I’m super excited to finally have finished Sofia’s calming corner. It’s been months in the making, but I could never get around to pulling all of the pieces together. So I though I’d just take a minute to share the final setup!
Step 1: Make Emotions Posters
If you don’t want to draw then yourself, there are tons available online or you can download these ones directly from my shop. I find it helpful to have both the Emotions Wheel, and the Calming Tools which gives Sofie a way to identify her emotions and also techniques for calming down.
Step 2: ADD SENSORY SUPPLIES
Creating a Calming Tools kit is super simple! I made a few things from scratch because it get us an extra activity to do, but you can also easily purchase a few key items that will give your passionate toddler something to focus on while they’re frustrated or upset. For Sofie, we’re working really hard on how to deal with frustration and that it’s okay to be upset, but it’s not okay to hit or spit.
Calming basket supplies:
Feathers
Books
Drawing supplies
Step 3: Make it personal
One of my favorite parts of creating this calming space for Sofie was giving her time to practice drawing and coloring and associating colors with emotions. I think it really helped her grasp the concept well. For this activity, I grabbed some art supplies and our Scribble Art book to make some fun and unique art for her calming corner based on colors and emotions.
Supplies:
Drawing Note Pad - I prefer the ones that are spiral bound so that it keeps all of her artwork neat and together.
Color Spots by Diane Alber - You don’t have to have the book, but I found that Sofie really gravitated toward the pictures to help her learn and associate the feelings. The book includes these awesome stickers to make faces on your scribbles, but you can also buy them separately here. I bought the extra pack of stickers since we do this so often.
Color Crayons - After trying many different versions of coloring supplies (even Crayola Color Wonder Markers), I found that these Acrylic Paint sets and these Reusable Crayon Pens were the best. We use our art supplies practically every day.
A calming corner is not only a great idea for kids, but it can also help you and your partner role model good self-calming techniques. We all know big emotions are just as stressful on the parents as it is on the kids and our emotions and come out in big ways. If you’re struggling with yours and your partners emotions — check out this awesome article with great tips on how to stop fighting with your spouse over parenting.