Psychological Support in Wartime

Stress, worry and anxiety attacks are feelings that children experience just like adults, especially during war. Breathing exercises and active games, particularly those that include poems, songs and counting rhymes, will help relieve psychological tension and help children relax.

A game can "switch" a child's attention from what worries them to something they can at least partly control. We offer a selection of games that can be organised for children in a bomb shelter or elsewhere to relieve their psychological tension and stress.

Activity Navigator for Working with Preschoolers

Games with Rhymes

We Stamp Our Feet

The children and an adult stand in a circle at arm's length from one another, say the words, perform the matching movements and then run in a circle:

We will stamp our feet,

We will clap our hands,

We will nod our heads,

We will wave our hands.

And now we run, run, run.

We all run in a circle, run, run, run.

At the signal "Stop!" the children stop in the circle, perform the same movements again and then run in the opposite direction.

The Pranksters

The adult chooses a "prankster" from among the children. All the others stand in a circle. The prankster stands in the middle of the circle. The children walk in a circle and say the words:

All together, one after another,

We march smartly in a row,

Stop right there! All together,

We will do it like this!

The children in the circle stop. The prankster shows some movement and the children repeat it. Then they choose the next prankster, and the game continues.

Artistic and aesthetic direction: EXAMPLES OF TASKS

Silence

The children hold hands, walk in a circle and say the words:

Silence by the pond,

The water does not stir,

The grass does not rustle –

The children are falling asleep!

Then they stop in any pose and freeze for 10 seconds. Everyone has to keep their balance and not move.

Along the Smooth Path

The children walk in a column. They repeat the words after the adult and perform the movements:

Our paths are smooth, (they march quickly)

Our paths are smooth,

One, two, one, two –

Our little feet are marching

Over the bumps, over the bumps, (they jump forward on both feet)

Over the bumps, over the bumps,

Into the hole – plop! (they squat down)

Our paths are smooth, (they walk at a slow pace)

Our paths are smooth,

Our little feet are tired.

Low-Activity Games

Who Has the Pebble

The children stand in a circle, pressed close to one another. They keep their hands behind their backs. The leader stands in the middle of the circle. The adult gives a pebble to one of the children. The children pass it to one another behind their backs. At the adult's signal they stop. The leader guesses who is holding the pebble. The leader points at a child and calls out "Hands!" – the child shows both hands. If the leader guessed right, they swap places with that child.

Turtles

The adult draws a straight line on the floor. The children stand beside it. At the signal they start walking along it with the smallest possible steps. Anyone who stops is out of the game at once. The child who reaches the finish last wins.

The Neighbour's Hands

The children stand in a circle. The leader walks inside the circle, stops next to one of the children and says: "Hands". That child stands still. The child on their right raises the right hand, and the child on their left raises the left hand. If any of the three children makes a mistake, they are out of the game. The game continues until three players are left.

Guard Your Hands

The children stand in a circle at arm's length from one another. They stretch their arms forward with palms up. The leader stands in the centre of the circle. At the adult's signal "Guard your hands!" the leader tries to touch the hands of one of the children. That child must immediately hide their hands behind their back. After one leader has won a few rounds, the next leader is chosen and the game continues.

Breathing Exercises

The Butterfly

The adult ties a paper butterfly on a thread to a small stick. The children stand in a circle and the adult stands inside it. The adult holds the butterfly above each child in turn. Everyone has to blow on it so that it "flies" over their head.

The Breeze

The adult ties short threads with colourful paper figures or sweet wrappers to a long thread. The children have to blow on the pieces of paper as if the wind were swaying them.

The Balloon

The adult invites the children to imagine that they are blowing up balloons and to act this out. The adult also invites them to choose the colour of "their" balloon and explains that they should not blow very fast and hard, because the balloon will pop out of their mouth. It has to be done slowly. Then the adult asks the children to breathe in, hold their breath and count to four. Then they breathe out into the "balloon". The exercise is repeated three times.

Note. You can invite the children to think about something that worries them, breathe it out into the balloon and let it go.

The Rainbow

The adult encourages the children to take a deep breath and hold it, and then breathe out while silently naming the colours of the rainbow one by one. Then the adult names the colours aloud and invites the children to imagine that they are breathing in red, yellow, blue, etc. air. Also – objects of the colours the adult names.