At our morning gathering, I posed the question -
What are you afraid of?
Their fears poured out -
things with googly eyes
space aliens
rain
big thunderstorms
the lights going out
earthquakes
monsters and ghosts
things that can eat you up
the dark
dinosaurs and dragons
car crashes
bad dreams
noises at night
We stood in our "Archer" yoga pose and recited our bravery chant, as we slowly moved our "bow" from side to side:
I am brave.
I may get scared
but
I am courageous.
I am brave.
Let the dramatic play begin! One by one, we acted out a hero's response to each of these scary things.
- We huddled together, standing straight, strong, with hand's on our hips, and said, "You don't scare me! I don't believe in ghosts! monsters! space aliens! You don't scare me!"
- We lay on the carpet, pretending it was our bed, and we started singing the ABC song when we heard a scary noise. We weren't scared at all anymore!
- When the floor began an imaginary rumble, we thought of an earthquake and we ran beneath our tables to stay safe.
- We imagined riding in our car and how to stay safe - Put on that seatbelt!
I believe saying these scary ideas aloud and "walking through them," together, even if only in our imaginations, helps these preschoolers to face their fears. Certainly, it is a whole lot of fun - playing together.
I agree, I agree, & again, sharing & then facing fears even for my older students was a conversation we had as often as I felt the class needed it. This a great to hear about, Maureen. As you know, my almost 4 year old granddaughter talks often about monsters & ghosts, etc. She doesn't have bad dreams, but we think the talk helps her not be scared. Interesting to hear what you wrote, that these same age kids are afraid of similar things. As ever, thanks Maureen.
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