Printables

Printable Pirate Themed Emotions Playdough Mats

These pirate themed emotions playdough mats are a great way to get kids to learn about feelings. Most kids like pirates. These use pirate situations and list the corresponding emotion.

You can expand on the activity by having your child discuss what they would do in those situations if they were a pirate.

How to use the printable emotions playdough mats:

Print out the playdough mats on paper or thick card stock.
Laminate the pages or place each of them in a plastic sleeve.
Set out the playdough mats with playdough. You can use homemade playdough or purchased.
Have your child shape the playdough to fill in things on the playdough mats and to fill in the faces to show the emotion each one needs.
Use this as a jumping off point to talk to your child about emotions such as asking when they have experienced those emotions or what they would feel if they were a pirate in a similar situation.

One important thing to note: Having your child wear an eyepatch while doing this activity makes it a heck of a lot more fun!

This activity also provides good sensory input. As your child squeezes and shapes the playdough, they are using their proprioceptive and tactile sensory systems. Reading the words and looking at the pictures uses their visual sensory system. If you use scented playdough, their olfactory sensory system will also be engaged.

When children use their senses while they learn, they are better able to retain the information. It also helps them to get enough sensory input into their day which can help regulate their behaviour. And of course, playing with playdough is just plain fun!

You can download these printable playdough mats (free) and join our Sensory Solutions and Activities email series by entering your email below.

Check out some of our other printable playdough mats:

Birthday Party Emotions Playdough Mats

Understanding Emotions Birthday Party Printable Playdough Mats

By Sharla Kostelyk

This activity actually combines two things that I feel pretty passionately about: teaching kids about emotions and sensory play. These birthday party printable playdough mats depict common feelings kids are familiar with.

When you incorporate sensory play into learning, kids are better able to retain what they learn. Discussing emotions with them while having them shape playdough with their hands is such a good way to have them remember.

Kids can relate to the emotions they might feel while at a birthday party. The playdough mats each tell of a situation at a birthday party and the corresponding emotion.

You can use this opportunity to talk to your child not only about how they would feel if they were in that situation but what they would do. You can help guide them to the best possible response. Children who role play situations ahead of time have a better chance of choosing appropriate reaction in the actual situation.

How to use the Birthday Party Printable Playdough Mats:

To use these playdough mats, print them on paper or card stock. Laminate them or place each one into a plastic sleeve. Set them out along with some playdough. Allow your child to shape the playdough to fit inside the mats and also to create the facial expressions that correspond with each emotion. You can use store bought playdough or make your own. If you want to add a calming scent element to it, use our lavender playdough recipe. Create different colours by changing the food colouring in the recipes.

Discuss the emotions with your child. Help them express what they would feel in those situations.

Get your free printable playdough mats here and you’ll join thousands of others wanting to learn sensory solutions and activities.

Powerful positive affirmations for kids to change their mindset

By Sharla Kostelyk

When I was growing up, my dad used to say to me, “whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re absolutely right”. His version of the Henry Ford quote was designed to teach me about the power of our mindset. One of the most effective ways to help kids change their mindset is by teaching them to use positive affirmations. The thing about something that you hear or say over and over is that it gets stuck in your brain. It becomes part of your inner voice. This is true for both positive and negative words.

During certain times in my life, my dad’s repetition of that quote has come to mind. That quote has even come out of my own mouth in talking to my children. In that same way, affirmations that we tell our kids or that they tell themselves will live in their minds and be brought forward in the future.

As parents, we want as many of those as possible to be positive.

When one of my kids is struggling, do I want the first thought that comes to mind to be “I can’t do this” or do I want it to be “I can figure this out”?

Obviously, I want it to be the latter. But in order for that to happen, I need to ensure that they are practising positive affirmations.A positive affirmation is a statement meant to overcome negative thoughts. Negative thoughts contribute to self-sabotage, stress, pessimism, anxiety, and depression. Therefore, you want to retrain your child’s brain to replace those negative thoughts with positive ones.

How do I use positive affirmations with kids?

Repetition, repetition, repetition. The key to this method being effective is having the affirmation repeated often. It also helps if the affirmation is said out loud by others, “you are kind”, by the child, “I am kind”, and is reinforced in other ways such as singing a song about it or colouring it.
Use affirmations in the present tense. Even if the statement is something your child has not yet mastered and is still working towards, it is more powerful to say “I am a good friend” than it is to say “I will be a good friend”.
Affirmations need to be specific.
Allow your child to choose their own affirmations. You can of course make suggestions, but the most effective ones will be those that resonate with them.

