5-4-3-2-1 Senses Countdown

How to do it

Grown-up prep: No supplies needed. Find a comfy spot to sit together, like the couch, the floor or the edge of the bed at bedtime. Speak slowly and softly, and go first on each step if your child needs an example. This works anywhere: before sleep, after a meltdown, or in a waiting room.

1. Sit somewhere comfy and take one big, slow otter breath.
2. Look around and name 5 things you can see. Count them on your fingers.
3. Get very still and name 4 things you can hear.
   Ask: What's the quietest sound you can catch? Is it near or far away?
4. Name 3 things you can touch, and feel each one.
5. Name 2 things you can smell. Try sniffing your sleeve or hands.
6. Finish with 1 thing you feel happy about right now.
   Ask: What's one happy thing from today, even a small one?
7. Take one more slow otter breath and notice how your body feels.
8. Now count down with a friend! What new things will you notice?
   Ask: Who would you like to teach Ollie's countdown trick to?

Play it again

• Outside countdown: do the countdown in the yard or at the park and find all-new things.
• Leader's turn: you lead the countdown and a grown-up or sibling answers.
• Bedtime float: do it in bed with the lights low and whisper every answer.