What is a Calm Corner?
A calm corner is simply what it sounds like! It is an area in your space (classroom, home, apartment, daycare), that can be used for kiddos to go to in order to calm down. This can be through mindfulness strategies, calm activities, being alone from others, and other emotion regulation strategies. Calm corners can be kid-specific or class-specific depending on where you are using it!
How do I create a Calm Corner?
Creating a calm corner can be personalized; but generally, you want it to be an area that has neutral colors, natural light (with a lamp or blind they can control the lighting with), not too busy, and with a few things that your child enjoys (not electronics) that are calming (i.e. a book, color pages, fidgets). There should be comfortable things to sit on or lay on, with fabrics being what you know your kid(s) enjoy touching (i.e. cotton, fuzzy, sequins). If your child has self-regulation strategy cards or mindfulness cards, these would be helpful to have in the corner as well.
The area you choose should not be a high-traffic area or a noisy area. It should be calm, private (not with a lock), and easily accessible. This could be your child's bedroom corner, a corner in the living room or family room, back of the classroom, library, sensory room. It just shouldn't be hard to access or get to...because generally, if you need to use the calm down corner, you likely want to get there fast!
Here are some photos of calm-down corners I found on Google:
You probably already have most of what you need at your house to create one! (They might be useful for adults too!).
What to put in the Calm Corner (besides what is mentioned above):
Stuffed animals
Books
A blanket
Fidgets (fidget cube, tangles, glitter jar, squishamellow, stress ball)
Coloring book and crayons
Mindfulness strategies (to put on the wall)
AND whatever else your kiddo likes!
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