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Zen Corner

Calm down corners have the power to change a child’s mood and set the stage for a successful rest of the day. Whether a student is recovering from a meltdown or just needs a brain break, calm down corners are awesome at helping set kids up for success by utilizing calm down strategies and visuals that help students find their calm.

For the majority of my kiddos, when they are upset, they want to freely move. They want to escape whatever made them angry as fast as possible. This is a little difficult within the classroom or school setting. Calm down corners allow kids the freedom of a safe environment to explore and work through their big emotions while they safely remain in their classroom (or designated area).

I love calm down corners because I love the idea of having a designated space that helps you find your zen. Hearing the word “zen” makes me imagine lying in a hammock on the beach in Jamaica. That is zen to me; the calmest I could ever be. I like thinking there is a space that kids can go to help them find their zen so they are able to refocus and get back to learning. With that idea in mind, the Zen Corner was born.

Zen Wall Construction

Yoga is a great way to calm your mind so you can find your zen. Kiddos can come up to my Zen Wall and try out yoga poses that they think will help calm their mind and body, allowing them to find their zen.

There are some optional activities students can complete while they are at the zen wall that helps them to explore and better understand their feelings.

I laminated these pages so that students can write right on the sheets with expo markers. Once the little one has found their zen and is ready to get back to work, I can erase the activity sheets, wipe them down and reuse them on the next kiddo. The first activity has the kiddo explain how their body is feeling vs how they want their body to feel. The second activity has the student decide which yoga poses they are going to use as calm down strategies so they can find their zen. I laminated these sheets and put Velcro on the back of each of the choices so that they can pull them right off of the chart and move them over to easily create their “find the zen” plan.

I give these desk charts to my students (with their teacher’s permission) so that they can take a quick brain break at their desk and then get themselves back on track as needed.