How do I teach my child to be positive?

One complaint I hear from a lot of parents is that their child is negative. Some kids seem to be born with a “glass half empty” mentality. While positive affirmations are not going to completely change a child’s personality, they will improve your child’s outlook.

The way that a child sees themselves shapes the way they see the world. When a child sees themselves negatively, they will also see everything around them through that lens.

Practising positive affirmations can help a child to see themselves in a more positive light. This then allows them to see those people and circumstances around them more optimistically as well.

Practising intentional gratitude will also help a child to be more positive. They can do this by:

writing or saying five things they are grateful for each day
writing thank you notes
drawing what they are thankful for
using Post-its to jot down what they are grateful for
making positive observations about what they see, smell, touch, taste, or hear

We have a gratitude hallway covered in Post-its. It makes me smile. The kids add Post-its whenever they want.

Please note:

Positive affirmations do not address underlying trauma or special needs. They aren’t a “quick fix”. But even for children who have early childhood trauma issues or other factors that negatively affect their mindset, positive affirmations are not harmful. They can be one tiny piece of the puzzle towards healing.

Adorable Unicorn Affirmations for Kids:

These free printable unicorn affirmation pages are adorable! They include the following positive affirmations:

I am confident.
I am happy.
I am kind.
I am brave.
I am patient.
I am loved.
I am a good friend.
I am proud of myself.
I am safe.
I am awesome.

To download your printable unicorn affirmation pages for kids to colour, just submit your email below.

Free Christmas Printable Games for Kids

By Sharla Kostelyk

During the holidays, it’s nice for kids to be able to have some down time. There is so much hustle and bustle. It can help kids regulate their emotions to be able to have quiet time to reset. These Christmas printables games can provide that down time.

We’ve got some free Christmas printable games for kids to play. You can download them, print them off, and let your child enjoy.

This Christmas Cookie I Spy worksheet for is fun and festive but also helps kids practise their counting skills. You can download the printable holiday search here or entering your email below.

Continuing with the holiday baking theme, kids can do this Christmas Cookie Word Search. You can download the free printable word search by going here or by entering your email in the box below.

This simple word search is easy enough for even fairly young children to be able to complete. Download it to print by clicking here or putting your email in below.

These activities are also a great way to help kids maintain some of their learning over winter break. And they won’t even realize that they’re learning!

Check out these more active Christmas activities:

Christmas Minute to Win It Games

Christmas Games for Kids

On the Go Christmas Sensory Tub

Create Your Own Anti-Anxiety Kit for Children

By Sharla Kostelyk

Our daughter Dancing Queen suffers from PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) and anxiety disorder. She has been in therapy for a few years now, including a specialized treatment program for trauma and attachment.

We work a lot with her at home, but I have recently been wanting to work more on teaching her to manage some of her anxiety on her own so that she can slowly work towards independence by the time she is an adult. One of the tools I chose to use was creating a calm down kit for her to help her manage her anxiety.

How to create a calm down kit…

The most important factor in creating a kit for your child is customizing it to what works for your child. If you have seen that there are certain activities or toys that seem to soothe your child, those may be great additions to their kit.

What you want to do in essence is create a toolbox of tools that they can pull out when they need them. You want to give them the strategies and confidence to be able to manage their stress and anxiety on their own.

In my daughter’s kit, I included:

two stress balls (tutorial on how to make them yourself easily and inexpensively here)
a kaleidoscope
Wondertube (I-spy tube)
piece of fabric
lavender scented play dough in purple (soothing colour)
small mirror (for checking herself to see if her face is relaxed)
Rescue Remedy (natural stress relief drops that seem to really help our daughter if given at the beginning of anxiety)
Rescue Gum
the book The Way I Feel
sound therapy (her favourite is the tropical rainforest sound or the heartbeat)
mini massager (she is able to massage her scalp or ask me to massage her back or neck with this)
relaxation prompt cards*

Treasure Scope Kaleidoscope Bach Kids Rescue Remedy Rescue Spearmint Chewing Gum Mini Palm Massager Sound Therapy Sound Machine The Way I Feel

*I have provided printable Relaxation Prompts for Children with some suggested activities or you can make your own. Please read the explanations at the bottom of this post that go into more detail about each of the suggested tools for reducing stress and anxiety.

For younger children, you may need to create cards with pictures.

