Tuesday 4 April 2017

Calming Corner

Hello everyone. It's been a while since I have shared a post. I have a few things that I want to share and I will do very soon. This is part one of two blog posts that I am going to share about a space that I have created in my classroom. It is a combined area for my students to use. It is a reading area and also a calming corner. It is a space designated for students to go where they can calm themselves when they are stressed, angry etc before they resume and rejoin the class. It is not a big area but large enough for up to four students to use.

I used an Ikea hack as part of my design plan. For any Australian teachers reading my post, the cubes are from Target. They come is sets of two which gives you flexibility in moving them around the room or to another classroom should I change rooms next year. The cushions and the rug are from Kmart. I wanted a homey feel and soft furnishings create that.

The first cube is designated as the calming cube. Inside are the strategies and tools the children can access. The other three are designated for books.

Each time a student uses the calming corner, they record their name and the date inside this book. This is inside the cube. It helps me keep track of the students who use it and also for me to collect data that may assist me in  planning any social skills that the children may need.

Inside the cube I have an egg timer to time the amount of time they should stay in the calming corner, laminated social stories on a ring and also some calming strategies also laminated and on a ring. I also have two kaleidoscopes as well.

I have had these books for a very long time. These books are also available in the cube for the children to read while they are calming down. Sometimes I read them to the whole class.

As the term has progressed and the students have used this space, I have updated and changed how the space is used. I will share this in my next blog post very soon.

Thanks so much for stopping by!






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