Moody Cow Meditates Book Reading
Parent Follow-Up
About the Story
December is very busy and some kids may struggle with being a little more moody than usual. To help with that, I went into classes to read "Moody Cow Meditates" to our students. It is a class favorite! In the book, Moody Cow gets his nickname because he gets so MOODY and it negatively affects his entire day. His grandpa comes by to teach him how to calm down when he gets so upset or when things don't go his way. Grandpa uses a mind jar (glitter jar) to show Moody Cow how his thoughts and feelings are in his brain-swirling around like crazy! Learning to take deep breaths calms the brain and allows the thoughts and feelings to settle down. Then students can make a strong choice to help them move into the green part of the brain. Ask your student what happened when Moody Cow stayed in the red part of his brain!
DIY Mind Jar/Glitter Bottle
1. Take warm water and fill water bottle up 3/4 of the way.
2. Add a generous amount of glitter glue, put on lid, shake vigorously.
3. Add food coloring until you achieve desired color.
4. Add a generous amount of fine glitter.
5. Shake and decide if you need more glitter
6. If satisfied with glitter bottle, super glue lid onto bottle (I highly recommend doing this)
Once the glitter bottle is made, talk to your child about how you will utilize the glitter bottle (he/she may already be familiar with it from myself or the classroom teacher). When your child gets upset, the idea is to shake up the glitter bottle to help visualize how your child may be feeling on the inside at that moment. Then your child can sit and watch as the glitter slowly settles down in the water bottle, while taking deep breathes him/herself. Compare the glitter settling down to your child's emotions calming down and also settling. A lot of times students will sit in the tent in my office with some stuffed animals or pillows while they hold the bottle and watch the glitter settle. Think about establishing a safe and comfortable place in your home for the glitter bottle to stay so your child knows where to go when he/she needs to cool down. Practicing it will help remind your child where to go when needed.
Ms. Brittney Schmidt, M.S. Ed.
Professional School Counselor
Chaos Coordinator
Email: bschmidt@hobart.k12.in.us
Website: https://www.hobart.k12.in.us/
Location: 400 North Wilson Street, Hobart, IN, USA
Phone: 219-942-7263