Other suggestions of items that could be included in an anti-anxiety kit…

an iPod with headphones
noise blocking headphones
an iPad with games that are repetitive and calming
activities from the Teaching Emotions Toolkit
small photo album of loved ones
something with vanilla or lavender scent
warm, fuzzy socks
a favourite book
a soothing sounds CD
a special blanket
stuffed animal
weighted vest or neck roll

Teaching Emotions Toolkit When My Worries Get Too Big!Kids Noise Reducing Headphones

How to use the anxiety reduction kits…

Before introducing your child to their kit and its contents, sit down with them and discuss the signs that they are beginning to feel anxious. Have them describe to you the changes they feel in their body.

Ask them questions about their heart rate, their breathing, their senses, their temperature (many children describe feeling hot or cold), and any other changes they notice in their bodies as they begin to become anxious.

Next, empower them by telling them that you believe in them and think that they can learn strategies to help them cope with their own stress. You may want to tell them a few strategies you use to cope with your own stress.

Introduce the kit that you have made “just for them” and explain its contents and how each may be used when they start to feel anxious. Let them know that there may be times when they try one thing in the kit and it doesn’t seem to help but that there are other things they can try.

All of the items and ideas in the kit should be practised with you a number of times before the child is expected to try them on their own. Until a child feels confident about their ability to reduce their anxiety themselves, you should stay nearby while they use their kit.

Offer encouragement and praise, but avoid the temptation to suggest which coping strategy they should use unless you see an escalation in their anxiety and it is obvious that they need direction.

Explanations for the Relaxation Prompt Cards…

Go to a quiet place – sometimes removing themselves from a situation or from the noise and distractions can help minimize stress responses and help a trauma response or time of anxiety to be over faster.

Pray – this one seems fairly self-explanatory. For children who have a foundation of faith, prayer can be comforting.

Listen to music – listening to music or a special relaxation CD with soothing sounds on it is very calming for many children.

Breathe deeply – deep breathing is a skill that must be taught and practised. Your child will be better able to handle stressful situations using their breathing techniques if they have practised them at times when they were not feeling under duress. One way to practise is to have them lay on their back and place a stuffed animal on their stomach or chest and demonstrate how the stuffed animal rises and falls with their breathing and see if they can create higher rises.

Go for a run – running is a good activity for stimulating endorphins, releasing cortisol (very important in children with high anxiety), and providing an EMDR effect on the bottoms of the feet because of the left-right repetitive motion (more about EMDR below)

Wrap yourself in a blanket – wrapping snugly in a blanket or even in a tube of stretchy fabric mimics the feelings of security of being swaddled as an infant and for some children, may provide quick relief from anxiety

Drink water – Being even slightly dehydrated can increase cortisol levels. It’s important for our kids who battle anxiety to drink water frequently.

Tapping – Explaining tapping (Emotional Freedom Technique) would require a post all of its own. It works wonders for some kids and they can even learn to do it to themselves. For other kids, it doesn’t seem to decrease their stress. You can learn more about it and watch how-to videos here.

Draw a picture – Art therapy is an incredible tool and by expressing themselves through art during a time of high emotion, your child may be able to release some of their stress and perhaps even be better able to get to the root of and communicate their feelings.

Relax your face – Have your child practise tightening and relaxing their muscles at a time when they are not in crisis to better understand what relaxed looks and feels like. This is where having a small mirror in their kit will come in handy.

Hum a song – humming is more calming than singing because of the vibrations

Imagine your safe place – our daughter has done imagery work in therapy about her safe place so when she is struggling to feel safe within her feelings or body or memories, going to that place in her mind helps her to feel safe again (this is something you would want to discuss with your child at a time when they are calm so that they could determine what that place is for them)

Put your feelings in a bucket – this is a tool that our daughter learned in therapy and it works very well for her when her feelings are overwhelming her. To make this easier, I am keeping her kit in a large bowl with a lid so that the bowl is readily accessible. It is what it sounds like. The child grabs their feelings (from near their stomach or chest or wherever they feel they are) and puts them into a bowl. When they feel like all their scary feelings are in the bowl, they can put the lid on it and put them away for when they are feeling strong enough to face them. (our daughter chooses to give her feelings to God before she puts the lid on the bowl)

Read a book – there are so many wonderful children’s books about feelings such as I Feel Orange Today, Today I Feel Silly, When I Feel Sad , My Mouth is a Volcano that can help children to recognize and address their feelings.

