Have you always wanted to make a classroom calm down kit but been unsure what to put in it? Our calm down area is a highly-used area of our classroom, and over the years I have found what works.. and what doesn’t work.
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Classroom Calm Down Kit
This is what our classroom calm down kit looks like all put together. This basket can be used in a calm down down corner or on its own.
I do not put anything in the basket until I have shown students how to use each item. If students misuse an item, it is removed until I can reteach them how to use it correctly.
You can grab the calm down kit label as a freebie here!
Sensory Items and Fidgets
Sensory items and fidgets can be great tools to keep in your calm down kit. They can give students a physical way to work out their frustration or anxiety.
Some sensory items and fidgets I recommend:
A bubble timer
A sand timer
Playdough
Theraputty
Squishy Balls
Paper to tear
Books for Your Calm Down Kit
Books are another great addition to your calm down area. I love the book B is For Breathe! This book gives students an entire alphabet of calming ideas to choose from.
You can also find an entire list of calm down area books I recommend here.
Calm Down Steps
I also keep a copy of our calm down steps bound as a book. These are the same steps that we have on the wall in our calm down area:
Students can use the book to follow the same steps: identify your feelings, deep breathing exercise, choose a way to calm down, and decide how to solve your problem.
Even though we have the posters on the wall, I still like to have these available as a book. Then, if a student needs the calm down area when it is full, they can take the book elsewhere.
You can grab the classroom calm down kit here.
I hope this blog post gave you some ideas for what you can put in your own classroom calm down kit! Do you have any ideas I didn’t include? Let us know down below!
