Calm Down Strategies for Preschool: Staying Calm When Losing
This session teaches calm down strategies for kids, helping young students stay calm when a favorite game does not go their way. After a short video, students talk about one thing they can try to help their body feel ready to play again, then move around the room to show how different stories might make them feel. The focus is on being a good sport so friends want to keep playing together.
Extension activity
- Skill
- Self-Regulation
- Goal
- Managing Stress
- Grade level
- Pre-K & K
Get everything you need to teach the skill
These materials are part of a no-prep session designed by our clinical team, with all the structure, scaffolding, and support you need to teach included.
Engaging materials
Video modeling lessonStaying Calm When Losing
Learn the strategies and self-talk around losing a game so we can make ourselves feel better. Being a good sport about losing will help others want to play with us next time.
- Extension activity
Self-Regulation
Get students up and out of their seats to practice self-regulation strategies with this Simon Says-inspired listening game.
Plus everything you need to teach them
Warm-up
- Video: Lion and Cat Breathing3:12
- Video: Our Senses Calming Break2:27
- Video: Yoga Pose Library
Session Opener
Guiding Question: What can a person do after losing?
Practice
- Discussion Question
- Role-Play Activity
- Mini Game
How to use it with your students
- 1Watch Play the video modeling lesson so students see the skill in action.
- 2Practice Try the skill together with a discussion prompt, role-play, or mini game.
- 3Extend Use the extension activity to help students carry the skill further.
What's Covered
In this lesson, students learned that it's okay to feel disappointed when they lose a game, but it helps to find a way to feel settled instead of getting upset. They practiced noticing those big feelings and trying strategies that help, like taking belly breaths or telling themselves it's okay to try again. They also talked about how being a good sport helps others want to keep playing with them.
Key Terms
- Calm
- Calm means your body feels relaxed. You can use strategies like breathing or taking a break to feel calm.
- Being a Good Sport
- Being a good sport means staying calm and kind when you win or lose and continuing to play respectfully.
Sample IEP Goal This Session Supports
-
Managing Stress
Learner will recognize signs of stress in their own body or thinking (e.g., tight chest, racing thoughts, feeling overwhelmed) and apply a self-selected strategy (e.g., deep breathing, positive self-talk, taking a break) to manage the feeling in 4 out of 5 opportunities independently/given X prompt(s).
Send this tip home to support generalization
At home or in the classroom, when a student loses a game, try taking a belly breath together and naming one thing the other player did well.
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More Self-Regulation Activities
Frequently asked questions
Is this intervention free?
Yes, this ready-to-teach session on Staying Calm When Losing is free. You can access this intervention free for 14 days through the Everyday Speech Session Library. Every user gets three free sessions, but you can get more or extend your access by sharing the Session Library with friends and colleagues.
What ages is this for?
These materials are designed for PreK and kindergarten students.
What's included?
You'll get access to your choice of warm-up videos, a session opener, a core material on Staying Calm When Losing, three practice prompts, and an extension activity, Self-Regulation.
What skill does this intervention teach?
This ready-to-teach session is on self-regulation - more specifically, managing stress.
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