Worries

I mentioned in this post how I made my "Worry Boxes." I love these and think they are good for kids.

Here's how it works, when students are worried about something, they can come and leave worries in the worry box. The can write it down or draw a picture of it. Then they fold it up and drop it in the worry box. Putting it in there symbolizes letting it go. It helps them visualize putting the worry away. 


As I mentioned in my DIY decorating post, I used Modge Podge to put scrapbook paper on these.  The words are just printed off the computer and are also modgepodged on. However, a friendly tip, regular Modge Podge doesn't work very well with printed on copy paper! The ink bleeds a little, so these you may want to Elmer's glue or tape on. These are just boxes I had laying around the house! One was a gift box and one is a shoe box. I keep one in both offices. 

I've also seen some people turn boxes or tissue boxes into "Worry Monsters," which is another great tool for anxious students. For this one, just decorate the box to look like a monster that "eats" worries. 

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For students that have a lot of worries, I like to pair the use of the Worry Box with the book "Is a Worry Worrying You?" by Ferida Wolff and Harriet May Savitz.
Find this book on Amazon.
After reading the book, I have the student put the worry in the box. But this book has some other ideas for dealing with worries, so it is a good door opener to other things students can do with worries. We all worry sometimes, but worries don't have to take over our lives!

These are just a few things I do for worried/anxious students. What activities do you like for worried kids? What works well with your students? I'd love to hear more ideas!