Coping Skills Coloring Page with Six Ways to Calm Down

Six ways to calm down share one page in this coping skills chart, laid out in three rows of two boxes. Each box shows a child doing one calming activity, and its word sits underneath in bold letters. The six words are Breathe, Hug a Pet, Draw, Talk, Walk and Listen to Music.

It is one of our free coping skills coloring pages, made for ages 4 to 8. It fits a preschool or early elementary classroom, a school counseling office and a calm-down corner.

How this coloring page was created

For this page, we typed this idea into Colorin AI: "a coping skills chart for kids: six boxes in three rows of two, each box showing a child calming down in one way with its words underneath: Breathe (a child taking a deep breath), Hug a Pet (a child hugging a dog), Draw (a child drawing a picture), Talk (a child talking with a grown-up), Walk (a child walking outside) and Listen to Music (a child wearing headphones), the whole chart kept small enough to leave a wide white margin below it at the bottom of the page".

The chart on this page is the drawing that idea produced, and the words in parentheses set each scene. The words "a child hugging a dog" became a kneeling girl with her arms around a puppy, and "a child talking with a grown-up" became a girl and a woman sitting face to face.

The Six Scenes in This Coping Skills Coloring Page

Every box pairs a word with a picture of the action, so a child who cannot read yet can still choose a coping skill by its scene. All the children in the chart are smiling.

A teacher or counselor can hand it out early in the year. The child colors it, keeps it in a desk folder and later points to a box to pick what to try when upset.

The boxes have rounded corners and a narrow white gap between them. In Breathe, a boy rests one hand on his chest and the other on his belly, with a small puff of air beside his face. In Hug a Pet, a kneeling girl hugs a puppy with floppy ears, and a heart floats above them. In Draw, a boy at a table draws a house, a bush and a tree, next to a cup holding three crayons.

In Talk, a girl with a raised hand and a woman sit on their knees, with an empty speech bubble between their heads. In Walk, a boy follows a winding path past a tree, a bush and a tulip. In Listen to Music, a girl with closed eyes holds both sides of her headphones, with three music notes around her head.

Coloring Ideas and Techniques

Give each box its own background color so the six choices are easy to tell apart from across the room. Pale blue suits Breathe, yellow suits Draw and green suits Walk. The bold words can stay black, or older children can trace them in the color of their box.

The small parts need a fine tip: the three crayons in the cup, the tiny house in the drawing and the music notes. In Walk, a light tan path and green grass help the boy stand out.

For a chart that matches the coping skills a child already uses at home, design your own coping skills chart with ideas like reading a book or squeezing a pillow.

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