The Little Dragon Cools Its Fire

Children are little dragons still breathing fire after playtime; with softer and softer breaths, the fire turns into smoke, then steam, and finally a cool little breeze. It uses breathing to settle feelings and the body.

How to play

1. Sitting down, we're little dragons who've been playing hard and are breathing fire: blow hard with arms flapping like wings (1 min).
2. The fire turns into smoke: breathe in through the nose and let it out softer and longer; three times (1 min).
3. The smoke turns into steam: let the air out so softly you can barely hear it, with a hand in front of your mouth to feel it (1 min).
4. Now just a cool little breeze comes out: the dragon folds its wings, lies down and rests (1 min).
5. The little dragon wakes up calm, sits up and shows us its calm face (1 min).

Rules

• Each dragon blows forward, never in someone's face.
• From fire to steam, softer each time.
• I feel the air on my hand.
• A sleeping dragon doesn't breathe fire.

Variations

Adaptations

• Hearing loss: use fire, smoke and steam picture cards.
• Limited mobility: does the breathing seated, flapping wings only if they can.
• Autism: they can watch their own hand and skip lying down at the end.

Learning goals

• Control how hard they blow.
• Use breathing to calm down.
• Connect breathing with feeling better.

Teacher tip

Really handy after a conflict or an overexciting game: "Let's see that little dragon, still breathing fire?" Make sure nobody blows while facing a classmate.

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