Practice calming breaths with preschoolers

In Yellow House, one of our three-year-old classrooms, we teach kids a simple but powerful tool — deep calming breaths. This helps them manage emotions, reduce stress, and stay focused.

When children feel overwhelmed by big emotions, we teach them to pause and take three deep breaths. This simple act helps calm their bodies and minds, giving them the clarity they need to handle tough situations. To make it even more effective, we introduce them to different breathing techniques, allowing them to choose the one that works best for them in the moment.

Learning to breathe deeply

Before we start with calming breaths, we teach our students how to take a deep breath using a breathing tool. They breath in through their nose as they smell the flower, then they breath out through their mouth to blow the pinwheel.

Once you've mastered deep breaths, follow along using the breathing techniques below:

Balloon breath

Place your hands on your head and as you breathe in raise your hands up. Then as you breathe out lower your hands back down.

Drain breath

Hold your arms out in front of you. As you breath in tighten up your hands into fists (stop the water). Then as you breath out open your hands (release the water).

Pretzel breath

Cross your arms out in front of you. As you breathe in pull your arms in toward your chest. Then as you breathe out extend your arms back out.

Rainbow breath

Put your hands together in front of your chest. As you breathe in raise your arms up above your head. As you breathe out lower your arms down alongside your body to make the rainbow.

Baby dragon breath

This breath was made up by a friend in Yellow House. Hold up your claws as you breathe in. Then breathe out your baby dragon fire.

Hot cocoa breath

This is another breath made by a Yellow House friend. Hold your cup of hot cocoa and breathe in the yummy smell, then blow out to cool it down. After your three breaths are complete you can drink the hot cocoa.

By mastering deep breathing, kids gain a lifelong tool for self-regulation — helping them feel more in control, confident, and ready to take on whatever comes their way!