse

The beginning of the school year can be an emotional time. Younger
students will often express themselves through their actions rather
than words. This is typical of elementary-aged children. So how do
you handle it when your kindergardener begins crying and melting down
because they don't want to share during center time? Check out the
following suggestions:

1. Imagine there is a candle on your palm. Hold the hand with palm
facing toward their face and ask child to blow out the imaginary
flame. Deep breathing will help settle down the child.

2. Hand the child a balloon. Ask them to blow it up.

3. Ask the child to punch a pillow, cushion, or other soft object.
Squeezing a ball or ripping up unimportant paper can also help.

4. Have child pretend that they are holding a remote control in their
hand. As them to press the button that turns down the emotions.

5. Ask child to put hands on a solid wall and push the anger out from
their body into the wall. Keep pushing until the anger has emptied
out of them into the wall.

6. With younger children hand them a drawing of a blank face and ask
them to show how they feel in that moment. They may not have the
words to express their feelings and that can lead to additional
frustration and anger.

What have you used that has been helpful in these emotional
situations? Remember to always follow these actions with a debriefing
time so you can help your student learn to put words to their
feelings. This helps to teacher them another skill to put in their
toolbox.

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