Hello everyone, and welcome back to another “Calm Down Corner” special. 

In this week’s episode, I’ll be answering a couple of burning questions from some of my listeners, and also offering some tips on how to use your calm down cozy corner in the most effective way.

You see, many professional educators set up calm down corners (or Zen zones or calming areas) and find out —sometimes the hard way— that they’re not working as well as they wanted them to.

Why does that happen?

Simply because calm down cozy corners are not a magic pill and they don’t cure behavior. But, what they can be is an amazing tool, when used correctly.

Another reason they might not work is what’s in the calm down corner. If there’s too many tools in it, then you might find yourself with a few children who’d rather spend their whole time there (and that’s not what we want).

So, how can you solve these issues?

I answer this question in today’s episode of Elevating Early Childhood.

There’s a lot for us to explore, so let’s dive in!

Key Takeaways:

- Let's start with a question from one of our listeners! (00:00)

- Tip #1: Understand the true purpose of a calm down corner (01:25)

- Tools don't work if we think them as cures for behavior (02:04)

- Tip #2: Never put anything in your calm down corner that you haven't introduced to your whole class (06:57)

- Tip #3: Less is more (08:12)

- Answering another great question from a listener (09:09)

- What you can do differently to create a different outcome (11:12)

- Our goal as professional educators is not to get compliance from students (14:52)

- Some resources for you (15:26)

Additional Resources:

- Visit our website to find tons of pre-K teaching resources here.

- Get my book “Teach Smarter: Literacy Strategies for Early Childhood Teachers”.

- Learn more about my membership program “Teaching Trailblazers”.

- Get my freebie bundle by entering our Podcast Launch Giveaway.

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Elevating Early Childhood is an early education podcast dedicated to helping Pre-K, Preschool, and Kindergarten teachers teach better, save time, and live more.

If you enjoy the podcast, please follow, rate, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform.

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Onward & Upward!

Teaching Trailblazers

Teach Smarter: Literacy Strategies for Early Childhood Teachers