I also highly recommend When My Worries Get Too Big (a relaxation book for children who live with anxiety).

EMDR – EMDR is a therapy (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing) that has proven highly effective in dealing with trauma. It can be done using taps and can be combined with a positive mantra such as “I’m okay, you’re okay” or “I’m safe, you’re safe” to retrain the brain. I would recommend that you get some instruction on EMDR from a trained therapist because I don’t feel that I am qualified to teach you how, nor do I know your child and the particular circumstances, but EMDR has been the single most effective therapy that we have used with our daughter. I have also used it on myself in the past in dealing with trauma and on some of our other kids.

Ask for a hug – learning to ask for comfort when they need it is a wonderful skill for a child to have

Count slowly – this can be combined with breathing techniques to make it even more effective

Whisper the alphabet – reciting something familiar such as the alphabet is a good anxiety reducing technique and whispering it helps them to focus on something other than their negative emotions in the moment

What to Include in a Calm Down Kit

More Calm in the Chaos – The Printable Planner for Moms of Special Needs Kids Feelings Jenga Game

Helping a Child Through Trauma

Sleep Solutions for Children with Sensory Needs

Summer Bucket List for Moms Who Want to Engage

By Sharla Kostelyk

Last year, I pinned many a “Bucket List” to my Summer Pinterest Board. I even printed off some blank ones and had each of the kids fill one out. We actually managed to complete most of the ideas on the bucket lists.

The thing that I noticed about our lists though was they were geared towards the kids. It may have involved me in terms of preparing activities or taking the kids places, but I’m going to admit honestly that I was not truly engaged in the activities.

Don't just watch their childhood happen…get in there and live it with them! Image Copyright: / 123RF Stock Photo

I have come to some realizations lately due in large part to the fact that my oldest son is now an adult. His 18th Birthday was a bit of a wake-up call for me, an awakening to how fleeting these years are. I still have many younger kids and I have the chance to create memories with them.

The way that I have been doing things is to create situations that they may remember but they may not remember my part in them.

In being busy and working hard to gather supplies and instructions for those awesome Summer crafts and in taking the time to make the fun, creative snacks and meals, I sometimes miss out on the real moments, the kisses, the hugs, the chasing in the grass, the laughter.

I am creating this printable Bucket List for Moms Who Want to Engage for me and moms like me, those who feel like their kids’ childhoods are slipping away.

I will continue my honesty by stating that some of the things on this list will be a stretch for me. I don’t even like being outside. It will be hard for me to set aside the dishes and the to-do list and get down in the grass with my kids. But I will.

Let’s make this summer about treasuring moments and creating memories that last for our kids as well as for ourselves. Are you in?

Have a picnic sitting on the grass with the kids
Play tag in the yard
Sit outside and read the kids a book
Actually participate in a water fight
Take the kids to a parade and soak in their excitement
Hopscotch with the kids
Draw each child’s outline with sidewalk chalk and add positive adjectives inside
Buy a roll of pennies or dimes and fill the sandbox to watch the kids hunt for buried treasure
Skip while holding hands
Go for ice cream and let the kids take as long as they want choosing flavours
Get dirty
Lay on the lawn long after dark and point at stars
Play hooky for a day from “life” and play with the kids

Image Copyright: / 123RF Stock Photo

Swing on swings, slide down the slide, truly discover a playground
Build a sandcastle or let the kids bury you to your arm pits in the sand
Play hide-and-seek
Blow bubbles
Take a leisurely stroll through the Farmer’s Market with no agenda
Blast the music, pick up one of the kids and dance like no one is watching!
Go berry picking and learn to make jam together with the kids
Stop and literally smell the flowers
Hula hoop badly
Lose an afternoon in the library
Play “I-Spy” and actually pay attention
Ask the kids about their dreams
Colour with crayons
Do the hokey-pokey
Worry less, laugh more
Teach the kids to speak Pig Latin

Go hiking
Build a block tower
Have a games night at home
Create a technology free day – no phones, no TV, no computers
Explore our community like tourists
Whisper
Giggle
Build a blanket fort on a rainy day, climb inside and snuggle while you trace letters on the kids’ backs
Splash at a spray park
Jump rope
Create and go on a photo scavenger hunt

Click image below for full printable of 40 ideas…

(There is a typo in the printable which is super embarrassing for me, but could you do me a favour and just pretend you don’t see it or cross it out? I’d appreciate that!)