Inside: A review of Breathing is My Superpower and some related book activities.
If your child (or classroom full of children) could benefit from taking a mindful pause in the middle of their busy days, or need a coping technique for stressful situations, then I have the perfect book for you.
Breathing is My Superpower
Alicia Ortego
Independently published, 2020
Opening Lines:
My name is Sofia, and this is my unicorn, Bee.
She is seven years old too and special like me.
Synopsis:
This is a sweet book about Sofia, a seven-year-old girl, who learns to use mindful breathing to cope with the worries and stressful situations in her life. Her mom teaches her a Five Breathing exercise that she uses throughout the day whenever something upsets her. The story is written in rhyme and also includes four breathing exercise cards: Bubble Breathing, Square Breathing, Lazy 8 Breathing, and Soup Breathing.
Why I Like This Book:
Children, like adults, often have anxieties and this book is a lovely way to introduce them to some very easy breathing techniques to help calm their minds. Mindful breathing techniques have been around forever, but are now so mainstream it’s easy to find articles touting the benefits.
The gently rhyming text and soft colours used throughout this delightful book help to instill a feeling of calm. If you’re looking for a way to introduce your child (or class of children) to some kid-friendly breathing techniques, then this charming book could definitely work.
Book-Related Activities:
- Practice a breathing technique for a few minutes each day. Make it a regular part of your classroom or home routine and it will soon be second nature. As mentioned, the book includes four extra breathing exercises. You can also find more at Moshi. And a free printable of the Five Breathing exercise can be found at the author’s website.
- Draw and colour what your feelings look like. I made a cute frame you can download below.
- Go outside and run around the house or school a few times. We used to do this at school on a regular basis and it’s extremely helpful in calming anxious energy.
- Squeeze something squishy. Allow everyone in your class to keep one stuffy at school for this purpose.
- Push your hands together. Hold, release and repeat. This is supposed to have a very calming effect on your brain.
- Do a few yoga stretches. Downward dog is always a favourite and helps to get the blood flowing into your head.
- Just sit with your feelings and feel them. Remind yourself that they’re impermanent — they WILL go away.
- Colour a mandala. This can be a very meditative and calming act. You can grab the one I made, if you like (see below).
DOWNLOAD: MANDALA & FEELINGS FRAME
I hope this review and list of calming activities was helpful. Please let me know in the comments how you help the children in your life calm down and deal with every day stressors.
You can find Breathing is my Superpower at Alicia’s website OR on Amazon (affiliate link).
