15_coping skills 3-5

You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to sur —John Kabat-Zinn Coping Skills At-Home Resources Level: Upper Elementary (3-5) Concepts: • Cool Down Strategies • Coping Skills Big Ideas For This LessonIn our lives, there will be things that upset us, throw us off track, and can make us feel angry, sad, orany number of other emotions. Coping skills are a tool we can use to handle our difficult emotions, andwhat works for each individual person varies.Some people like to take a walk, and others prefer to breathe deeply. Be mindful if you identify acoping skill that might be an unhealthy behavior for you. Coping skills can be used anytime we feel theneed to ‘cool down.’ Designing a ‘peace corner’ to practice your coping skills in the home may be help-ful (see resources below.) Essential VocabularyCoping Skills: ways to calm down when upset. (Also known as cool down strategies).Cool down Strategies: Any skill, strategy, or behavior used to deal with difficult emotions (also known as coping skills).Difficult emotion: Any emotion that is unwanted, undesirable, and causes stress and suffering.© 2018 Empowering Education, Inc. PAGE 1 of 2 All rights reserved.

COPING SKILLS | GRADES 3-5 PracticeChoice provokes thinking, and thinking is fun way to practice coping skills. Play the choices game with the follow-ing questions, or come up with some of your own. Start with some fun and silly questions, for example:• Would you rather have to walk on stilts the rest of your life, or always have to roller skate to get around?• To not eat for two days, or to not sleep for two days?Now think of your coping skills, and choose related questions for the game:• If you are upset, would you rather count to 10, or take a deep breath?• If you are sad, would you rather listen to music or go for a walk?• Come up with your own:There are a lot of other creative ways to calm down. For instance, some people might hold an ice cube in theirhand, scream into a pillow, exercise, take a bubble bath, rub a smooth rock, listen to music, or watch a TV show. Itis helpful to have many different skills in your toolbox because not every coping skill works every time. Have funthinking of different choices. Student Resources• Amber Brown is Not a Crayon by Paula Danziger (Grades 2 – 4)• Bird Springs by Carolyn Marsden (Grades 3 – 6)• Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper (Grades 4 – 6)• Rain Reign by Ann M. Martin (Grades 4 – 6)• When Sophie’s Feelings Are Really, Really Hurt by Molly Bang (Grades K – 3)• When You’re Angry and You Know It! by Cecily Kaiser (Grades K – 3)• What to Do When Your Temper Flares: A Kid’s Guide to Overcoming Problems With Anger by Dawn Huebner (Grades 3 – 6)• What to Do When You’re Scared and Worried: A Guide for Kids by James J. Crist (Grades 5 – 8) Adult Resources• 12 Essential Coping Strategies Every Child Can Use When Life Gets Hard (PDF)• 8 Tips to Help Your Child Gain Control of His/Her Emotions (Blog) by Katie Sadowski• Building Better Coping Skills (Website)• Centre for Studies on Human Stress (Website)• How Can I Develop Coping Strategies? (Article)• Medicine of the Mind – Coping Strategies (Book) by Olivia Celine Gieg© 2018 Empowering Education, Inc. PAGE 2 of 2 All rights reserved.