Help me give my students sensory beads, sand, windows and social-emotional cards and mirrors to help with their frustrations and to self-regulate their big emotions.
When those smiling 5-year-olds enter my classroom on that first day in September, they come from a variety of backgrounds. Some have been in Pre-K and are excited to be here in kindergarten. Some of them have been through a preschool and are anxious to be with the big kids! Others come without any schooling and are in need of much more support. Some come ready to learn while others are shy or even scared.
I do everything I can to help my students be the best they can be!
My Project
Children have enough trouble dealing with their big emotions without the pressures of school. My job is to help them adjust. When we get sad, mad, disappointed, angry, moody, tired, happy, excited, etc... we know how to handle our feelings and emotions as to not cause a disruption. Do we all do this? No, but we know how to. Kindergarteners do not know how to control their emotions. They are living in our world with a bunch of big-time feelings and nowhere to go.
That is why I have created a calming space for them.
This calm-down corner is a safe place in the room where they can go and get their frustrations or excitement out in a better way, away from their peers who might interfere with their emotions or prevent them from calming down. I know I dislike when anyone talks to me when I am tired or angry. No "talkie" before coffee is on my travel mug.
Kids need a place to feel safe. A place where they can relax and self-soothe. But this place isn't always enough. They may need a calming device, such as a sensory window that they can watch the bubble go in different directions while turning it. It is fascinating and distracts them from their emotions enough for them to calm down. They also need picture cards and mirrors to help see how they look to identify their feeling. My students often say "I feel weird." Weird is not a feeling, we need help discovering their true feelings. The sensory activities will be a nice enhancement during morning time or play time. They will be able to build and create in a calming manner, using sensory materials that are soothing. They wont even know they are relaxing while playing!
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mrs. Anderson and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
