Learn how to create a calm classroom using five effective strategies and tips on creating a calm corner and kit to help students.
Creating a Calm, Productive Classroom
Do you struggle to create a classroom that is calm and productive?
Perhaps you connect with your students, and your heart is in the right place, but students still have emotional outbursts, experience anxiety, and get easily frustrated.
Perhaps you work hard to maintain control, yet students get distracted and off-task.
Your intentions are good, but this isn’t about how great your lessons are or how much you care. It concerns your students’ ability to understand and effectively manage their emotions.
Imagine this: During writing, Little Johnny fiddles with his pencil. He starts tapping his desk, his chair, and soon his classmates. He is avoiding his work and wants to disrupt others’ work. You notice him as he seems to escalate his behavior over a while, becoming increasingly louder and louder until the entire class is off task and staring at him.
Or this: Little Wendy is getting ready for recess. In the cloakroom, she works hard to get her coat on when her zipper gets stuck. Her friends run outside, and she is left alone. Her breathing gets faster, and she starts to cry out of frustration. She slumps to the ground and sits there until recess is over, missing out on fresh air and a snack.
While these two stories sound entirely different, they share one thing. Both children failed to find a productive and calm way of handling their emotions. They lack emotional regulation skills.
The Classroom Environment.
As educators, we strive to create a peaceful classroom that helps kids learn. If the atmosphere is too noisy, distracting, or busy, then kids won’t be able to learn and manage constructively.
Our job as educators is to teach kids the needed strategies and create a classroom where children feel comfortable asking for help using the tools we provide. We can achieve this by creating a calm classroom environment and routines to support students.
Why are Self-Regulation Skills Important?
We want our children and students to learn to manage their emotions when they are upset so that they can participate, enjoy, and complete activities that are outlined for them in school and at home.
When children can recognize their emotions, make good choices, and self-regulate using specific strategies and tools, they can transition from one mental state to another in a productive and less disruptive way.
This allows the classroom to evolve from chaos into a place of calm and connection. Teachers can then stay on task, and students can stay on task with their learning.
Teaching children to recognize their feelings and understand their needs empowers them to make choices and develop self-regulation skills. This is a robust process; we should work on teaching and implementing it in our classrooms.
5 Strategies to Help You Create a Calm Classroom
In this post, you will learn how to help kids recognize when they need to calm down and create a calm classroom atmosphere with strategies designed for that. You will gain ideas to help you get prepared ahead of time so that kids can learn to self-regulate and utilize the tools you have provided them as they need.
1. Recognize Emotions
Before children can begin to self-regulate independently, they need to learn self-awareness. They need to recognize how they are feeling and name those emotions. They need to say to themselves, “Hey, I am feeling … right now. I need to calm down!”
But how do we help them do this? We start by teaching them about their emotions. Then, we talk about different emotions, when we feel that way, and what that emotion looks and feels like. We explain to kids that their brains control their feelings at various times daily.
Once children recognize and name their emotions and understand that their brains control them, they begin to feel more in control and can predict their needs at different times.
Emotional-Awareness Ideas
- Daily morning meetings are an excellent opportunity for kids to connect with their feelings and peers.
- Create a way for kids to check in with their emotions at the start of the day. A poster or clip chart works great for this!
- Try a few of these lessons about emotions and feelings!
2. Teach Mindfulness
Mindfulness is about connecting with our thoughts and feelings. Practicing mindfulness with our students lets them know that slowing down and connecting with ourselves is okay. This process is crucial if we want kids to become aware of how they are feeling and what their needs are.
The classroom environment is often a busy one. Still, when we intentionally take the time to pause and practice something useful for our emotional well-being, we see the benefits throughout the day. We feel a sense of calm take over that readies our minds to focus and do our best.
Many strategies can help encourage students to be mindful. Try a few of the ideas below to create a more peaceful atmosphere.
Mindfulness Ideas for a Calm Classroom
- Take time to breathe with intention throughout the busy school day. Teaching students how to visualize and calm their bodies with their breath is powerful! Try a few of these simple deep breathing exercises.
- Play calming sounds and music when needed or during times of quiet work. Use a chime after transitions and have kids close their eyes and listen to the sound. Check out this ‘Calm Classroom’ playlist on Spotify!
- Try this list of 25 Relaxing Music Videos if you desire a visual experience.
- Incorporate yoga poses into your day. Start slow with a pose of the day and share the benefits of each post with kids. Cosmic Kids Yoga is an excellent source of yoga videos for kids.
- Read more about mindfulness in the classroom and what books can help guide your classroom practices.
3. Read Children’s Books as a Class
If you’ve been following our site for any time, you know how much we value children’s literature and how stories help teach important social-emotional topics. Using books as mentor texts for your lessons on self-regulation and calming is no different. These books will help you teach children new ways of thinking and acting.
