Free Printable I Need a Break Cards

These free printable I need a break cards are great for teaching self-advocacy skills and supporting regulation.

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Sometimes kids - okay, teens and adults too! - get overwhelmed and need to take a break.

However, it can be hard to ask for a break when you need one. Especially if you're non-speaking, experience situational mutism, or have difficulties with expressive language. Or sometimes the environment (e.g., school) itself makes it challenging to communicate that you need a break, simply because there's so much else going on.

Well, that's where these I need a break cards come in handy. They're a great way to advocate for oneself and ask for a break. And they make for a great visual for a variety of settings.

So, let's take a closer look at these little break cards, what's included, and how or when you can use them.

About These Free Printable I Need a Break Cards

This set of cards are perfect for kids, teens, or adults who may need help asking for a break, whether that's at home, at school, at work, or while out and about.

You can simply grab a card and show it whenever you are feeling overwhelmed, stressed, tired, etc. instead of having to rely on mouth words.

In total, there are 40 different cards in this set, including:

• 17 black and white cards that feature an icon paired with the text "I need a break." and one card that is text only

• 2 black and white cards that feature an icon paired with the text "I need a sensory break."

• 2 black and white cards that feature an icon paired with the text "I need a quiet break."

• 2 black and white cards that feature an icon paired with the text "I need a movement break."

• 8 color cards featuring girl clipart paired with the above four phrases (2 cards per phrase)

• 8 color cards featuring boy clipart paired with the above four phrases (2 cards per phrase)

You certainly don't need to print all of these cards off. Just print off the pages that will be the most relevant to your needs.

Then, once you've printed them off, cut and laminate for durability. Then keep the cards accessible, whether that's on your child's desk at school or home, on a lanyard, in your purse, in your pocket, etc.

Examples of When to Use these Break Cards

These break cards are versatile and can be used for a wide variety of situations and environments. For example, you could use them:

• At school, especially during a loud classroom or school activity (e.g., assemblies)

• During speech or occupational therapy

• In environments with strong sensory stimuli (e.g., concerts, shopping malls, grocery store)

• During long lessons at school or meetings at work

• In crowded or busy environments

• On field trips

• When instructions are overwhelming

• During homework or studying

• In different social situations (e.g., play dates, weddings, family gatherings), especially if they are new or unfamiliar

• When you feel a meltdown or sensory overload is close

• When overstimulated

• While traveling or on vacation

Basically, if it's a situation or environment that is known to be overwhelming or is unfamiliar, then it's a good idea to keep one of these break cards handy.

Download the Free Printable Break Cards

This printable pack is five pages long and has 8 cards per page for a total of 40 break cards for students. There are three pages that are black and white and two pages that are color.

Simply print the pages that best suit your needs. Then cut and laminate the cards for durability.

To get a copy of the I need a break cards, click the link below:

>> Click here to download this free printable

 

Free Anger Management Games for Kids

Looking for fun ways to teach your kids about anger and how to cope with it? Try these awesome free anger management games for kids!

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Many kids struggle with managing anger and big explosive emotions. Some days it seems like they're a volcano just waiting to erupt. They might explode, seemingly out of nowhere, with lava gushing and splattering everywhere, making it quite clear that they might need some help developing their anger control skills.

For many kids, it's hard to recognize possible anger triggers and warning signs in their body. And they might not know how to verbalize and articulate those big feelings.

Or it could be that they haven't found the right coping skills and strategies or anger management techniques. Of course, this step takes quite a bit of practice and a little bit of experimentation to see what works.

Below you will find a bunch of free anger management games for kids that focus on recognizing triggers, identifying anger, and coping with anger in fun, playful ways.

So if you're currently overwhelmed with your child's behaviors that result from unmanaged anger, then you're hopefully going to find these anger activities helpful. They're full of great anger management strategies!

This list of games for managing anger was last updated on March 20, 2024. New free resources were added and dead/broken links were removed.

Free Anger Management Games for Kids

You're going to love these printable and digital anger games. They are a great way to work on identifying anger and coping skills with your kids. All are free. But please note that some of the following do require you to have a Teachers Pay Teachers account, which is also free. 

1. Free Printable Anger Dice Game - Roll the dice. Then answer an anger management related question based on what number you roll. You could also adapt this game to work on other emotions or feelings other than anger.

