Worry/Stress-Relief Apps and Stories
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Free Apps (iPhone/iPad)
Breathe, Think, Do with Sesame - Learn as you help a Sesame Street monster friend calm down and solve everyday challenges (we have played this in class!)
Smiling Mind - A meditation app for the whole family! Activites are short and targeted.
GoNoodle - They have many good videos for stress relief and anxiety. Some suggestions: 'Melting', 'Bee Breath', and 'Tightrope'. (However, they are ALL fun, and that is a great way to relieve stress!!) Your kiddo can probably tell you their favorite!
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Helpful Activities:
The Worry Scale by Centervention
Bingo for Calm and Connection by Constant Love & Learning
Mandalas for Coloring by TherapistAid - Mandalas are a common therapeutic tool to relieving stress and anxiety in children and adults.
Positive Self-Talk Coloring Sheets by Sanford Health
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Talking About COVID-19 & Illness:
Daniel Tiger's Guide: Talking to Your Kids About Coronavirus (on PBS) - This site notes important things to remember when talking about Coronavirus with your chil(ren). It also has links on the bottom to different games, apps, and Daniel Tiger videos.
BrainPOP: Coronavirus - This BrainPOP category has a short video that goes into some of the science behind viruses, specifically the coronavirus. There are also quizzes and worksheets that go along with it.
TedED: The Coronavirus Explained and What You Can Do - This 8-minute "Ted Talk" goes into the science behind coronavirus; how does it infect someone? How can we cure it? What can we do to prevent getting sick?
TedED: Germs - This 5-minute "Ted Talk" talks about how germs spread and how they infect us. It aims to answer the question, "Why are some germs harmless while some are dangerous?"
Parent Guide to Helping Families Cope with Coronavirus - from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network. (Click here for Spanish) (Click here for Chinese)
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The Imagine Neighborhood Podcast for Kids
The Imagine Neighborhood Podcast is a show for children with new 15-20 minute episodes weekly. They cover a wide range of topics such as frustration, anger, and fear.
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Monster Meditations with Sesame Street (on YouTube)
These short YouTube videos are a collaboration between Sesame Steet and Headspace (a popular meditation app) to talk with children about dealing with big feelings via meditation.
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Managing Anxious Feelings with Mr. Forrest
SecondStep provides much of the curriculum we use in Guidance classes, and they are now creating online lessons straight from the curriculum creators! This 12 minute lesson covers what anxious feelings are, and how to calm-down.
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Mind-Yeti (on YouTube)
MindYeti a library of guided mindfulness sessions that help kids (and adults!) calm their minds, focus their attention and connect to the world around them. This is also brought to you by the creators of our Guidance curriculum!
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Slumberkins Presents: Alpaca
Slumberkins creates many different characters to target specific socio-emotional skills in early learners. Many of their products require purchases, but they have a free resource library as well. Alpaca has been used in my lessons before and talks all about stress-relief. This link will take you to a book, some worksheets, and more!
