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Finding Our Calm

Lesson Plan

Finding Our Calm Plan

Students will learn to recognize anger, identify physical signs in their body, and practice calming strategies to self-regulate when upset.

By understanding their anger and using simple calming techniques, these young learners will build emotional awareness and coping skills, reducing outbursts and promoting a calm mindset.

Audience

Kindergarten

Time

90 minutes

Approach

Hands-on exploration and guided practice of calming strategies.

Materials

Emotion Cards, Breathing Exercise Prompt, Five Senses Anchor Sheet, Calm Down Corner Guide, Calm Reflection Sheet, Soft Comfort Object, Visual Timer, and Quiet Space Setup

Prep

Prepare Materials

15 minutes

Step 1

Introduction to Anger

10 minutes

  • Welcome the student and explain the goal: to understand anger and find calm.
  • Show Emotion Cards and ask the student to point to the “angry” face.
  • Discuss a time they felt angry and validate their experience.

Step 2

Identifying Physical Cues

15 minutes

  • Explain simple body signs of anger (hot face, fast heartbeat, clenched fists).
  • Use a mirror or self-observation to notice these cues.
  • Have the student demonstrate how their body feels when angry and describe it.

Step 3

Breathing Exercise

15 minutes

  • Introduce the Breathing Exercise Prompt.
  • Model deep belly breaths: “Smell the flower, blow out the candle.”
  • Practice together for five slow breaths, using the visual timer to guide pacing.

Step 4

Five Senses Grounding Technique

15 minutes

  • Present the Five Senses Anchor Sheet.
  • Guide the student to name one thing they can see, hear, feel, smell, and taste.
  • Encourage using their senses to shift focus away from anger.

Step 5

Selecting Calming Strategies

20 minutes

  • Review the Calm Down Corner Guide with pictures of options.
  • Offer choices: soft toy, squeeze ball, coloring, listening to music.
  • Let the student choose 2–3 preferred strategies and practice each briefly.

Step 6

Reflection and Wrap-Up

15 minutes

  • Use the Calm Reflection Sheet for the student to draw or talk about their favorite strategy.
  • Discuss where and how they can use these strategies at school or home.
  • Praise their effort, summarize the session, and plan a check-in later.
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Slide Deck

Finding Our Calm

Today we’ll learn about feeling angry and how to calm down.

Welcome the student. Introduce today’s goal: understanding anger and finding calm. Explain we’ll look at what anger feels like and learn simple ways to feel better.

This Is Anger

This is an angry face. Emotion Cards

Show the Emotion Cards. Ask the student to point to the angry face. Discuss a time they felt that way.

My Body Signs

• My face feels hot
• My heart beats fast
• My fists get tight

Explain common body signals of anger. Use a mirror or have the student place a hand on their chest and fists to notice tension.

Breathing Helps

Smell the flower 🌸
Blow out the candle 🕯️
Let’s practice 5 slow breaths!

Introduce the breathing exercise. Model “Smell the flower, blow out the candle.” Use the Breathing Exercise Prompt and visual timer.

Using My Senses

Name one thing you:
• See
• Hear
• Feel
• Smell
• Taste

Guide the student through naming one thing for each sense. Use the Five Senses Anchor Sheet as a reference.

My Calm Corner Choices

Choose something to help me calm:

  • Soft toy
  • Squeeze ball
  • Coloring
  • Music

Show the Calm Down Corner Guide. Let the student pick 2–3 calming tools and try each briefly.

My Favorite Calm Tool

Draw or tell about your favorite calming thing.

Give the student the Calm Reflection Sheet. Invite them to draw or talk about their favorite strategy.

Great Job!

You learned how to calm when angry.
You can try these again anytime!

Praise the student’s effort. Review the strategies learned and remind them they can use these anytime they feel angry. Plan a short check-in later.

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Worksheet

Emotion Cards

Print and cut out each box below to create emotion cards. Use these cards to point to or show how you feel.

🙂
HAPPY

😢
SAD

😠
ANGRY

😨
SCARED

Instructions for Use: Cut along the dashed lines to separate each card. During activities, let the student select or hold up the card that matches their emotion.

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Worksheet

Breathing Exercise Prompt

Follow the steps below to help your body feel calm. Practice each step together for 5 slow breaths.

  1. Smell the Flower 🌸
    • Hold the flower picture or pretend you have a flower.
    • Breathe in slowly through your nose, like you’re smelling a sweet flower.



  2. Blow Out the Candle 🕯️
    • Hold the candle picture or pretend you have a candle.
    • Pucker your lips and blow out slowly through your mouth, like you’re blowing out a candle.



  3. Repeat
    • Do steps 1 and 2 together 5 times.
    • Count each breath: 1️⃣ 2️⃣ 3️⃣ 4️⃣ 5️⃣






  4. How Do You Feel?
    Draw or write about how your body feels now after practicing your slow breaths.











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Worksheet

Five Senses Anchor Sheet

Use your senses to notice the world around you. Name one thing you can:

See 👀






Hear 👂






Feel 🤲






Smell 👃






Taste 👅






Instructions for Use:

  • Look around quietly or close your eyes.
  • For each sense, think of something you notice.
  • Draw a picture or write the word in the space provided above.
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Worksheet

Calm Down Corner Guide

Use this guide to pick things that help you feel calm. When you feel upset, you can circle or point to the items you want to try.

Circle 2–3 things to try:

🧸 Soft Toy (hug it tight)




🎾 Squeeze Ball (squeeze and release)




🖍️ Coloring (draw or color pictures)




🎵 Music (listen to calm songs)




🌸🕯️ Deep Breaths (smell the flower, blow the candle)




Draw your calm corner below:

(What does your special calm space look like?)











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Worksheet

Calm Reflection Sheet

1. Draw your favorite calming strategy:











2. My favorite calm strategy is:







3. It makes me feel:







4. I can use this strategy when I feel:







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Cool Down

Calm Check-In

1. How do you feel now?
Use your Emotion Cards to point to or show your feeling.






2. Which calm strategy will you use next time you feel angry?
Circle one from the Calm Down Corner Guide or draw your own below.











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Finding Our Calm • Lenny Learning