2. The M&Ms Anger Game from Ashley Redondo on Teachers Pay Teachers - If you're looking for fun anger management activities, then try this one. After all, it does involve candy and what kid wouldn't enjoy that? To play this game, you randomly pick an M&M from the bag. Then you have to answer an anger related question based on the color of M&M you pick. Simple, effective, and delicious, all in one.

3. Free Printable Anger Catcher from Home Stories A to Z - I loved playing with these things as a kid! You probably did too, right? Well, this one is focused on helping kids learn how to manage their anger. Such a fun anger management game, don't you think?

4. Virtual Anger Management Jeopardy Game from Jeopardy Labs - This game is entirely virtual. That means it could be a great game to play over Zoom or in teletherapy. It's also great for working on WH questions and inferencing.

5. Free Customizable Anger Bingo Cards from My Free Bingo Cards - Build your own anger bingo game (or use their suggestions). You can print and play or just play this game virtually. Could be a great anger management party game if that's something you're looking for. Although do the words party and anger even belong together in the same sentence? Probably not...

6. Free Printable Anger Words Word Search for Kids from Monster Word Search - This free word search is a great way to expand your child's emotional vocabulary. Your kids will learn other ways to describe anger.

7. Anger Strategies Memory Matching Game from The Counselor Corner on Teachers Pay Teachers - Match the different strategies with this great anger management activity. It's perfect for little ones!

8. Free Blank Anger Management Bingo Card from Mylemarks on Teachers Pay Teachers - To play, fill in the blank card with some coping strategies for anger. Then when your child needs help regulating, they can pick some strategies from their bingo card and try to get three in a row.

9. Free Printable Anger Management Fortune Teller from Creative Social Learning on Teachers Pay Teachers - Another free cootie catcher printable. This one is similar to one mentioned above. But the anger management skills listed in this one are especially great for younger kids. Either way, you could use this idea as inspiration to create your own. Just customize it with different strategies, triggers, and discussion prompts.

10. Anger Management Game with Beach Ball or Playing Cards Printable from Counseling Fanny Pack of Fun on TPT - This printable needs to be paired with either a beach ball that you label with numbers or a deck or playing cards. This game would be great for a group of kids.

Need Help Teaching Your Child About Anger? Grab this Social Story!

Remember, to help your child understand anger, it's also important to teach your child what anger is and what it looks like in the body. Thankfully, teaching your kid all about anger is easy with this anger social story! 

While this social story isn't free, it is a helpful tool to build your child's emotional intelligence. It easily explains what anger is and uses full color photos. It also includes a space for your child to write down their favorite strategies to use when coping with anger. You're going to love it!

Get your copy of the Anger Social Story now!

This social story will definitely be a great complement to any of the anger management games for kids listed above.

Simple Mindfulness Activities to Teach Kids

Looking for simple mindfulness activities for kids? These activity ideas are great for teaching mindfulness to kids and for parents.

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It seems like everyone is talking about mindfulness these days, doesn't it?

It is more than a buzzword though, I promise. And mindfulness just happens to be a topic that I have been reading quite a bit about lately.

As you probably already know, there are plenty of benefits to teaching yourself and your children mindfulness. Some of those benefits include reducing stress and anxiety levels, teaching self-regulation skills, strengthening self-control, recognizing and understanding the way emotions feel in our bodies, and so much more.

So, if you're been thinking about teaching your kids (or yourself!) some mindfulness strategies, then you'll love these simple mindfulness activities. They are activities that you and your kids can start today.

A version of this post originally appeared on the CBC Parents website.

But, What is Mindfulness Exactly?

Well, mindfulness is about focusing on the present moment by tuning into our thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and what's around us. It's all about being aware of what's happening here and now, slowing down, and calming your mind.

Getting Started with Mindfulness

One of the great thing about teaching mindfulness is that these types of activities can be practiced anywhere and anytime. You can even do these activities individually or as a group (of any size!). So it's easy to get started.

Lots of teachers have even begun implementing mindfulness into their classrooms, which, I think, is great.

Remember, teaching mindfulness doesn't need to be complicated. It also doesn't involve any fancy tools or apps to get started.

Also, keep in mind that, I'm not expecting you to dive head first into meditation here. Although the benefits of meditation are plentiful and it is worth exploring, but only if you're interested...

Instead, I'm going to show you how to explore emotions, practice deep breathing, and get really good at noticing things so that you and your child can learn to feel more grounded, mindful, calmern and more relaxed. Sounds good, right? Well, let's dig in!

