Squish
Squeezing your muscles tight and then letting them go loosens a tight, tense feeling
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Squish is a friendly octopus with eight soft arms, and Squish has a favorite way to feel calm: squeeze, then let go. Squish curls all eight arms up tight — tighter, tighter — holds for a moment... and then whoosh, lets them flop loose and floppy. "When a feeling makes you all tight and clenched," Squish says, "you squeeze on purpose, then let go, and the tightness goes with it."
Squish's friend Bram the badger is trying so hard not to cry that his whole body has gone stiff. His fists are balled, his shoulders are up by his ears, his jaw is clenched tight. "I'm all... tight," Bram says through gritted teeth. "Everything's squeezed up and it won't let go." Holding the feeling in has turned Bram to stone.
"Then let's squeeze on purpose first," says Squish gently. "Make your fists as tight as you can — tighter — hold it... and now let them flop, all floppy and loose. Feel that? Now your shoulders — scrunch them up to your ears — hold... and drop them down. And your face — scrunch it small — hold... and let it go soft." Bram squeezes and releases, part by part.
With each squeeze-and-release, a little of the stiffness melts away. Bram's fists uncurl. His shoulders come down. His jaw goes soft. The tight, stony feeling loosens and drains right out of him. "I feel... floppy," Bram says, and a wobbly little laugh slips out. "Like a noodle." The feeling that was locked up tight has finally let go.
Bram wiggles his loose, floppy arms and feels the last of the tightness leave. He didn't have to force the feeling away — he just squeezed, and let it go. A warm, loose, unclenched relief settles all through him. And Squish, all eight arms drifting soft and easy, gives Bram a gentle, floppy hug.
Hear it as an audio drama
A short play starring Squish, from CalmCubs. Different voices, same idea. Listen any time after you read.
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Read the drama script
- Narrator: From Spark and Anvil and Calmcubs — this is Squish, in chapter 1 of the Calmcubs cast.
- Narrator: This drama uses an AI-generated voice. Voiced via Gemini 2.5.
- Narrator: Squish is a squishy little cub who knows a trick for a tight, tense body — squeeze it, then let it all go soft.
- Squish: When your body feels tight and tense, squeeze your muscles tight — really tight — then let them go all floppy. The letting-go melts the tightness away.
- Narrator: A young cub had tight, scrunched shoulders after a hard moment.
- Young Cub: My shoulders are all bunched up and stiff.
- Squish: Let's squeeze them out. Pull your shoulders up to your ears — squeeze, squeeze, TIGHT — hold it... and now, let go. Drop them. Floppy.
- Narrator: The cub's shoulders dropped soft.
- Young Cub: Oh — they feel loose now!
- Squish: That's the trick! Squeeze your fists tight... hold... and release. Squeeze your whole body like a tight ball... and flop. The tightness leaves when you let go.
- Narrator: The cub squeezed and released, growing looser and calmer.
- Squish: Squeeze tight, then let it go — and the tense feeling loosens. That's what makes Squish, Squish.
- Narrator: You've been listening to a Spark and Anvil chapter, written by the Spark and Anvil writing team for ages 9 to 14.
- Narrator: Apps stay free forever.
- Narrator: Curriculum aligned to Common Core and Next Generation Science Standards.
- Narrator: Released under Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0 for educational reuse. Visit Spark and Anvil for the full transcript.
Reading together with a grown-up? A card for the grown-up
For the grown-up: ask one question, then wait. When they answer, add one word to what they said. Tap the button when they have said something — that is one turn each, a circle. Nothing is recorded or kept.
Let them finish it
Say “Squish squeezes tight, then lets it go, and feels …” and stop. Let them finish it.
Now wait. Count slowly to five in your head. Their answer is worth the quiet.
Circles together: 0
The CalmCubs ensemble
Squish is one of the friends in CalmCubs. Each friend shows you one idea by how they act; meet them all and you have the whole subject.
