Words for Big Feelings
Know and use the key words for managing big feelings — calm, strategy, cope, settle, patience, overwhelmed, and breathe — and understand that having words for these ideas is the first step to using them
Share and support
Teaching Table · Reviewed guide
Set out your lesson
“When a feeling is overwhelming, it can seem too big to manage. A calm strategy helps us cope and settle safely. Patience means giving the process time, and one strategy is to breathe slowly while asking for support when needed.”
Bring to the table
- Paper
- Pencil or crayons
Full guide and materials
- Paper
- Pencil or crayons
- Step 1. Define calm, strategy, cope, settle, patience, overwhelmed, and breathe in child-friendly words.
- Step 2. Read a fictional scenario and discuss possible clues—not proof—that someone may feel overwhelmed.
- Step 3. Practice a safe strategy: pause, breathe slowly, name the feeling, and choose help or quiet space.
- Step 4. Explain how the strategy can help someone cope and settle, while patience gives it time to work.
- Quick check. Read a new scenario. Success means your child uses overwhelmed, strategy, breathe, cope or settle, and patience accurately to describe a safe response.
Worked example. “I feel overwhelmed by all these instructions. My strategy is to pause, breathe slowly, ask for the first step, and give myself patience while I settle.”
Optional challenge. Compare two calming strategies and explain when asking a trusted adult for support is more useful than coping alone.
What to notice. Save a photo of the Calm Strategy card, or a short parent note quoting how your child would cope and settle safely.
Compare teaching approaches
Teaching approaches
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1 approach
When a feeling is overwhelming, it can seem too big to manage. A calm strategy helps us cope and settle safely. Patience means giving the process time, and one strategy is to breathe slowly while asking for support when needed.
Spend 10 minutes making a Calm Strategy card using calm, strategy, cope, settle, patience, overwhelmed, and breathe, then practice it with two fictional scenarios.
Family records and proof options
Keep a record of your learning
Save photos, notes, and attendance. Export a proof packet for compliance or portfolio reviews.
Learning resources
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Check understanding
- Use words like 'frustrated', 'anxious', 'overwhelmed', and 'disappointed' accurately to describe how they feel in difficult moments
- Explain what 'calm down' strategies are in their own words and name at least two they have tried (e.g. deep breaths, counting, walking away)
- Distinguish between similar feelings — e.g. explain the difference between being angry and being disappointed
“When your child is feeling really upset or frustrated, can they use words like 'I need to calm down' or 'I'm feeling overwhelmed' instead of just acting out?”
Curriculum record
- Type
- Language
- Subject
- Personal & Social Development
- Domain
- Self-Regulation & Resilience
- Age range
- Ages 5–8