Composure Cubes

Come on...admit it...when it is time to go back to school we could all use a LOT of help with keeping our Composure.  As much as I love school supplies, the details involved and length of the lists these days can be a bit overwhelming!  When I took my kids shopping for their supplies I needed more than a couple deep breaths to keep everything straight. 

I thought I would share this little game with you so you can help your children (and yourself) keep it together while you make preparations to head back to school this fall!  These could be used at home or in the classroom setting.  Breathing helps us disengage the stress and give much needed oxygen to our brains so we can keep thinking and learning AND keep our cool! 

In my preschool classroom we called this game "Rock and Roll".  It is appropriate for children any age, just modify it to whatever works for you and your kids. 

I found these bouncy foam dice at the Dollar Store a couple of months ago and I knew I would find a fun use for them.  In fact, I am leading a make and take workshop next week and we are all making these fun cubes!  Two for a dollar!  What a great deal!

 

 

Head on over to the Conscious Discipline website and look under the Resources tab to find the printable breathing icons.  You will also find instructions on how to do each breathing technique. 

 

I want to make sure you know that you really need to practice deep belly breathing in order to reap the benefits of the breathing techniques.  Say it with me, "In through the nose, out through the mouth."  Make sure your belly rises, not your chest.

 

In order to cover all 6 sides of the dice I added two more relaxation techniques that are helpful.  I added Stretching and Bunny Breathing.  To learn how to do Bunny Breathing you can watch this video over on the Loving Guidance channel of Youtube.

 

Once you have printed out all the visuals and laminated them to the right size just add some Velcro and you are good to go!

This game can be played in an individual, small group, or large group setting.  It is a great part of a Brain Smart Start or a short brain break during the day to help you practice breathing so that when you hit stress head on, you have some tools ready to go!  You can go conscious and NOT CRAZY!

So gather some kids around, grab the dice, and shake it as everyone says, "Rock and ROLLLLL!".  Throw the dice out on the floor and see what comes up!  Practice doing that breathing technique three times while focusing on belly breathing and then roll again!

Hope you have fun with this cheap and easy way to help your kids (and yourself) disengage stress and keep on shining!  It's like two for one...