After a few weeks, the worry box became part of the classroom – children began to realise that telling tales were not dealt with (unless they were serious) and so began to use the worry box in a more sensible way. If you are looking for mindfulness crafts to do some work with your kids or students this can be a great project. Sometimes, there is nothing we can do about the situations or events that trigger our emotions. In those cases, it may be better to accept those feelings and let them go. By understanding a child's worries, you can then do more to help them manage their worries and concerns. This activity helps students to develop self talk for dealing with their worries and recognize times and places that tend to bring out the worry monster. From here, we practice talking to their worry monsters and paying attention to time when he or she might come out. This activity really helps students to recognize worry triggers and employ that self talk that helps them to combat their worries!

The idea behind all these activities is not that convince children that worries don’t exist. Far from it! It is more to get them to think about and process worry in a logical way. Imagine there is something that you are worried about. It might be something that makes you sad, or that you are scared of. Offer Solutions - Teach your child how to deal with challenging situations and come up with a solution together. Some kids may find it difficult to use visualization techniques and will benefit from using an actual box. You can either buy a worry monster like above or else create your own using a cardboard box. I made this one with a group of children in the resource room 2 years ago and used him in my classroom last year too.For a child, it is normal to experience worry, particularly as they begin to explore the world and develop their own sense of identity. Children may worry about many different things, and whilst these worries might seem harmless to us as adults, they can cause a child a great deal of distress. Sometimes these worries can be so upsetting that it can affect their day-to-day activities, making them harder to carry out or enjoy. For example, they might be worried about an upcoming test at school which may lead them to want to avoid attending, or they may be concerned about a friend’s upcoming birthday party. Once your child has named their worry monster, have them draw a picture of what they imagine it looks like. Encourage them to be creative and take their time, adding colors and details. Below is the worry monster, Sam, that my daughter drew in second grade. Hang this image in a visible location, reminding everyone in the home that the worry monster is the anxiety, not your child.

When worry thoughts, frustration or overwhelming feelings strike, your child (or you, if your child needs help) can write them down on a piece of paper and store them away in their worry box (or whatever container you chose). Place them on the inside of the box on the top and repeat for the bottom. You’ll want enough space to have an “open” mouth, showing teeth. In this particular small group activity, students each create their own unique worry monsters, choosing from different bodies, eyes, mouths, arms, and even legs. Some students make worry monsters that look quite scary while others make worry monsters that appear friendly, and that’s okay.Or you may have come across slight variations that use different types of containers like jars. Those would be your Worry Jars, Feelings Jars, or Anxiety Jars.