Calm Down Corners
Calm Corners are an amazing resource to use in your classroom. If used correctly the can be an amazing support for students. They help students self regulate, provide a space to wind down, and fulfill sensory processing needs. Sometimes it can feel overwhelming to set them up and sometimes students can misuse them as a space to check out and avoid instruction. Here are some ways to make sure your calm corner is effective and meaningful from the beginning.
- Timer: Using a timer in your space allows students to understand that the Calm Corner is not a place to play in. It serves a purpose for a short period of time to help students self regulate enough to return to instruction. Anywhere between ten an twenty minutes in appropriate. If students need to use it more frequently than once or twice a week, consider consulting with a school counselor, as there could be underlying social or emotional issues that they may be dealing with.
- Rules: What rules do you want to have for your Calm Down Corner? Are students able to take items for the corner to their seat? Are multiple students allowed at at time at the Calm Down Corner? Can they set their own timer? To they have to ask permission? Treating the Calm Down Corner as a separate space with separate rules will help students understand expectations and also allow them to respect the space as a separate entity from you classroom. I you took the time to make rues for the space, it must be special or important… that is the message you want students to get.
- Sensory Items: Fidget Spinners, Playdough, Kinetic Sand, Water Beads, Lava Lamps, Spaghetti Balls, Stress Balls, Fidgets, Jacobs Ladder, Light Up Squeeze Balls, Pop-Toobs,, Therapy Bands and Silly Bands are just some examples of what can be placed in your Calm Down Corner. Theses tools will help students with sensory overload self regulate. It can also help students with ADD/ADHD focus in your classroom.
- Art Supplies: Art has a lot of therapeutic benefits. Students can use art to help with a wide range of feelings such as sadness, anger, or anxiety. Art allows students to express themselves and process their emotions. Some good art supplies to have in your calm down corner are: colored paper, glue, crayons, colored pencils, stencils, creative cut scissors, white paper, stamps and stamp pads, tissue paper, yarn, stickers, and recycled items. Get creative and change it up a bit. This will help keep the art portion of you Calm Down Corner interesting.
- Writing and Reading Materials: Sometimes students benefit from writing down how they are feeling. Writing helps them release their frustrations and focus on on how to get back to a space where they are open to learning. Allowing them to have various types of journal paper also gives them some creative freedom during their self expression. For the reading materials, rotate the books out often and place around ten books at a time in The Calm Corner. Books that focus on resilience, kindness, gratitude, bravery, persistence, or any other positive attribute will helps students find content that may help them reframe their mindset.
- An Inviting Space: So often, I see the Calm Down Space set up like a last minute thought. It looks disheveled and disorganized, which is very uninviting to students. Use inviting chairs or bean bag chairs to set up the space. If you have limited space, then bins are you best friend. Label the resources with inviting pictures and make the space as beautiful as you can. Place a small rug or a floor lamp to add to the ambiance of the space.
Calm Down Spaces can be super easy to create. If you have one you would like to share, I would love to see it in the comments:-).