A quiet place for a child

Just as anyone in the world, I have emotions and sometimes those emotions get so intense that I need to just take a moment to calm down. As an adult, I have grown. I have learned different tools and techniques to help myself calm down and relax, but the same cannot be said about children. Children have just the same types of emotions that adults have: anger, happiness, guilt, etc. They do not always know how to cope with these emotions. While teaching a classroom of twenty, I strive to allow each child the independence to learn on their own. This includes how to handle emotions. This is why in my classroom I have a quiet area that children are invited to use throughout the day.

The concept of a quiet area was introduced to me when I came to ADM and is based on the teachings of Dr. Jane Nelson’s positive discipline. A quiet area is a place in which a student can go when they just need to calm down or compose themselves. It is a place they may be invited to go but also one they can enter on their own.

When talking about the quiet area in my class I begin by explaining that it is not a place to sleep or play but a place to go when you need a moment to calm yourself. I talk to them about how when they are so angry and they want to scream there is a pillow for them to yell into. If they feel like throwing something there is a beanbag they can toss at a wall. If they need to hide, there is a rug they are able to cover up with. I also let them know that the quiet area is a place that only one person may go at a time and if someone else is in there they are not invited to enter.

As I have observed my students this year I have noticed that there are a few students who need more. They need extra stimulation to help them calm their body. From these observations I have worked to amp up my quiet area. I have put in items such as “a mind in a bottle” (a bottle filled with liquid with objects you can watch float down to the bottom) and a resistance band. These are items that the student is invited to use while in the quiet area to help center themselves so that they can re-enter the classroom.

If you are interested in finding out more about the quiet area and about positive discipline here is a link to a great website!

https://www.positivediscipline.com/