Last year, I worked with a 5th grade boy who struggled to control his anger. Throughout our time together, he repeatedly made the recommendation that I should have a punching bag in my office for the times that students are so angry they want to hit something {a way he often felt}. I thought this was a great idea, and it led me to create the Calm Down Corner in my office.

This corner of my office is filled with tons of items that could help a child calm down. Since every child is different, why not give them different choices? Here are the things I have in my Calm Down Corner:

 

Mini punching bag

I found this mini punching bag on Amazon, and I love that it’s the perfect size to keep in my office! The student I mentioned earlier got so excited when I showed it to him {and some of the teachers at my school were pretty happy about this as well}.

 

Calm Down Toolbox

In addition to the mini punching bag, I have a box containing the following things:

• Stress balls
• Mini dry erase board
• Stuffed bear
• Puzzle
• Paddle Ball Game
• Temper Tamer Cards
• Mirror
• Mini Toy Guitar
• Slinky

I also have a few signs I’ve posted on the walls. The first is a grounding poster (see the original I based mine off of here), which encourages students to name 3 things they see, smell, hear, and feel as a way to ground themselves.

The second poster I made gives students 6 things they can try if they’re having a difficult time calming down.

 

---

I plan on integrating this section of my room into anger management sessions I have with students, giving them the opportunity to explore and identify some coping skills that work for them. I’m really happy with how this new part of my office turned out!

---