Last fall, the first grade teachers at Meadowbrook Elementary School in Golden Valley, along with the guidance counselor and school social worker, teamed up to focus on helping first graders learn critical self-regulation skills. In their jobs, they see children every day who have a hard time regulating their emotions for a wide variety of reasons; students may feel tired, hungry, overly-excited after playing outside, or any number of other emotions. And though the root causes may be different, one thing is consistent: kids who have a hard time self-regulating have a hard time learning. And the Meadowbrook first grade teachers wanted to help their students be even more successful in school.

 

In addition to using a trusted curriculum (The Zones of Regulation) to help students learn about their emotions, the teachers wanted other tools. Madeline Conrad, the school's social worker, had worked with kindergarten teachers at another Hopkins school to create Calming Corners in their classrooms. And, she saw first-hand the benefits of a designated calming space and some well-placed tools in helping kids get into the right zone to be ready to learn.

 

So the first grade teachers reached out to the Golden Valley Community Foundation (GVCF) for a Small Sparks grant to help build out and stock up their Calming Corners. With just $1000 from GVCF, and an additional grant from the Meadowbrook Parent Teacher Organization (PTO), they were able to do just that. Now each first grade classroom has its own Calming Corner, stocked with things like weighted blankets, stretchy bands, noise canceling headphones, beads, theraputty and more.

 

When children notice they are having a hard time getting into the right zone, they can go to the Calming Corner and choose a tool that will help them self-regulate. Madeline says the students love the space. "It gives them a sense that they can have more control over their emotions and that they can do things to change how they are feeling."  The kids tell her things like, "It helps me when I feel frustrated to take a couple minutes break" or "I don't know how we did it without it!" And teachers have told Madeline that kids come back and are ready to go, no matter how distracted they were.

 

The best part is it's not just helping the first graders; it's helping the entire school. The team was able to purchase enough supplies to create a Calming Room, where students in all grades can go when they need to help regulate their emotions. As the largest elementary school in the district, this opens up these tools and resources to almost 900 students. This is truly the case of a small idea "sparking" a big improvement in our community.