Creating Safe Space for Reflection
Every classroom has students quick to anger, students with anxiety, and students extra sensitive to the ways of the world.
One of the most effective ways to help students self-regulate at school is through the use of peace corners. They are trauma-informed and truly benefit individual students as well as overall class culture.
Setting Up a Peace Corner and Teaching Students How to Use It
Emphasizing kindness
A simply and fun activity to incorporate throughout the school day. Students get to share when they have been kind and celebrate each other’s kindness.
Teaching Social & Emotional Learning Skills
Tracy Schreifels MS LMFT, an Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Specialist, talks about strategies and tools to use to help young children understand, talk about, and work through feelings.
Learn more about Tracy and her work
Conscious Discipline: https://consciousdiscipline.com/
Theraplay: https://www.theraplay.org/
The Responsive Classroom
The responsive classroom is an socially-emotionally based approach to teaching and discipline. The four pillars of this approach are engaging academics, positive community, effective management, and developmentally responsive teaching. Research shows that this approach improves the quality of students’ academic achievement and teachers’ instruction.
Learn more about Responsive Class room here.
Mindfulness Activities for the Classroom
Mindfulness teaches kids to become aware of their emotions, thoughts, and surroundings. Research shows that mindfulness practices helps children regulate their emotions, remain calm, and helps them pay attention. This link includes some activities that teachers can incorporate into the school day such as mindful eating and sound focus.
Mindfulness in Practice at Florida Day School
How a school in Miami is adapting mindfulness practices and making them accessible to children. Improved academic performance is emphasized, along with children developing the ability to regulate themselves and their emotions.
Stop, Breathe & Think provides an app for educators and kids that has guided meditations, mindfulness practice videos, and mindful games for kids.
Building Resilience in the Classroom
An overview of how teachers can help students accept and learn from both their successes and failures. Cultivating these skills at an early age will help children excel in the classroom and throughout their lives.
Developmental Discipline Strategies
The Nurtured Heart Approach
When we recognize the child’s strengths and focus on positive, everyday occurrences, rather than energizing negativity, we are creating an environment in which children can thrive. This is the focus of The Nurtured Heart Approach that consists of 3 stands:
Stand One: Absolutely No!
I refuse to energize negative behavior.
I will not react with elevated energy, attention, and relationship to disruptions and outbursts that distract children from their greatness.
Stand Two: Absolutely Yes!
I will relentlessly energize the positive.
As much as possible, I will work immediately to identify, describe, and express appreciation for steps, large and small, a child takes in manifesting his or her positive choices and intrinsic greatness. I will actively initiate opportunities for children to be successful.
Stand Three: Absolute Clarity!
I will maintain total clarity about rules that demonstrate fair and consistent boundaries. I will consistently enforce rules and provide immediate consequences through resetting each time a rule is broken, by way of a simple form of consequence called a “reset.” I will recognize the child in the moment they have reset and create that next moment as an opportunity for success.
Visit Children's Success Foundation website to learn more about the Nurtured Heart Approach and access to free online courses. https://childrenssuccessfoundation.com/
For more Developmental Discipline Strategies, click here.
