Clovis Keeps His Cool: Tools for Big Tempers

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Using a Book to Teach Tools for Big Feelings

Do you have a child that goes from 0 - 1000 when they get upset?

One second everything is fine and the next thing you know they are flaming with anger!

We all have those moments when our temper flares out of control and sometimes we do things that we wish we hadn’t.

Clovis Keeps His Cool by Katelyn Aronson, Illustrated by Eve Farb and published by Page Street Kids is a fantastic book for talking to children about tools for big feelings of anger, frustration and annoyance. All those tricky emotions related to MAD!

Clovis is a bull with a big temper who’s been working hard at learning tools and strategies to keep calm.

Conversations in Calm and Connection

One of the hardest parts of building tools and skills for feelings is remembering to do it outside of those tricky moments. Picture books make the perfect tool to have these important chats with less pressure, a fun and engaging story as well as some visuals to help support your conversation.

TIP: Focus on one tool per reading. It's tempting to want to cover them all, but when you get to that difficult moment your brain works a bit like a block of ice so build those tools up slowly with practice, patience and consistency. 

Discussion Points & Questions

When you feel that volcano bubbling up inside, what is something you can do to bring yourself back to calm?

Counting & Breathing

Let’s do some counting like Clovis, but instead of 1 to 10, let’s count backwards and when we reach 1 let’s do a biiiiiig belly breathe!

Tip: Counting backwards has a positive effect on flipping the mindset (Dino Brain)!

Calm Music & Yoga:

Clovis listens to music and does some yoga to practice being mindful. How can you practice mindfulness to help you keep your temper from exploding?

Big Body Tool:

Squeeze a cushion or stuffy, play drums on the couch, do some running jack-rabbits on the spot.

Self-Talk:

Notice how Clovis is doing some self-talk. That’s where he is saying to himself “I will not lose my cool.” This can be a helpful tool for slowing down that Dino brain temper.

This book was not gifted to me, I purchased it independently. Ideas, tips and thoughts are my own and are not intended to represent the author, illustrator or publisher. If you would also like to grab a copy you can use my Amazon Associate link and I may earn a small commission. Thanks!

Part 2: Bulls and Bullying

Don't miss when Part 2 of this blog comes out on how to use this book to tackle conversations around meanness, bulls and bullying by joining the Tara's Take Newsletter HERE!