Mellow
Pausing and counting down gives a big rush a moment to settle before you do anything
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Mellow is a koala who is never, ever in a rush. When a big feeling comes rushing up — even a happy, excited one — Mellow does the same calm thing every time: stops, and counts down slow. "Five... four... three... two... one." "A rush wants you to go fast," Mellow says in a soft, easy voice. "But if you pause and count first, the rush settles, and then you get to choose."
Mellow's friend Jax the squirrel is so excited about the pond party that he can barely stand still. He grabs the whole tray of berry cups to carry them all at once — zoom! — trips over his own feet, and berries fly everywhere. "Awww, no!" Jax wails. The excited rush made him go too fast, and now it's a mess.
"That big excited feeling made you zoom," says Mellow gently, helping gather berries. "Excited feelings do that — they push you to hurry. But you can pause first. Next time the rush comes, try it with me: stop... and count down slow. Five... four... three... two... one. By the time you reach one, the zoom has softened, and you can go at a just-right speed."
Jax tries it. He feels the excited rush bubble up again — but this time he stops. "Five... four... three... two... one." The zoomy feeling eases into a warm, steady kind of excited. Now Jax carries the berry cups two at a time, careful and calm, and not a single one spills. "I still feel excited," Jax says, "but I'm not zooming anymore. I did it the way I wanted to!"
All through the party, whenever the rush comes, Jax pauses and counts, and does each thing at a just-right speed — pouring, sharing, playing — nothing spilled, nothing rushed. A calm, in-control, steady-and-happy feeling fills him up. And Mellow, munching a leaf in no hurry at all, gives a slow, sleepy, contented nod. There is always, always time for a moment.
The CalmCubs ensemble
Mellow is part of CalmCubs's distributed-narrative cast. Each character embodies a different curricular primitive; together they teach the full subject.
