Movement Breaks: 1–2 min stretches, jumping jacks, “freeze dance,” or yoga poses between transitions.

Action Songs: “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes,” “If You’re Happy and You Know It,” or custom movement songs.

Brain Breaks: Quick games like “Simon Says,” “Follow the Leader,” or “I Spy” using movement.

Transition Helpers: Use a countdown timer or a fun signal (like clapping patterns or a “quiet hand” sign) to guide shifts between activities.

Instead of “Stop!” → “Use your walking feet.”

Instead of “No yelling!” → “Let’s use our inside voices.”

“Thank you for listening so quickly!” (reinforce positive behavior immediately)

“Let’s see if we can do this quietly together.”

“You’re doing a great job focusing on ___.”

“Let’s take a deep breath and try again.”

“Smell the flower, blow the candle” breathing: inhale deeply like smelling a flower, exhale like blowing out a candle.

Calm-down basket or corner: include soft toys, sensory bottles, books, or weighted items.

“Take 5” Breathing: trace fingers and breathe in/out with each one.

Soft music or nature sounds during transitions or rest times.

Model calm tone — use low, slow voice and calm body language.

Model calm yourself — slow breathing, soft tone, gentle movements.

When a child becomes dysregulated:

• Get on their level and speak quietly.

• Offer choices: “Do you want to take deep breaths with me or hug your stuffed animal?”

• Praise small successes in calming down.

Offer two or three versions of the same task:

• Example: During a counting activity, some children count to 5, others to 10, others to 20.

• Example: In a fine motor task, some use larger beads or tweezers, others use smaller pieces.

Give kids choice: “You can try the easy or the tricky one today.” This promotes autonomy and keeps everyone engaged at their level.

Alternate between high-energy and low-energy tasks.

Try short, calming transitions between activities:

• “Smell the flower, blow out the candle” (deep breathing)

• “Push the wall” or “chair push-ups” for heavy work

• Quiet music or gentle yoga poses (e.g., star pose → candle pose)

Resource: GoNoodle Calm Down videos or Cosmic Kids Yoga