Ever wish you had a handful of calming classroom activities ready to go when the energy in your room hits that volcano-about-to-erupt level? Been there.
Whether it’s Monday morning chaos, post-recess restlessness, or just a class full of big feelings, having a few calming classroom activities on hand can make a world of difference. These aren’t about “fixing behavior” or forcing kids to be quiet—they’re gentle, connection-based tools to help your students return to calm, feel safe in their bodies (regulated nervous system), and get back to learning with a little more ease.
In this post, you’ll find seven calming classroom activities that support students’ emotional well-being through co-regulation, classroom regulation tools, mindfulness strategies for kids, and simple calm-down techniques to support neurodiverse students and multilingual learners. And most don’t require any special materials or training. Because let’s be honest: you’ve got enough going on already.
This post is all about calming classroom activities to support student’s emotional well-being.
If you’re also supporting kids at home (or want to share this with the families you work with) there’s a post for that too:
Why Calming Classroom Activities Support Emotional Well-Being
Children don’t leave their emotions at the door when they enter the classroom, and neither do we as teachers. Learning happens best when students feel safe, seen, and supported. That’s why emotional well-being isn’t a “nice to have”, but it’s a foundation for focus, relationships, and (academic) growth.
Simple calming classroom activities can help students regulate their nervous systems, especially after transitions, high-energy moments, or emotional triggers. These small moments of pause or gentle structure build emotional safety, reduce overwhelm, and support co-regulation between students and teachers.
7 Calming Classroom Activities for Emotional Well-Being
1. Morning Emotional Check-Ins for Students
A quick emotional check-in helps kids feel seen and gives you a read on the class energy before the day takes off. This can be as simple as a feelings chart where kids point to their mood, or gesture-based signals like a thumbs-up, sideways, or down held discreetly on the chest. You can even pair this with a brief breathing moment or a calming classroom routine to ground everyone before learning begins.
Look beyond just words — many kids, especially multilingual learners or neurodivergent students, express emotion through posture or body language. Slumped shoulders, tired eyes, or fidgety energy all say something. When we notice without judgment, we support emotional regulation in the classroom in a powerful way.
Want to make it extra engaging? Let students design the chart or create “feeling buddies” with fun faces.
2. How to Create a Calming Corner with Emotional Tools
The calming corner is often misunderstood. It’s not a time-out zone, a punishment cave, or the place where wiggly kids get banished. Done well, it becomes a tiny sanctuary — a safe space where students can regroup, self-regulate, and return when they’re ready.
Start with a cozy seat, a small rug, or a cushion in a quieter part of the classroom. Then add a few helpful tools — things like breathing visuals, emotion cards, tactile objects, or even noise-reducing headphones. You don’t need a Pinterest-perfect setup. It’s about making the space feel safe and offering choices that support emotional regulation in the classroom.
My Calm Down Choices printable is a great fit for this space. You could also include my body scan printable to help students tune into physical sensations, or the body awareness printable to support reflection on posture, body cues, and how they want to feel in their bodies.
Over time, your students will learn to use the space without your explanations and maybe even without your permission and with your trust — not as an escape, but as a way to reset. That shift alone can change the feel of the whole room.
Looking for book-based ways to support social-emotional learning? Don’t miss my roundup of 12 social-emotional learning books for kids:
3. “Silent 60” Reset: A Calm Down Strategy for the Classroom
Sometimes, the best regulation strategy isn’t a big, elaborate plan — it’s one minute of quiet. The Silent 60 is a 60-second classroom-wide reset: no talking, no pressure, just a pause. Some kids might take a few deep breaths, others might doodle, stretch, or simply sit. The magic is in the simplicity.
This quick calm down strategy for the classroom helps regulate nervous systems after transitions, high-energy moments, or emotionally charged interactions. And because it’s only a minute, it’s easy to introduce without disrupting your schedule — think of it as a classroom sigh.
You can make the Silent 60 even more intentional by pairing it with my body scan printable. Invite students to notice where they feel tight, relaxed, heavy, or buzzy — no need to fix anything, just awareness. Over time, they’ll start tuning into their bodies more naturally.
Bonus tip? Use a visual timer or a soft chime to signal the start and end of your Silent 60. The predictability can be comforting, and you’ll be amazed at how much calmer the room feels after just sixty seconds of stillness.
4. Emotional Expression Activities with Journaling for Kids
Kids have big feelings — and not always the words to match. That’s where emotional expression activities like journaling and drawing come in. These practices give students a safe space to process what they’re feeling, even if they can’t quite explain it out loud.
You don’t need full writing prompts or long stretches of quiet time. A simple 3-minute journal entry, a “draw your day so far,” or a feelings sketch can go a long way. Extra fun if you let students create emotion-based doodle characters (ever met a grumpy spaghetti? A proud watermelon? Now you have).
