Calm Caterpillar Program teaches children the art of mindfulness
The Calm Caterpillar Program is a resource used to help small children express and understand tough emotions.
It was created by Sarah Habib in 2017 and provides students with resources, allowing them to process and handle tough emotions.
The program teaches mindfulness practices and incorporates five core breathing techniques.
Calmee the Caterpillar and Rory the Lion are two deep breathing tools/techniques used to help students release their emotions.
Maya Doughman is a preschool teacher at Rising Stars in Cheviot/Westwood and says these tools are helpful in her classroom.
"I have a few children who are able to independently go to the calming corner and participate in the calming Caterpillar activities," Doughman said. "They stop what they're doing immediately and they recognize that something is off or wrong in their body and they're able to go and self-soothe by using the breathing technique in the calming corner."
In the classroom, when a student is upset, they're able to step away from what they're doing and take a break in the 'calming area' to process how they're feeling.
"What we're really trying to do is create a group of students who are independent enough to say, 'I'm not feeling my best self and I know how to fix that, and so I'm going to go over to the calming corner using the tools that I know all on my own,'" Calming Caterpillar CEO Sarah Habib, explained.
Doughman says her students have learned how to comfort one another.
"They'll say, 'Hey, I noticed you're sad, let's go into the calming corner together,'" she said. "And typically, it'll make the student feel 100% better."
Doughman says when students express their emotions, it creates a healthy classroom environment.
"Each student has a voice, and I think that is very important. And if you go on ignoring it, it could escalate a behavior when all you need to do is say, 'What's the matter? How can I help you feel better?'"
The program is used in all Cincinnati Public preschool classrooms, serving 2,000 students and 134 classrooms.
Every student receives a Caterpillar Kit to take home with tools like a breathing ball to promote calmness at home.
