The 1-5 Scale for Managing Strong Feelings

This is a concept we've been working on in Peace Classes recently, adapted from the book When My Worries Get Too Big by Kari Dunn Buron. We talk about how our feelings can be described using the 1-5 scale. Each student names something that makes them feel like a 1, and also a time they felt like a 5. We practice strategies for bringing our strong, intense "Level 5" feelings down to a more manageable number like 1 or 2. These strategies include:

• Calm breathing ("flowers and candles")
• Counting to ten
•  Squeezing our hands together
• Closing our eyes and rubbing our legs in a calming way
• Thinking about our happy thoughts
• Talking to an adult
• Telling someone how we are feeling
• Writing or drawing 
• Taking a nap or break from the activity 
• Going to a safe place like the Oasis to calm down    

I hope these strategies may help the kids in the classroom, on the playground, and at even at home when they are having a strong feeling. You can help by reminding them about the 1-5 scale, using the numbers to help your child talk about how intense their feeling is, and by reminding them of some strategies that could help them come back down to a one. 
-Jillian