Wellbeing Corner

Wellbeing Story Time

Picture story books often open up conversations and learning opportunities for what might be complex and hard-to-tackle concepts for children. This is true for conversations about mental health issues, which can at times feel awkward or be challenging to discuss. In this series, I will be introducing you to picture story books which will not only entertain but introduce children to a range of mental health issues which they or someone they know might experience.

Sometimes I am Hot Lava

Seemingly small things can begin to pile up… and then BOOM! The strong emotion reaches its capacity, and we can explode with anger! Anger is a normal, healthy emotion, but sometimes we let our emotions drive our actions which can get messy quite quickly. When this happens, and it happens to the best of us, we need strategies to help our brains regain control of our actions. This might look different to each person – and in this book, we see Buddy do exactly this through mindful breathing.

Sometimes I am Hot Lava

After listening to the story, you could…

• Practice mindful breathing. Here are some fun ways to do it!
  • Belly toy: Lie down on your back on the floor. Place a soft toy on your belly button. Breathe in and out slowly and deeply, and with your head slightly lifted, watch the toy on your belly move up and down. If your toy isn’t moving, it means you need to breathe deeper!
  • Finger breathing: Using your finger, trace around your other hand. When you trace up a finger, breathe in. When you trace down a finger, breathe out. Feel the sensation of your finger tracing your hand as you breathe.
  • Balloon breathing: Sit up straight and place your arms to the side. As you breathe in spread out your arms to the side as if you are a balloon inflating with air. As you breathe out, gently lower your arms as if you are a balloon deflating. Every so often, breathe out very fast and match this with your arm movements by bringing them down fast too.
• For Buddy, anger made him feel like a volcano about to explode. In another book we read about anger, Ravi’s Roar, we saw Ravi describe his anger as a tiger! What other ways could you describe your anger? Come up with your own imaginative way to describe how anger feels for you!