Conflict Resolution (Between Peers)

1. Welcome Song
2. Visual Schedule and Rules (welcome song, puppet show, discussion, story, calming activities, song, goodbye song)
3. Review “Stop, Slow Down” visual
4. Puppet Show – Bessie is holding a toy car.
   Bumble walks up to Bessie and says: Hey, that’s my car, I had it first! He tries to take the car from Bessie. [RED light is shown]

   Bessie: No, it’s mine! (and turns away from Bumble holding the car)

   Bumble hits Bessie on her back and Bessie screams.

   Mrs. Panda approaches the children and says: I can see you both are angry. Take a deep breath. [YELLOW light is shown] You’ll each get a chance to tell me what happened. Bumble, here’s the talking stick.

   Bumble: She had my car so I tried to get it back.

   Mrs. Panda: Were you playing with it?

   Bumble: Yes, I just came back from getting some blocks to build my house.

   Mrs. Panda: So, you had the car but you put it down to get the blocks?

   Bumble: Yes.

   Mrs. Panda: Bumble, please pass the talking stick to Bessie. (He passes it)

   Bessie: But I had the car!

   Mrs. Panda: So, you didn’t know that Bumble was using it?

   Bessie: No, I just got it.

   Mrs. Panda: So is there any way that you two can play with the car and the blocks together? [GREEN light is shown]

   Bessie and Bumble: I don’t know.

   Mrs. Panda: What about Bessie using the car while Bumble builds a house? Then when the house is done, Bessie you can drive over to the house and build something else while you use the car.

   Bessie and Bumble: Okay, let’s go.

5. Problem-Solving Game: on each child’s turn, s/he takes a card which is read to the entire group and the group brainstorms to solve the problem on the card. There are three categories of problems: peer to peer, child to teacher, child to parent.
6. Read Ask for Help and Work it Out book
7. Musical Hula Hoops: arrange a few hula hoops on the floor. Tell the children that they can dance around the outside of the area and when the music stops, they need to put one foot inside a hula hoop. The object of the game is to get everyone inside the hoops. One hoop is removed after each round. No one is ever out of the game. Children may help their friends get into the hoops as there becomes less space for everyone to fit. Depending on the size of the group, go down to one or two hoops so that everyone still has a spot. Comment at the end about how well they worked together.
8. Read “The Incredibles Book About Winning and Losing”
9. Hurray Song

Conflict Resolution (Child To Adult)

1. Welcome Song
2. Visual Schedule and Rules (welcome song, puppet show, discussion, story, calming activities, song, goodbye song)
3. Emotion Dice (for younger children) – talk about how people are more similar than different.
4. “Say it Back” (for older children) – name a topic such as colour and have the first child say “I like ____” then the second child says “[child’s name] likes purple. I like green.” The third child says what the second child likes and what they like. I.e., every child names what the child beside them likes and adds what they like. Adult changes the topic randomly (e.g., sport, food, toy, etc.) At the end, discuss the fact that although everyone likes different things, they can share their feelings and get along.
5. Puppet show – Bessie is busy in the block centre.
   Mrs. Panda flashes the classroom light and sings the tidy up song.

   Bessie continues to play.

   Mrs. Panda comes up to Bessie and says: Bessie, it’s time to tidy up.

   Bessie: No, I don’t want to!

   Mrs. Panda: It’s circle time now.

   Bessie screams and throws blocks.

   Mrs. Panda: Bessie, I see you are at a red light. I know you like playing with blocks.

   Bessie: Yeah, and I don’t want to tidy up.

   Mrs. Panda: Well, let’s see if we can get you to a yellow light. Let’s do the finger pull. We all enjoy playing but it’s everyone’s responsibility to follow the rules and tidy up so we can have circle. Remember our rules keep us safe and help us to know what to expect. What can you do to be helpful now that you’re at a green light.

   Bessie: I can tidy up and come to circle.

6. Read “The Reason for Rules” book
7. Seated Twist pose
8. Problem-Solving Finger Play:
   “Talk about the problem” (point to your mouth)
   “Listen to understand” (point to your ears)
   “Think of ways to solve it” (point to your head)
   “Choose the best plan” (point to palm of your hand)
9. “Stop, Slow Down, and Go” Activity – place large circles on a board to depict a traffic light. Tell children that the red is “we can stop before hurting someone”, the yellow is “we can slow down and become calm while we decide what to do”, and green is “we can do helpful things to solve the problem such as talk, listen, forgive, show respect.” Have a set of cards that correspond to each of the three lights. Each child takes a card and decides whether it belongs to the red, yellow, or green category.
10. Read “The Anger ABCs” book
11. Hurray Song

Taking Control of Your Anger

1. Welcome Song – as in previous sessions
2. Sliding Board yoga / seat push-up – from Session Three
3. Visual Schedule (welcome, puppet show, game, story, calming activities, goodbye song)
4. Puppet Show
   Bumble: I’m getting madder! (throws a toy)

   Mrs. Panda: Why, what happened?

   Bumble: First, I was last in line coming inside. Then, I was playing cars and Johnny hit me.

   Mrs. Panda: I guess since you were already a bit mad about being last in line, getting hit made it worse. Do you remember how we use our traffic light to calm down?

   Bumble: Yes, I guess I need it now.

   Mrs. Panda: You seem like you’re in the red light. You need to stop before you hurt someone. Let’s go to the yellow light and slow down. Smell the chocolate and blow out the candles. Hug yourself tightly. You look calm enough now to figure out what to do. You’re at a green light.

   Bumble: I feel much better. I’ll pick up the toy I threw and find something else to do.

