Dragon Fire Breathing

Introduction Paragraph:

Have you ever felt upset or angry? That’s okay, so have I! Sometimes a minute for mindful breathing helps to calm our bodies when we feel these difficult emotions. Mindful breathing is when we think and focus on how we breathe. How does deep breathing make us feel? How do short breaths make us feel? Come join me in making a fun mindfulness resource and practice reflecting on our breathing by designing and using a handheld fire breathing dragon!

Supplies:

- A pair of scissors

- Liquid glue

- A glue stick

- A toilet paper roll

- Piece of construction paper

- Mini pom-poms

- Scraps of tissue paper (suggested: red, yellow, orange)

Activity Steps:

Before we begin, let’s make sure your workspace is ready to go with your materials. You will need a pair of scissors, liquid glue, a glue stick, a toilet paper roll, a piece of construction paper, pom poms, and tissue paper. Place these on a flat surface.

Step 1: First, let’s begin by grabbing your toilet paper roll and a piece of construction paper, together these will create the dragon head! Line up the top of the paper roll onto the edge of the construction paper. Match up your scissors to cut the exact length of the paper roll. Cut straight about 12 inches, so that the construction paper can fully cover the entire paper roll.

Step 2: Next, spread your glue stick back and forth about 3 or 4 times on the short edge of the construction paper (either short side will do)! Line up the short side of the construction paper with the long edge of the paper roll, and begin to wrap the construction paper around the paper roll. The paper roll is now completely covered in construction paper!

Step 3: Then, let’s create the dragon eyes! Using the liquid glue, glue and press down two pom poms at one end of your paper roll. Press down for 20-30 seconds so that the pom poms will stick. Allowing pieces to dry in place is important because we will be handling lots of pieces and steps ahead and don’t want any pieces to fall off! Let dry for 3-5 minutes. Then, using your liquid glue, glue the googly eyes to the middle of one of your pom poms. Repeat this step for your second eye. Again, let dry for about 3-5 minutes to be sure they stay in place. These are your dragon eyes!

Step 4: Now we will make the dragon’s nose! On the open end of the paper roll (opposite the eyes), squeeze two small dots of glue next to each other. I left a very small space in between these pom poms, but they can be touching if you want! Then, place one pom pom on top of each glue dot. Press that for 20-30 seconds so that it sticks in place. Wait 3-5 minutes for the nose to try completely!

Step 5: Next, let’s grab our tissue paper and a pair of scissors. The colored tissue paper will represent the fire that the dragon breathes! Cut out long strips of each color. My strips were about 8 inches long. I would suggest your strips be about 6 to 10 inches in length.

Step 6: Then, using the glue stick, spread about a penny-sided amount of glue onto one tip of each of the tissue paper strips. Press this glued tip onto the inside of the paper roll under the dragon’s nose. Repeat this step for the other strips and continue to cover all the way around the inside of the paper roll.

Step 7: Finally, wait about 5 minutes for all glue to dry. Now that our paper roll dragon is complete, we can learn how to use this dragon craft to practice taking deep breaths!

Mindful breathing is a great tool to use the next time you feel upset or angry. Take your dragon, put your mouth to the end of the paper roll (by the dragon’s eyes), breathe in, and breathe out forcefully through the paper roll! Did you notice how quickly the tissue paper “fire” moved? When you breathe strong and hard, the tissue paper moves very quickly. When you breathe softly, the tissue paper moves slowly. Try breathing quickly, and then slowly. How does it make you feel?

Closing Paragraph:

Sometimes when I feel upset, I need to take a mindful moment to help me release the anger in a positive way. Mindful breathing helps us to focus on how deep and how fast we breathe in and out. Just as with the dragon “fire”, or tissue paper, we can understand how the way we breathe affects how we feel inside.

I hope that this craft gives you a fun way to practice mindful breathing when you feel upset or mad. Be sure to show it off to your friends and family and share with them how you use deep breathing in this new, fun way. Keep this craft in mind for the next time you feel overwhelmed or angry and need a deep dragon breath!

~ Made By: Madeleine C.