Calm corners are beneficial environments to provide a child with a supportive and comforting area to navigate feelings in a safe space. Helping children create self-regulating skills and calming strategies will help those childhood tantrums and give them the skills to succeed in the future. Whether they are worried at home, in the classroom, or a hospital- making sure they have the tools to cope when they feel sad, impulsive, distracted, worried, or upset will help everyone.

Supplies

• Sensory poppers
• Pom Poms
• Snowglobe
• Timer Dolls
• Feeling Flashcards
• Yoga cards
• Mindfulness cards

Books We Love

• I Am Human
• I Can Handle It
• Ruby Finds A Worry
• Fiona’s Feelings
• Breathe Like A Bear
• The Yoga Game By The Sea
• The Yoga Game In The Garden

As you work on this craft, listen to Breathe In, Breathe Out

Conversation starters

• Focus on the senses:
• Right now I see...
• Right now I hear...
• Right now I am touching...
• Right now I smell...
• Right now I feel...

Music Therapy Song Goals for Breathe In, Breathe Out

• Hospital Setting: Increase confidence in emotional expression; Learn coping skills; Share experiences through song analysis
• Clinical Setting: Increase confidence in emotional expression; Learn coping skills for anger management and sensory regulation

This song also outlines tools to use for calming down. It also gives scenarios that can sometimes cause anxiety or frustration and how to cope constructively.

Additional Resources

Sensory Integration and Sensory Processing Disorder

• The STAR Institute gives a comprehensive look at what SPD is, how it is treated, and the research behind it. "Studies by the STAR Institute suggest that at least three-quarters of children with autistic spectrum disorders have significant symptoms of Sensory Processing Disorder, and probably more depending on how significant symptoms are defined. However, the reverse is not true."
  
• SI Focus defines SPD and Sensory Integration using real world examples and gives several activity ideas for how to help children regulate. "Sensory processing Disorder (SPD), previously known as Sensory Integration Dysfunction is a condition in which children have difficulty in interpreting sensory inputs and reacting appropriately. Finding calming activities for your child will be an important step towards making the condition more bearable."
• Sensory World offers lots of educational material, such as music, books, and DVD’s as well as a monthly subscription to articles and information related to SPD. "Symptoms of Sensory Processing Disorder, like those of most disorders, occur within a broad spectrum of severity. While most of us have occasional difficulties processing sensory information, for children and adults with SPD, these difficulties are chronic, and they disrupt everyday life."
• Southpaw provides products focused specifically on the needs of children with SPD. "Although we focus on clinic-based therapy, we continue to develop products for teachers in the classroom and for parents for use at home under the guidance of a therapist. We also offer the entire community education, insight and resources for learning more about Dysfunction in Sensory Integration (DSI) and related neurodevelopmental disorders."

Anger Management

Children often need relatable activities and concrete “tools” to learn how to cope with strong feelings of frustration and anger. They also need help understanding how to recognize and control their feelings and emotions.

• Researchers dive into what is neurologically and physiologically behind anger, asking what parts of the brain are triggered when we are angry and how our brain is physiologically changed by anger.
• This article gives strategies for anger management and for decreasing aggressive behaviors as well as signs that mean it’s time to get help.
• 50 activities and games for anger management compiled by a registered play therapist.