In early August, I send my families a student information form asking for everything from allergies to hobbies and talents. I also ask if children had any challenges in PreK. When I was reading through the responses, I noticed a few kids who struggled with "big emotions" or "behavior challenges." A few of my friends had started these calm corners recently, so I decided it was time for me, too.
I am so glad I did. My fear was it would just be a play space, and at first it was. I was okay with that to begin. After a couple weeks, I did a more formal lesson on how we would use it. When kids ask to go there, I try not to ask "why." (Sometimes I fail at this when I think a kid is a-ok), but who am I to decide if a kid is having big feelings, just because I can't see it.
I spent around $75 to get this started. I am fortunate that my school reimburses me. Just outside the Chill Zone is a basket of pop-its, fidgets, stuffies, and breathing balls. Right now I am telling them they can stay for five minutes and so far, they come out easily.