Books help us teach students a new topic or area of focus. To create a calm classroom, share books with characters who learn to self-manage or describe their journey to where they are now.
Books can help kids see that it is okay to be who they are and not always be in control. Books can also teach kids that it is okay to feel and how they can relieve overwhelming emotions. But most importantly, books teach kids new ways of thinking. Books help create a calm and connected classroom.
Self-Regulation Mentor Texts
- This list of self-regulation books and videos will help kids learn to calm down and manage their behavior.
- Use this Emotions Book Companion resource to have book chats, share feelings, and participate in engaging activities that build emotional awareness.
- See the complete list of self-regulation books and more social-emotional learning books in our book recommendation lists.
4. Create a Classroom Calm Down Kit
Children benefit significantly from using tools created solely to help them calm down. Various items are easy for students to gather and use. You can then direct them to use these materials when they need to calm down.
Creating a box of calming tools lets kids know that they matter and that we care about their emotional well-being. We are letting them know that it is okay to feel the way they think and need to step away, take a break, and get help.
How to Create a Calm Down Kit:
- Gather the items you want to include (see the list below).
- Teach the class about each item and how you expect them to use it. Explain how each tool can help calm their bodies and minds. Take time for everyone to practice using the tool before it is included in the kit.
- Decide how many kits you wish to create. There are benefits to each child having their own kit. They can include designed and selected tools to help them calm rather than get excited. For example, they could include a personal journal and emotions clip-card. Alternatively, you could create a few boxes of tools for the entire class to share.
- Create a designated space for the calm-down kit(s) to remain.
- Clearly outline the expectations (when students can use it, how many can use it at a time, who can use it, and when) and demonstrate proper use.
What to Include in a Calm Down Box:
- fidgets
- sand timer
- pipe cleaners
- pinwheels
- mini-massager
- crayons & coloring or sketchbook
- bubbles
- a stress ball or something to squeeze
- playdough
- sensory bottle with glitter
- emotion picture cards
See our list of suggested calm-down tools to help you get started!
Watch the video below to see how our Self-Regulation Calm Down Kit is used and put together.
5. Create a Calm Corner in the Classroom
Think about where you go when you need to calm down. Do you go outside for a walk? Do you sit in a dark room by yourself? Maybe you have a special room in your house that you go to because it has the tools you need to relax and unwind. We all have developed strategies to help us regulate our emotions and return to where we need to be. Kids are the same!
One notable thing we can do to help our students is to create a safe, open space in the classroom where they can go when their emotions run high—a place to take a break, breathe, and regain control.
You want the place to be one where kids feel comfortable. So ask them for help in designing the area! Get them to share which items they prefer and enjoy using to relax. Remember to limit the distracting elements and think carefully before planning your classroom decor!
Once the area has been created, take some time to review how to use it respectfully and respect others who choose to use it.
Do you have a small classroom with limited space? Get creative and think of ways to incorporate relaxing additions. Consider softer lighting or flexible seating options. You could also create a “traveling” calm-down space where kids select their area and use the tools they need in real-time.
A bonus to a calming space is having a place to store the tools introduced to the class already (i.e., books, emotions check-in chart, mindfulness tools, calm down kit).
Finally, check in with students after they leave the safe space. Ask them how they feel after calming their bodies and minds, and empower them to recognize their feelings.
Items to Include in a Calm Down “Corner”
- comfortable seating for relaxation (pillows, soft rug)
- soft, natural light (turn off the fluorescent lighting)
- calm down kit (see details above)
- books
- music or sounds
- sensory toys
- helpful visuals and classroom posters to help them breathe, check in with their emotions and calm down (Grab the FREE poster kit below!)
- find more calm down tools and supplies in my Amazon list
Free Classroom Calm Corner Kit
This FREE Calm Classroom Corner resource creates a calm-down area in your classroom or home!
This free Calm Corner Classroom kit includes:
- Posters to label your “calm down corner” area of your classroom or home.
- “I Feel” poster with emotions: Kids can clip the emotion to show their feelings.
- “I Can Be Calm” poster with 12 calming strategies: Kids can try the calming strategies listed. Remember to teach your students these strategies beforehand!
- “I Can Breathe” poster with 6 breathing exercises: The instructions on the poster allow kids to practice simple breathing strategies.
- Calm Down Journal: Kids color in a box to show how they feel and write a sentence about what they will do to calm down.
Click the image below to grab a copy.
More Social-Emotional Learning Resources You’ll Love
- Self-Regulation and Calm Down Kit resource for K-2
- Social-Emotional Learning Curriculum for K-2
- Self-Regulation and Calm Down Kit resource for 3-5
- Social-Emotional Learning curriculum for 3-5
- SEL Morning Meeting resource for K-3
- Emotional-Awareness Book Companion resource
More Ways to Help Kids Self-Regulate
Mindfulness Activities for Kids
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