Simple Mindfulness Activities to Try

1. Do Some Mindful Breathing

Breathing is a great place to start since it's something we already do automatically, but why not try some mindful breathing? It's as simple as taking a couple of deep breaths a few times each day. You can even schedule deep breathing breaks for you and your child.

A good place to start is by blowing bubbles with your kids. Most (if not all) love playing with bubbles so it's a good way to practice breathing slowly and purposefully. Blow too fast and the bubbles will pop.

I recently came across an idea to pick a trigger word and each time you hear that word throughout the day, you pause and take a couple of deep breaths. The suggested word was "mom" and goodness, could you imagine how many times you would sneak in some mindful breathing every day if you used it as your trigger word?!

Another idea is to use a visual cue to remind you to pause and do some mindful breathing. For example, every time you stop at a red light while driving, encourage your kids to join you as you take a couple of deep breaths.

Here are two other easy deep breathing techniques you could try:

• Lay down on your back, place a small toy or stuffed animal on your belly, take slow deep breaths, and watch the toy move up as you inhale and down as you exhale.

• Place one hand on your belly and the other on your chest and take a deep breath so you can feel the rise and fall of your chest and belly as you breathe.

You can also use visuals to help practice deep breathing. You can try one of our free deep breathing posters found here. There are lots of different themes to choose from.

2. Play Noticing Games

You likely remember playing games like "I spy with my little eye..." on road trips as a child. These types of games are a great way to get started with mindfulness as they encourage you to be aware of what's around you.

You can even switch it up to do "I hear." Instead of describing what you see, describe what you hear. This variation encourages you to focus on tuning into the sounds around you or even inside you.

Another grounding technique is called "Notice 5 Things." You simply look around and name five things that you see. Then encourage your child to do the same. Keep taking turns until you both feel calm and grounded.

Another popular noticing game you could try is the 5-4-3-2-1 grounding technique that makes use of the five senses. Learn more about how to do that technique here.

Another game you could try is the ABC grounding technique. Basically, you look around and try to name an object you see or hear that starts with as many letters of the alphabet as possible, starting with A and then B, and so on. Grab a free printable here to help you get started.

Other types of noticing games can include going on a sound scavenger hunt (see: counting sounds mindfulness walk) or watching clouds as they move through the sky. There are lots of options.

3. Explore Your Emotions

Mindfulness includes being aware of your emotions and how they feel inside your body. And this is certainly an area that a lot of kids need help with. Okay, maybe some adults too...

One activity you could try is simply naming your emotions. Just stop what you're doing. Pause. Tune into how your body is feeling right now. Then simply announce the feeling out loud. For example, you would just say the word "angry" if that is how you are feeling. Acknowledge the feeling and just allow it to be there. Don't judge or dwell. Just simply allow it to exist.

With kids, it can be helpful to have them look in a mirror when naming emotions. That way they can see their facial expressions and body signals.

4. Start a Gratitude Journal

Starting a gratitude journal is such a great and easy way to get started with mindfulness. It's actually how I got started.

How it works: Every night, you write down three things or people you are grateful for and why.

You can even find free apps that will provide you with prompts if you find this exercise particularly difficult.

I have been keeping a gratitude journal for a number of years and have found it makes a huge difference. It really helps me focus on what was good, positive, and important to me during the day, instead of dwelling on some negative thing that might have ruined my day (or week or month).

Another option is to do a gratitude jar. Grab this free gratitude jar printable to get started.

A Quick Recap on Teaching Mindfulness to Kids

As you can see, teaching mindfulness to kids doesn't have to be complicated. You can try:

• Doing some deep breathing exercises and using visuals to help

• Playing some noticing games to ground yourself

• Exploring your emotions by naming them or using a mirror

• Starting a gratitude journal

So there you have it. A bunch of super simple mindfulness activities that you can start sneaking into your daily routine today.

Free Social Stories for Calming Down & Teaching Coping Skills

A collection of free social stories for calming down, building self-regulation strategies, and teaching coping skills. Printable and video social stories for kids are included below.

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There are a lot of things to teach kids about when it comes to social emotional learning. But helping kids learn how to regulate their bodies and use calm down strategies is so so important. 

And I know it might seem like a monumental task to help your child find their perfect calm down strategies. I mean there are literally hundreds of different strategies and tools that one can use. So it can be a bit overwhelming.