   Mrs. Panda: Maybe next time if you feel like you’re getting really mad, you can smell the chocolate and blow out the candles. This will make it easier if anything else goes wrong.

5. Okay Angries Dice
6. Read Put the Brakes on Your Anger book
7. Red Light, Yellow Light, Green Light – play the game in the usual way, adding “slow down” for yellow
8. Discuss how we can take control of our bodies and calm down:
   • Read “Peaceful Piggy Yoga”
   • Demonstrate a few poses from book (cobra and warrior)
9. “Listening with an Open Mind” activity – draw a face and place it on the front of a large glass jar. “Let’s pretend this jar is a person. Put the lid on and say “when someone won’t listen to new ideas, we say the person’s mind is closed. Pretend these clothespins are new ideas. Do you think the ideas will go in when the person isn’t listening?” After the children guess, try to drop the clothespins in with the lid still on. Remove the lid and drop the clothespins carefully so that they go in. “When we decide to listen, we have an open mind. Then we can hear and understand new ideas. What can we do to listen with an open mind?” Discuss staying quiet, thinking about what the person said, asking questions to clarify, look at the person talking, say back what you heard, and think about how the person might be feeling.
10. Hurray Song

Additional Strategies for Teaching Safe Ways to Express Anger

1. 1. Welcome Song – as in Sessions One and Two

1. 1. Train Yoga – from Session Two

1. 1. Visual Schedule (welcome, rules, game, story, calming activities, game, goodbye song)

1. 1. Discuss Anger Rules: (display visual of rules)
      It is okay to feel angry but:
      • Don’t hurt others
      • Don’t hurt yourself
      • Don’t hurt property
      • Talk about how you feel

1. 1. Fishing game with “Self-Calming Cards”. Each child gets a chance to fish for one card from the pond. All children act out the strategy on each card.

1. 1. Read Thomas the Tank’s Anger Book.

1. 1. Discuss how we can take control of our bodies and calm down:
      • Sliding board yoga
        Sit with your feet in front of you and your hands in back on the floor. Breathe in and push yourself up into a kind of backwards push-up. Make yourself into a perfectly straight sliding board by pushing your stomach up and point your toes away from you. Count to 10, 20, or 30–can you go for 50? (20-40 seconds)
        Sliding Board makes your arms, legs, and stomach muscles strong
      • Elephant yoga
        Stand up. Bend forward with your arms hanging down. Clasp your hands together, with fingers interlocked. Now walk around the room, bent over, and swinging your trunk. After a minute, stretch your trunk high up into the air, lean back and let out a big elephant sound like a horn!

1. 1. Game: cooperative Simon Says (act out safe ways to be angry). Have Simon say strategies previously discussed with self-calming cards.

1. 1. Read “The Anger Monster” book with or without the puppet and props to act it out. (Can use the monster puppet to depict the physical changes made when calming down.)

1. Hurray song – as in Sessions One and Two.

Anger Rules and Introduction to Safe Ways to Express Anger

1. Welcome Song – same as in Session One
2. Balloon Breath – from Session One
3. Visual Schedule (welcome song, rules, puppet show, game, story, calming activities, song, goodbye song)
4. Discuss Anger Rules: ( show visual of rules)
   It is okay to feel angry but:
   • Don’t hurt others
   • Don’t hurt yourself
   • Don’t hurt property
   • Talk about how you feel
5. Puppet show: Unsafe Anger
   Bumble wants to play with Bessie. Bumble takes a Connect 4 game to Bessie and asks if she wants to play. Bessie is drawing.Bumble: “Bessie, do you want to play Connect 4 with me?”

   Bessie: “I’m sorry Bumble, but I’m colouring right now”.

   Bumble: “But I want to play with you now…” Bumble hits Bessie, throws the Connect 4 game and says “You’re not my friend anymore”

   Bessie runs away crying.

   O.K. Anger:

   Bumble wants to play with Bessie. Bumble takes a Connect 4 to Bessie and asks if she wants to play. Bessie is drawing.

   Bumble: “Bessie, do you want to play Connect 4 with me?”

   Bessie: “I’m sorry Bumble, but I’m colouring right now”.

   Bumble: “But I want to play with you now…I’m mad” and then says “I need to calm down. I’ll take a deep breath, count to three and do my train yoga…o.k. I feel better now. Hey, maybe I’ll colour too.” (Bumble joins Bessie in the colouring.)

6. Cards and playdough from The Angry Monster Machine game (available at Parentbooks) – give each child a piece of playdough in the shape of a monster (from game) and have children each pick a card (from game) for facilitator to read aloud. All children follow the instructions of what to make with their playdough.
7. Discuss how we can take control of our bodies and calm down:
   • Train yoga
     Let’s take a train to a jungle far away from here. Sit with your legs crossed. Bring your arms to your sides with your elbows bent. Make fists of your hands. As you punch one arm out straight in front, breathe in. As you punch the other arm out, bring the first arm back to your side and breathe out powerfully through your nose. Keep switching arms and punching out. Listen to your breath–does it sound like train wheels? Now breathe in deeply, and breathe out, as our train arrives at it’s destination.
   • Air Walk (if room permits) or Tree yoga
     Lie down on your back. Begin to walk in the air. Keep your right leg straight and lift it up as you lift the left arm. Breathe in as you lift, breathe out as your arm and leg go down. Then inhale again and lift the left leg and the right arm together. Exhale down. Keep going. Stretch straight up toward the sky. If this is hard, remember: you tell your brain what you want it to do! (20 – 40 seconds)
     Air Walk balances the two sides of your brain, and helps you think better
   • Monkey stretch
8. Anger Monster Chant and visuals representing each strategy.
9. Hurray Song