82
Elementary school students have huge feelings and they are still learning how to manage them. That’s why calm corners are an important part of any classroom setting. This safe space does not require a lot of space to have a significant impact on your students. Browse the notions of calm decor, activities and sensory tools and discover the key benefits these spaces bring to students and classrooms.
How to build a peaceful corner
The calm corner is a safe designated space where students can stop to process emotions and practice self-regulation. This is not a punishment, but a support tool. This is one of the best classroom management strategies in primary schools.
When creating a calm corner in the classroom, start with the location.
- Choose a quiet place away from disturbances like pencil shoemakers, doors or upper boxes.
- Lighting is also important: soft, calm light or light coverage works best (think fairy tale lights).
- Keeping the space and decoration bright enough for visibility, but gentle enough to help students with emotions.
Once the area has been selected, you can find a combination of appropriate decoration, activity and sensory support for your students and space.
Calm corner creative decoration idea
Decorate your space with soft, comfortable decor. Some items that add comfort or calming strategies include:
- Soft carpet
- Extra large mat
- Bean bag chair
- Small foam sofa
- Tactile pillows (such as sequin pillows)
- Plush animals
- Pastel or Earth posters and guides
Calm Lower Corner Kit – Strategy, Poster, Social Stories and Behavior Guide
By Noodlenook
Level: Not specific
This bundle has everything you need to build a calm corner, including posters, events, strategies, and more. It also includes reflection tools and instructional support such as logical consequence guides and take home worksheets.
Calm lower corner sign and printable SEL poster for special education
Adapted by Kimmie D
Level: Prek-2nd
Stock space for posters and prints with adjustment techniques that mask emotions, self-talk phrases and calm blue tones. Calm down the corner thinking, giving children a clear understanding of what they expect and what steps they can take.
Includes calm activities and children’s strategies
Apart from a comfortable, calm decor, you will also need to include some quiet, relaxing activity options to help soften strong emotions. Depending on your classroom, the activities that calm down look different. In PreK, students benefit from the visual effects of tools with minimal words or irritability. Older elementary school students may need more thoughtful choices, such as journals. They can also use check-in tips to explore deeper emotions.
Corner strategies to calm classroom management and social emotional learning
Just started
Level: Prek-2nd
This comprehensive package includes a calming choice card, yoga card, tracking card, emotion card, and breathing exercises. It also includes a feel for the boarding card and a clickable list of SEL materials.
Self-regulating coping skills for school rotator crafts: use at calm corners
Through wholehearted school consultation
Level: K-5
Get prefabricated spinners and game templates to teach students to self-regulate. It also comes with line art for coloring and breathing boards.
Calm down corner Spanish and bilingual
By Hola Bilinguals – Dayana
Level: Prek-2nd
This resource is available in Spanish and can be used for multilingual learners with tags, posters and feel cards. You can also get 11 yoga poses and 17 breathing exercises, as well as two-page breathing techniques.
Calm strategy visual card and poster to calm down the corner
Amy Murray
Results: K-2nd
Cards with all the cards you need to access the bounce on the ball, listen to music, walls push and think about happy ideas strategy cards. Prints are available in color and black and white.
Inventory of sensory items
Activities and strategies help students make the most of your peaceful corners, but some also require tactile or auditory tools to adjust. In addition to calm colors, coloring books and timers, consider adding them to your sensory friendly classroom.
- Swing seat
- Pressure ball
- Calm music
- Dough
- Noise-cancelling headphones
- Furious toys
- Balanced disk
- Different fabric textures
- Breathing app
- Stretch belt
Customize essentials for different age groups
Each classroom has its own personality and needs. When considering the idea of calming corners, it’s important to match them to your grade level.
Use more pictures and structured activities for young students
Young learners are just beginning to build letters and sound skills, so their calm corners work best with powerful visuals and simple activities. Use image-based guides along with emoji breathing techniques or feeling charts to help them determine if they are angry, sad or something in between. Add plush toys or small blankets for comfort and keep the concrete briefly, such as breathing with your fingers or tracking shapes.
Supporting superior students with hands-on tools and options
By third and fourth grades, students have surpassed some calming tools, but they still need to structure in calm corners. Not just visuals, check-in charts with words and pictures, and a wider range of emojis to help them name specific feelings.
The idea of calming the corners of this age group includes positive self-talk with guidance tips and short reflexive paper sentence starters. You can also give them more independence by selecting cards, such as “walk” or “stretch”. At this stage, students often respond well to hand-operated tools such as elastic putty or other tactile annoyance.
Provide long-term tools for older students
In this age, the calm corner is a true self-regulation station with mature tools for reflection and emotional control. Record with a notebook and pencil, and positive affirmation cards that students can write. Replace simple posters with QR codes linked to breathing apps or mindfulness exercises and include calm strategy posters with clear wording. Selecting a card can guide adjustment strategies, such as diary or listening to music. The access to calm music also provides students with a way to rest and reset.
Teach students how to use calm corners
Calming corner signs and decorations set the tone for the space, but they are not enough in themselves. Students need clear guidance on how to use corners. Emphasizing that this is not a punishment, but a tool for managing emotions.
- Set clear expectations: During the first few days of class, please explain the basic rules of when and how to use the space.
- Role-playing process: Use strategies and activities for exercises so that students can see how self-regulation looks in action.
- Strengthen it as a learning tool: Indicating that calm corners are like pencils or paper, which supports learning.
- Establishment time limit: Use timers so the corners are always focused on supervision rather than playback.
- After checking: Talk to students about what works, what doesn’t work, and what technologies help them reset.
Recognize the benefits of classroom management and SEL
According to recent research, students who can regulate their emotions can learn better. A calm corner supports growth and brings more benefits to social and emotional learning.
- Teach spiritual practice: The strategies learned here can be used both inside and outside the classroom.
- Reduce classroom interruptions: Students can walk away, reorganize and be ready to focus.
- Establish independence: Activities and tools enable students to regulate without relying on adults.
- Support emotional growth: Help students recognize destructive feelings and practice healthy ways to manage them.
- Create a safe environment: Verify emotions while providing students with space to process them.
- Make unpleasant emotions normal: Strengthening the feeling that everyone will experience difficulties, and it’s OK.
Create a peaceful space for TPT students
Creating a calm corner is not just about carving a space in the classroom, but about creating a place where you can learn to regulate and lower your emotions. When you configure classroom organization, you need to consider a calm corner. Explore the peaceful corner resources on the TPT to give your students a safe space to experience emotions.