But using a social story is a great way for kids to learn about these skills and practice different calm down strategies to see what works best for them. Maybe it's deep breathing. Maybe it's a visualization technique. Maybe they need to chew, fidget, stim, or simply take a break.

Below you will find a variety of free social stories for calming down and teaching different coping strategies.

Please note that the following social stories aren't necessarily focused on specific emotions, in case that is what you were hoping for here. That will be for another list of stories. Otherwise, this list would be huge! 

Instead, the stories below focus specifically on teaching coping strategies like deep breathing, counting backwards, using a calming corner, and that sort of thing.

Free Social Stories for Calming Down & Teaching Different Coping Strategies

Have you been looking for a social story that teaches coping skills or calm down strategies? Then look no further than these free calm down social stories. Some require you to have a Teachers Pay Teachers account (which is free!) before you can download them.

I've rounded up some options for you to explore. That way you can find the best calming strategies social story for you and your child. Or you can simply use ideas from different stories below to write your own custom story (free social story templates here to help).

Please note that just because a social story is listed here does not mean I endorse its content. After all, many social stories tend to be poorly written and/or teach autistic masking. Besides, I haven't read all of these stories word for word myself. So please read through the stories carefully before using them with your child.

1. Calm Down Hero Story for Kids - Not technically a social story, but this little rhyming story is perfect for kids to learn different calm down strategies. It uses clipart and numbers and is perfect for hyperlexic kids. It's also one of the most popular printables on my blog.

2. Deep Breathing Social Story - This story is all about teaching kids how to do deep breathing as a way to calm down. It uses full color photos with diverse kids.

3. Chewing Social Story - Many kids like to chew as a way to regulate their bodies and can be a great coping skill. This story uses full color photos to talk about chewing as a sensory regulation tool.

4. Fidgeting Social Story - Many kids fidget as a way to keep their bodies regulated. This story talks about different ways to fidget and how kids can calm their bodies through fidgeting. It uses full color photos like all of my social stories.

5. Stimming Social Story - This story talks about what stimming is and how it can be used as a self-regulation strategy for calming down. It uses full color photos and features diverse kids.

6. Visualization Social Stories for Calming Down from Happy Learners - Here are two text only social stories about using visualizations as a calm down strategy. There are no images included. The titles of the stories are "Happy Memory" and "Visualizations."

7. Calming Corner Social Story from Autism Little Learners - This social story talks about using a calming corner and includes lots of great calm down strategies. It uses colorful clipart and lots of diverse characters throughout.

8. How to Calm My Body Social Story from Autism Little Learners - This story outlines various calm down strategies. It features colorful clipart and diverse characters. The story is available in English, Spanish, French, and Turkish.

9. Taking a Break Social Story from Autism Little Learners - Here's a story about taking a body or sensory break as a way to regulate and cope. It features colorful clipart and diverse characters.

10. Various Calming Down Social Stories from Watson Institute - There are a bunch of social stories here that talk about calming down. Topics include keeping your cool, calming choices, word choices, consequences, and anger.

11. Worried Unicorn Coping Strategies Social Story from Seal the Deal in Preschool on TPT - This story focuses on coping strategies for when you feel worried. It features a cute unicorn and some other clipart.

12. Relaxation Technique Social Stories from ASERT - There are four simple social stories here that use colorful clipart. The topics include: deep breathing, progressive muscle, guided imagery, and grounding.

13. Calm Down Social Story - Turtle Breaths from School Social Worker Extras on TPT - This story talks about signs of anger and breathing techniques to calm down. It uses a random assortment of clipart and photos.

14. Social Story: I Can Calm Myself Down from Regie Plana-Alcuaz on TPT - I can't tell you much about this self regulation social story as it doesn't include much in terms of a description or preview images, but it looks like it uses icon style clipart. 

15. I Can Calm Down & Take a Break at School Social Story from Positively PBIS on TPT - Here's a story that talks about taking a break to calm down at school. It uses colorful clipart.

16. Editable I Can Calm Down Social Story from Ms. Lori School Social Worker on TPT - This story is editable so you can customize it to fit your needs. No images are included by the looks of things, but you'll be able to insert your own. Ideally, you'll want to insert images of your child using different strategies and tools anyway.

17. Counting Down Social Story from SPED Secrets on TPT - This story focuses on counting backwards as a calm down strategy. It uses a lot of icons and clipart so it's visually very busy. It might be helpful for some and super distracting for others. I personally find these hard to read and kind of annoying.

