Helping Kids Stay Calm

For many students at the recommend grade level, Preschool, it is common to have little to no experience of spending time away from their parents and interacting with other children their age. With these unfamiliar elements being introduced, many students begin to become frustrated, whether when it is told that they have to share or come to realize that their parents can't stay in school with them. This software allows for children to become accustomed with these feelings and learn to deal with them and take responsibility, through helping their favorite Sesame Street characters take deep breaths and choosing the correct path to take. I believe the fact that the app is by Sesame Street is crucial, as it does help students deal and learn with frustration better when they are able to recognize a familiar face, or in this case monster !

My overall opinion on this activity is that it is an effective and fun way to teach a child strategies on how to simply breathe and relax when they feel frustrated. By having a fun and colorful monster as the main character to interact with in the game, the child gets to enjoy him/herself while also learning useful strategies. I don't think this app can completely teach a child all the possible ways on how to deal with their frustration, but I do think it is a useful tool to teach a child the simplest way in which to calm down, which is just to breathe. Overall, I think this app can definitely be used to help benefit a child in teaching them relaxation strategies in stressful situations.

My overall opinion is that this is a great application to help educate the students on new techniques to keep the fighting to a minimum, It was almost like having an extra arm because if something started in the classroom while I was working with another student then I would say "Breathe and Relax like Elmo" and they would remember the tool and correct the problem among themselves.