Animal Breathing Cards

Grade level

Grades K–3

Time

About 15 minutes

Topic

Mindfulness and calming

Answer key

Not needed: answers vary

Kids practice

Calming strategies, Breathing, Noticing and focus, Self-regulation

What kids do

Printed on the sheet:

1. Breathe in through your nose. Open your mouth wide, stick out your tongue and breathe out with a big “haaa!”
2. Breathe in through your nose. Close your mouth and hum like a bee, “mmmm,” as you breathe out slowly.
3. Stand up. Breathe in and lift your arms high like a trunk. Breathe out and swing your arms down low.
4. Lie down with a teddy bear on your belly.
5. Breathe in and watch it rise. Breathe out and watch it fall.
6. The breath that helped me feel the calmest:

Teacher tip

Practice one breath each morning until kids know all four.

How to use it

• Do the calming practice yourself with the class. Kids follow your pace.
• Dim the lights or play soft music while kids work.
• Use it during morning meeting or right after recess, when the topic is fresh.

Watch for

Some kids don’t like closing their eyes. Let them look at the floor instead.

Talk about it

• When could you use this at home?
• Have you ever been in a moment like this? What happened?

Take it further

Set up a calm-down corner with the strategy cards and a timer.

US Letter, prints well in black and white. Free for home and classroom use: print as many copies as you need.