18. Curse Word Calm Down Social Story from Sarah Mitchell on TPT - Don't worry this story doesn't teach your child to curse as a coping strategy...Instead, it gives alternatives to swearing when upset or frustrated. Maybe I should use this story for myself haha

19. Calm Down Social Story from Hannah Matthews on TPT - This story is available for Google Slides, which means you might be able to edit it. It uses colorful clipart.

Video Social Stories About Coping Skills & Calming Down

Here are some video social stories that explore different coping skills and calm down strategies. You can use these in teletherapy sessions, social skills groups, at home, and/or classroom settings. Videos are always a great alternative to printing off a story.

Like the stories above, some of the wording in these videos aren't always great. Same with some of the coping strategies discussed (size of the problem, I'm looking at you!). But I wanted to make sure you had lots of different options for discussing and teaching about calm down strategies.

There are a couple of exceptions to my warnings in the above paragraph because I managed to find a few video recordings of people reading my stories, which was a fun surprise. The first video below is actually someone reading my calm down hero story, and the second and third ones feature someone reading my deep breath social story. 

Speaking of Coping Strategies...Try this Anger Social Story!

Hopefully one of these free social stories for calming down will do the trick for teaching your kids about emotional self regulation skills, but that's just part of the equation. You have to teach kids about emotions too. These stories pair well with this anger social story from my shop.

Grab your copy of the anger social story

4-7-8 Breathing: A Simple Deep Breathing Technique

If you need a quick and easy breathing exercise, then try 4-7-8 breathing! It's a simple technique that you can do anywhere and anytime to reduce stress and anxiety.

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Every night before bed, my husband walks my boys through taking a few deep breaths to help settle them for sleep. He'll flip the light switch off and ask, "Ready to do our breathing?" 

I'm not entirely sure when or how this routine of slow deep breathing before bedtime began (nice alliteration or what?!), but I love it and the kids find it tremendously helpful. It's such a great way to help the kids slow down and ease into sleep. 

And trust me, there are nights where the kids are practically bouncing off the walls and they need a bit of guidance slowing down for the night. A bit of slow breathing often does the trick.

That's where this 4-7-8 breathing comes in. Deep and slow breathing techniques such as this one are especially great for promoting better sleep. Or at least, they help my boys get ready for sleep, which really is often half the battle, right?

So if you're looking to add a new breathing technique to your arsenal, give this one a try.

What is the 4-7-8 Breathing Technique?

The 4 7 8 breathing method is a simple exercise for working on deep breathing that was created by Dr. Andrew Weil. It is also known as relaxing breath. And, honestly, once you try it a few times, you'll quickly realize why it's often referred to as that.

The numbers in its name are the key to this relaxed deep breathing exercise. They'll basically be your guide through the full 4 7 8 breathing method. 

Those numbers just also happen to make deep breathing practice more appealing to our kids with hypernumeracy. As you might already know, it's all about using their interest in numbers with these kids!

How to Do the 4 7 8 Breathing Exercise

First, you'll want to find a comfortable place to sit and practice your breathing. You'll also want to exhale completely before going through the steps of this breathing exercise. Here's how it works:

• Inhale through the nose for 4 seconds

• Hold your breath for 7 seconds

• Exhale through the mouth audibly and forcefully for 8 seconds (making a whoosh sounds helps!)

Simply repeat the steps again for a total of 4 breath cycles.

Too Hard? Use These Tips When You Practice Breathing

At first, you might find it challenging to hold your breath for 7 seconds or exhale for 8. However, with a bit of regular practice, it will get easier to do and you can eventually work your way up to the 4-7-8 counts. In the meantime, you could try:

• Doing each step for as long as you feel comfortable

• Speeding it up (i.e., count faster or half each step), but still using the same ratio of 4-7-8 

• Using a video or visual aid to guide you through this breathing exercise. You could try this one or this one. Bonus hint: increase the playback speed if the pace is too hard for you to keep up with.

Every new breathing technique that you learn will take a little bit of practice. But, before you know it, you'll be able to do 4-7-8 breathing like a champ!

Free Printable Mario Question Block Deep Breathing Exercise for Kids

Inspired by square breathing, this free printable Mario question block deep breathing exercise is perfect for kids!

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I'm a huge advocate of using your child's interests as a hook to engage your child in learning other things. 

