Ms. Jamison’s Classroom Edit display name

About my class

Cool-down boxes are a trauma-informed approach to handling emotional dysregulation in the classroom. As students transition back to face-to-face (F2F) learning after almost a full year of virtual lessons, there are concerns about how they will adapt back to a classroom environment. We expect increased behavioral issues among students as they are experiencing an unprecedented climate of instability due to the ongoing pandemic. Our kids are grappling with: illnesses and deaths in the family, isolation and fear, increased financial hardships, and a general lack of social cohesion across the country. This effort intends to serve both students and teachers as we go back to F2F by ensuring that teachers have the tools to re-direct disruptive students using trauma-informed methods. Cool-down boxes provide independent activities to help students through emotional/behavioral needs in a supportive manner rather than a punitive one. Cool-down boxes will include age-appropriate materials students can use to self-regulate such as: sensory toys, cards with kid-friendly mindfulness strategies, a feelings chart that can walk students through identifying emotions, and other materials to help students refocus. We plan to use book bins to store these materials. Some of the sensory toys you can help us purchase include sensory beads, textured plates, and scratch paper. These items will help students engage in mindfulness activities centered around the sense of touch. We will also use mirrors, scented stickers, and ear muffs to harness sight, smell, and sound in the activities included in the cool-down box. To assist students with refocusing, we hope to include fidget toys in the box as well. Social-emotional research has shown the benefits of such initiatives for students struggling with emotional self-regulation. We hope to put this research into practice at our schools. Ultimately, your donation will help fill boxes for 13 classrooms, reaching over 250 kids!