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FOWLER -- It's normal for anyone to get excited, or feel upset or worried, but for the littlest learners it's sometimes difficult for them to process those emotions and focus on their school work.
Thanks to a new initiative led by Currie Elementary School counselor Samantha Lantz and supported by the building's teachers, students in kindergarten, first and second grades now have a designated space to go when they are feeling overwhelmed.
"Based on The ZONES of Regulation framework, we've created Calm Corners outside of each of our classrooms and cafeteria. Since every student is different and different things work for different people, building a toolbox that was versatile and had many different options to help self-regulate was my main focus. To do that, I provided students with a variety of coping strategies that they can choose from," Lantz said.
The Calm Corners contain bins filled with stress balls, breathing exercises, fidget toys and coloring pages, which help students work through their emotions.
"Giving students a safe place to process their emotions is important to help them build the skills they need to be able to eventually self-regulate on their own, which they will need in the future. This strategy meets many of Ohio's Social-Emotional K-2 standards, from students being able to identify and label basic personal emotions, to students being able to identify and use calming strategies to regulate emotions and manage behavior," Lantz said.
Since the beginning of the school year, Lantz has been teaching lessons in each classroom about the four ZONES of Regulation, which help students of all ages simplify how they think about and manage their feelings.
Students likely will experience all of the zones at one time or another. Through the lessons, students begin to recognize their feelings and start using coping strategies that help get them back to the "ready to learn" state.
"One of the most important goals of our school is to teach our students how to manage their emotions when they are in challenging situations. Young students face many of the same stressors that we adults have learned to manage over many years of experience. Students will benefit greatly from learning how to effectively manage stress and emotions at an early age. We are grateful for Mrs. Lantz and her efforts in improving the lives of our students through this wonderful program," Mathews Schools Superintendent Russell McQuaide said.