Let's go to Space!

Space is the 5-step process that Comet Cadets use to understand a person's feelings and needs, resolve conflicts, and protect our universe!

There are two kinds of Space:

You go to Inner Space to understand your own feelings and needs in a situation!

S

State what happened

P

Place your feelings

A

Add your needs

C

Center yourself

E

End with a plan

Inner Space & Outer Space Worksheets

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These worksheets give your Cadets step-by-step help for going to Inner Space and Outer Space! We have two versions for each:

Supported: These worksheets include supporting information (like the names of feelings and needs) to help your Cadets remember how to complete each step of Space.
Basic: These fill-in-the-blank worksheets are for Cadets who have learned the steps of Space and would like a little more room to freely write or draw.

Download and print these Space worksheets to have on-hand for your Cadets when they need them!

Download Space Worksheets

1. State what happened

When you state what happened, you identify the facts in a situation.

Pause and take a step back. Think carefully about the situation and say the details out loud about what happened.

Ask yourself:

What did I hear?

What did I see?

Who was involved?

For this step, you are simply an observer and tell the facts about what happened. Facts can be seen or heard or observed. A fact is different from an opinion! People can have different opinions (and that's okay!), but everyone observes the same facts.

When you state what happened — just the facts! — then everyone can start on the same page.

2. Place your feelings

How do you feel about what happened? This is the time to look inside and ask yourself how you feel in the situation.

Why do our feelings matter?

Because feelings are everywhere! And our feelings affect everything — our thoughts, our attention, how we make decisions, the way we learn, the way we act… everything!

And we're always feeling something, even if it's not a big feeling.

Sometimes we know we feel something, but it’s hard to know the name of that feeling.

That’s where the Mood Moon comes in!

The Mood Moon can help you connect the way your body feels to the word for that feeling.

Learn more about the Mood Moon here!

3. Add your needs

Your feelings are connected to your needs. After you place your feelings, it's time to add your needs.

When you have a feeling, it's because one of your basic needs is or isn't being met.

No matter where you come from or how old you are, everybody has the same needs! They are called our “Universal Needs.”

I'm tired because I need sleep.

I'm energetic because I need to play.

I'm scared because I need safety.

Our basic needs are big ideas. They aren’t specific things. For example:

"I don't need a sandwich, but I do need food! (Food is a universal need!)"

Once we know our basic need, then we can choose a specific way or thing to meet that need.

Learn more about our Universal Needs here!

4. Center yourself

For Inner Space

When you center yourself, you calm your body and mind to feel like yourself! Calm and ready to go!

When you're in a situation, sometimes you have big feelings — really intense feelings — and it can be hard to do your best thinking. So, before you try to end with a plan (to resolve your situation), it's important to center yourself!

The Space Station is where you can go to feel centered! The Space Station is full of different tools to reset your brain, recharge your energy, and relax your body to feel more in control and ready to take on any challenge.

There are 5 different rooms to visit. Each room is full of tools to center yourself. For example, a very simple tool is "Count to 10." Sometimes just counting 1, 2, 3… all the way to 10 is enough to feel a little calmer.

Learn more about the Space Station here!

4. Communicate their feelings and needs

For Outer Space

The most important goal of Outer Space is that we are listening to each other.

Put yourself in their shoes (or space boots). "How do they feel? What do they need?" Can you understand why they have those feelings and needs?

Now that you and the other person have both shared your feelings and needs, communicate their feelings and needs by repeating back what you heard them say. This gives them a chance to check that you understand.

This is active listening! Taking turns actively listening will help you understand one another, problem solve together, and move on to the last step of Outer Space.

If the other person repeated your feelings and needs back to you, but didn’t quite have it right, try saying your feelings and needs again. It's okay to make mistakes! And it helps to ask questions!

Going to Space is all about trying our best to understand each other and that can take practice to hear the other person!

5. End with a plan

Now it’s time to take action! You know how you feel, you know what you need, and you’re ready to end with a plan.

Think about what you want to do in your situation. This part is all about problem solving!

Let's think of a plan that meets the universal need (or needs) from "Add your needs." There are so many ways to do it, and so many plans you could make. Try brainstorming a few ideas before choosing one. Get specific!

Once you have a plan, give it a try! Say it out loud to yourself.

Don’t worry if the plan you choose doesn’t work out the first time. You can always try a different plan the next time.