This Mario question block deep breathing exercise for kids is a perfect example. It takes my kids' interest in Mario to teach self-regulation and coping skills. That means, teaching something like deep breathing is instantly more appealing to my kids because they recognize that it's Mario themed.

Also, fun fact: I made my oldest son a question block cake this year for his birthday. One day I'll post it on the blog...

About this Mario Themed Deep Breathing Technique

It's probably pretty obvious at this point that this deep breathing exercise for kids is inspired by the famous question mark block from the Mario franchise...

You can also quickly tell it's based on the popular square breathing technique, where you follow the outline of a square, breathing in and out. In this exercise, you start by breathing in for 4 counts. Then you hold. Then you breathe out for 4 counts. And finally, you rest.

But don't worry, everything is outlined on the printable poster, which you can find below.

Download the Free Printable Mario Inspired Deep Breathing Exercise for Kids

This one page printable outlines how to use this deep breathing technique. It includes written instructions and visual guides/cues to help you or your child use the technique.

I highly recommend laminating the poster for durability. Then feel free to include it in a calm down kit or calm down corner.

To get a copy of this printable, click the link below:

>> Click here to download the free printable

 

Free Printable Video Game Controller Themed Coping Skills Worksheets

Do your kids love video games and need help with self-regulation? Then these video game themed coping skills worksheets are perfect for them!

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It's no secret my family loves video games. Like a lot. So much so that I've even made a handful of video game themed birthday cakes by this point, the most recent being a Mario coin block and a NES console (neither of which are on the blog yet, but either are last year's cakes...).

If you know me well, or even follow me on Instagram, then you also know that I'm a big proponent of using your child's interest to teach new skills. 

So if I can combine my kids' interests with something else, it's going to be a big win.

That's where these video game themed coping skills worksheets come in. They get my boys thinking about what they can do to help them stay regulated (or "in control"), all while appealing to their love for video games.

About these Video Game Controller Themed Coping Skills Worksheets

These worksheets are based on this brilliant idea from Crozet School Counseling. She used it specifically with her class to come up with strategies for test taking. Unfortunately, there was no printable version and some kids might prefer something other than PlayStation controllers.

Since I already had some video game controller clipart that I used for this I spy game, I thought it would be fun to put it to use again.

The idea is to have the kids brainstorm their favorite strategies that help them stay "in control" of their body and emotions. Then they can pick one of the seven different controller worksheets and fill in the boxes with their favorite coping strategies. 

Ideas to Help Your Kids & Teens Fill in these Coping Skills Worksheets

These coping skills worksheets are great for teens, tweens, and kids who love video games and can be used to discuss anger strategies, worry strategies, coping strategies, impulse control, or anything else you can think of. 

But if you need some ideas to help your kids with the brainstorming part, here are some useful resources:

• List of 100 calm down strategies

• 50 heavy work activities

• Calm down breathing techniques

• Grounding techniques like the 5 senses or the tree grounding technique

• 5 quick ways to manage anger

• 8 anxiety strategies

Download the Free Video Game Controller Themed Coping Skills Worksheets

This printable pack includes 7 different video game controllers with spots for kids to write down their favorite coping skills and calm down strategies. The number of spots to write varies from controller to controller.

To get a copy of this printable, click the link below:

>> Click here to download the free printable

 

Shamrock Deep Breathing Exercise {Free Printable Poster Included!}

Looking for some deep breathing exercises to teach the kids? Try this St. Patrick's Day themed technique and grab a copy of the free printable poster too!

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This shamrock shaped deep breathing exercise for kids is a great way to work on mindfulness, coping skills, and deep breathing during the month of March and in celebration of St. Patrick's Day.

The free printable mindfulness poster that's included below makes it easy for kids to practice. And using visual supports is beneficial for lots of kids.

A Simple Breathing Exercise for Kids that's Perfect for St. Patrick's Day

Shamrocks are a given at St. Patrick's Day.

So if one was going to make a St. Patrick's Day themed deep breathing technique, it had to feature a shamrock in some way, shape, or form. That's a given, right?

This exercise gives kids the chance to perform three big deep breaths. But they can always repeat more as needed, obviously.

About the Free Printable Shamrock Shaped Deep Breathing Exercise Poster

This one page printable offers a simple deep breathing technique using a shamrock theme (as you could probably guess by now, right?).

As for how to do the actual deep breathing technique, simply trace the shamrock and follow the instructions. Breathe in. Hold. Breathe out. Repeat a few times. Pretty easy really.

