Gemheart

A Day at the Zoo

by Justine West

child's drawing of a zoo — by Lillian Kelly, age 10

It was supposed to be a fun day at the zoo until Raine lost their mom. Where could she be? She knows just what to do when they get anxious! They started breathing heavily and felt hot. They started sweating and their face turned red.

"I won't cry, I won't!" they said out loud and put their head down to hide their tears.

child's drawing of a giraffe — by Kaylin Willesen, age 9

Suddenly, there was something warm and fuzzy nuzzling their cheek. They opened their eyes and to their surprise, they were staring into the eyes of a giraffe!

"Why are you sad?" she asked Raine. Raine said they were scared and couldn't find their mom. "Climb on my neck and see if you can see her from up there," the Giraffe instructed them.

child's drawing of the zoo as seen from on top of a giraffe — by Lillian Kelly, age 10

From here they could see everything, but not their mom. "Tell me 5 things you can see up there," said the Giraffe.

"I see the tops of the trees, the bright blue sky full of clouds, the parking lot with a lot of cars, balloons, and an ice cream stand," they sighed. "But not my mom."

The Giraffe sat them down. "Do you feel better?"

"A little" they said, still sniffling a little. They started to walk away, still on the hunt for their mother.

child's drawing of a tide pool — by Kaylin Willesen, age 9

"Oh no, why are you crying?" a small voice asked Raine. They looked around but didn't see anyone or anything. "I'm down here! In the tide pool!" Looking down, Raine saw a small pool of water with sea creatures in it. A starfish was waving one of its arms.

"Hello! I know what could help you! Reach in here and tell me what 4 things you can feel."

Raine reached in. "I feel... cold water, soft sand, your bumpy arms, and... A SLIMY RAY!" A medium sized Ray swam by, leaving a dirty look behind him. Raine was still sad and missing their mom.

child's drawing of a red macaw — by Lyanna Kahler, age 7

"I know!" a voice from a tree called out to Raine. "I have just the thing!"

It was a brilliant giant red Macaw. She called down from her tree branch, "Close your eyes and tell me 3 things you can hear right now."

Raine closed their eyes and concentrated. "I hear your wings rustling, the other birds singing in the tree with you, and a sniffling from something?"

child's drawing of an anteater eating an ant — by Finn Duncan, age 7

"That's just me," said an Anteater walking by Raine. "I'm sniffing out a snack. How about you—do you smell anything good to eat?."

"No," they said "I'm just trying to find my mom."

"Does she smell good? Can you smell her now?" the Anteater asked.

Raine shook their head. "I don't. But I can smell popcorn and I think a banana."

child's drawing of a monkey with a banana — by Kaylin Willesen, age 9

"Sorry, that's mine!" said a Monkey hanging on a branch. "But having a snack calms me down sometimes. Would you like a bite?" and he held the half-eaten banana out to Raine.

"Oh, no thank you, I have some snacks in my bag here."

"Suit yourself! More for me!" the Monkey replied, swinging from branch to branch, making his way across the zoo.

child's drawing of a child crying on a bench — by Kaylin Willesen, age 9

Raine sat down on a bench. They were still feeling sad. They couldn't find their mom and didn't know what to do. They opened their bag and pulled out a snack. They tried to eat but kept thinking about how much they missed their mom again. The tears came back to their eyes, and they started breathing heavily. They were starting to panic again and looked around feeling very alone.

colored pencil drawing of a cute otter looking at you — by Justine West

Just then, someone yelled over the edge of a swimming pool that was in front of the bench. It was a cute little otter. "Don't be sad. Just take deep breaths, slowly."

"I can't!" Raine cried. "My mom's gone, and I'm lost and alone."

"No, you're not," the Otter replied. "Watch me swim and I'll teach you how to do box breathing. That always helps me calm down when I'm scared. Every time I turn in my swimming, you change to the next step."

child's drawing of an otter swimming in a square shape — by Lillian Kelly, age 10

Breath in
Hold that breath
Breath out
Hold your breath again.

The otter raised her head to the surface. "Do you feel better now?"

"I'm starting to, only..." and Raine trailed off.

child's drawing of a mom and child — by Amelia Hummer, age 6

"RAINE!!!" It was their mom finally! She had found them. Raine told their mom all about their new animal friends and how they helped to calm their anxiety and their breathing.

"Oh Raine, I'm so glad you're safe. Let's get some ice cream and go home" their mother replied. And they did.

child's picture of a mom and child eating ice cream — by Kaylin Willesen, age 9

References

Marks, J. (2021, October 8). The best grounding techniques for anxiety relief. Psych Central.
Team, C. E. (2024, February 9). Box breathing: How to do it and why it matters. Calm Blog.