Calming Corner

We needed a place in the classroom where children could go to calm down, remove themselves from the group when needed, or just spend sometime alone if they wanted to. There are moments throughout the day when someone is being disruptive and needs to be removed from the group activity, or sometimes a child chooses not to participate in the group discussion or story time, or is having a hard time missing mom or dad, or just feeling sad. When that happens the calming corner is the place to go to.

We wanted the place to be cozy with a calming vibe. The calming corner is a safe place, when a chid is there it is never a punishment. With that in mind, we came up with a solution. We suspended a hula hop from the ceiling and attached soft fabric to create a tent. On the floor we have fabric and pillows for a child to get cozy and comfortable, on the wall we have peaceful images: beautiful places and yoga poses, and there is a basket with a set of activities that helps children calm down and relax. At the moment there are books about feelings, bottles with glitter glue that has animals in them (child can shake the bottle then watch the glitter go down to the bottom of the bottle and search for the little farm animal that is hiding inside). There is also cup of mardi gras beads to cut, and a soft scarf to cuddle with.