Download the Free Shamrock Deep Breathing Poster

This one page printable outlines how to use this deep breathing technique. It includes written instructions and visual guides/cues to help you or your child use the technique.

I highly recommend laminating the poster for durability. Then feel free to include it in a calm down kit or calm down corner.

To get a copy of this printable, click the link below:

>> Click here to download the free printable

 

Super Mario Sensory Bottles

DIY calm down sensory bottles for kids who love Super Mario! These calming bottles are so easy to make!

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Sensory bottles are a great self regulation tool and make the perfect addition to a calm down kit. And they're always more effective when they appeal to your children's interests.

My kids, for instance, love Mario. We've done lots of Mario perler bead crafts and even made a Super Mario Climbing Wall. They've memorized the entire Super Mario Bros. Encyclopedia by now too, I'm sure.

So obviously, we had to make Mario themed sensory bottles too because #marioislife

DIY Sensory Bottles with Glitter that are Inspired by Super Mario!

When I originally came up with this idea, I considered adding mustaches to the bottles and googly eyes so it looked like Mario and Luigi's faces. But I decided to keep it simple.

Besides, I wanted to reuse these plastic bottles for other projects eventually too. So I didn't really want to permanently glue anything or draw anything on the outside.

I made three bottles in total. One inspired by Mario. Another inspired by Luigi. And another inspired by a Yoshi egg.

Obviously, you could run with this idea and make one inspired by Toad (my personal favorite character!) or Bowser or Princess Peach. Or maybe a goomba is more your style? Regardless, I stuck with the two main characters, as well as their pal Yoshi.

I think they turned out really neat!

How to Make the Mario Inspired Calm Down Sensory Bottle

It's a-me, Mario! Let's a-go and make this sensory bottle. Here's what you'll need:

• Clear plastic water bottle - I used a VOSS bottle (tip for Canadians: I can always find them in stock at London Drugs!)

• Clear glue

• Water

• Red tape

• White dot sticker

• Red permanent marker

• Red liquid watercolor or food coloring

• Red glitter

Add the clear glue and water to the plastic bottle using a 20/80 or 25/75 ratio (I usually just eyeball this step). Add the liquid watercolor and glitter until it reaches a nice bright red. Put the lid on and shake to mix. If it looks good, then you can secure the lid permanently with super glue or a hot glue gun (optional). If not, you can always add more coloring or glitter at this point.

Once you've got the right mix of glitter and coloring, it's time to add Mario's hat to the bottle. Wrap the lid with the red tape. Write an uppercase M on a white dot sticker using the red permanent marker. Then go ahead and add the Mario logo to the lid.

When finished, it should look like this:

How to Make the Luigi Inspired Calming Sensory Bottle

Here's what you'll need to make this Luigi sensory bottle:

• Clear plastic water bottle - I used a VOSS bottle.

• Clear glue

• Water

• Green tape

• White dot sticker

• Green permanent marker

• Green liquid watercolor or food coloring

• Green glitter

Add the clear glue and water to the plastic bottle using a 20/80 or 25/75 ratio. Next, add green liquid watercolor until it reaches your desired coloring. Add lots and lots of green glitter. Put the lid on and shake to mix. If it looks good, then you can secure the lid permanently with super glue or a hot glue gun (optional). If not, you can always add more coloring or glitter at this point.

Once you've got the right mix of glitter and coloring, it's time to make the Luigi hat. Wrap the lid with the green tape. Write an uppercase L on a white dot sticker using the green permanent marker. Add the Luigi logo to the lid.

When finished, it should look like this:

How to Make the Yoshi Egg Inspired Calm Down Bottle

To make the Yoshi egg sensory bottle, you'll need:

• Clear plastic water bottle - I used a VOSS bottle.

• Clear glue

• Water

• Green dot stickers

• Pearl white liquid watercolor

• White glitter

• Silver glitter

Decorate the outside of the plastic bottle with the green dot stickers. Use a 20/80 or 25/75 ratio of clear glue to water by adding the clear glue first. Next, add a few squirts of the pearl white liquid watercolor. Then add as much (or as little) glitter as you'd like. Put the lid on and shake to mix. If it looks good, then you can secure the lid permanently with super glue or a hot glue gun (optional). If not, you can always add more coloring or glitter at this point.

With this particular sensory bottle, you can watch both the glitter and the liquid watercolors swirl around and settle. It's a much more subtle sensory bottle than the other two.

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