For a deeper layer, try my awareness and choice printable. It helps students notice how their posture, facial expression, or energy level might be showing how they feel — and then reflect on how they want to feel and move toward that with intention.
This kind of body-based journaling builds emotional literacy, self-awareness, and gives every student a voice — even the quiet ones.
5. Co-Regulation Activities That Teach Asking for Help
We often tell kids to “use their words” — but asking for help is a skill, not just a sentence. For many students, especially multilingual learners or those who are shy or dysregulated, it can feel hard to reach out. That’s where co-regulation activities come in.
Start by modeling short, supportive phrases that invite connection without pressure. For example:
- “Do you want to take a breath together?”
- “We can be quiet together for a bit.”
- “You don’t have to talk. I’m just here.”
- “Want to sit in the quiet space with me?”
Even one of these simple invitations can teach that it’s okay to need support — and that being with someone who feels safe can help you calm down. It also gives multilingual learners sentence frames they can remember and use, even with limited vocabulary.
You can role-play these interactions, create visual cue cards, or use puppets if your class loves a bit of silliness. Over time, students start to internalize the idea that co-regulation is normal. And kind.
Tip: let students pair up and practice asking and offering support during calm moments, so it feels familiar before they really need it.
6. Regulation Stations as Calming Classroom Activities
Sometimes students don’t need to calm down, but they need to shake off sleepy energy. Reset after sitting too long. Or just move their emotions through their bodies. That’s where regulation stations come in. Think of them as little self-regulation pit stops scattered around the classroom (if you have the space of course! but they can be tiny).
You can create 3–5 mini stations using simple materials:
- A sensory area with squishy objects or calming textures
- A movement station with yoga cards or animal stretches
- A drawing or scribble table
- A sound corner with rain shakers or soft music
- A breathing zone with a visual poster or pinwheel
Your up-regulation printable fits perfectly here — especially for kids who need a boost rather than a wind-down. It includes fun activities like shaking, tapping the body awake, and stretching like a cat — all of which help wake up the nervous system and re-engage focus in a playful way.
Keep the stations small and optional. These aren’t rewards or punishments, they’re tools. When students know they can use what works for them, self-regulation becomes a skill, not a script.
And let’s be honest… if you try the cat stretch, no one’s judging. You’re setting a great example. Meow 🙂
7. Guided Imagery for Kids and Mindfulness in the Classroom
Sometimes the best way to reset isn’t through movement or talking, but through story. Guided imagery invites students to slow down, close their eyes (if they’re comfortable), and take a little mental vacation. Whether it’s imagining floating on a cloud, exploring a calm forest, or turning into a sleepy lion in the sun, these short scripts help soothe the nervous system and spark creativity.
You can read these aloud slowly, use recorded audio, or even let students take turns being the “guide.” Just 2–3 minutes can be enough to shift the room’s energy. For younger students, pairing guided imagery with a soft read-aloud story is a gentle way to transition after lunch or before heading home.
If you’re not sure where to start, try Rainbow Breath on GoNoodle. It’s a short breathing video that combines movement, imagination, and calm.
It’s okay if not everyone joins in at first. Some kids will listen with their eyes open, some will giggle the first time. That’s all part of the process. Mindfulness isn’t about perfection, it’s a practice.
Tip for multilingual learners: Guided imagery is one of these calming classroom activities that are not very accessible to ESL learners. In that case you might want to write your own and link the easy, repetitive vocabulary to a unit you’re already working on.
Simple Ways to Use Calm Down Strategies Throughout the School Day
You don’t need a whole new curriculum to bring calm into your classroom. These small, simple strategies work best when they’re woven gently into your existing routines. No big announcements, no pressure to “get it right.”
Here are a few ways to make calm-down tools part of the day without adding more to your plate:
- Use transition times as natural reset points. Right after recess, lunch, or a big group activity is a great moment for a Silent 60 or quick body-based check-in.
- Let students know it’s okay to use calming tools when they need them. Over time, they’ll learn to self-select strategies that work for them.
- Build choice into your routines. Whether it’s picking between a drawing station and a breathing break, or choosing which calming tool to use, giving kids agency increases engagement and emotional ownership.
- Practice when things are already going well. This helps build confidence and makes it easier for kids to access the tools when they’re actually dysregulated.
And remember: your class doesn’t need to be perfectly calm for these strategies to “work.” You’re not aiming for silence. You’re creating little moments of emotional safety that build up over time. And they’re making more of a difference than you think.
Conclusion: Your Calm is a Co-Regulation Tool Too
Classrooms will always be full of energy, emotion, and unpredictability, and that’s not a bad thing. Kids are learning how to be in the world, and you’re guiding them through that process, one moment at a time.
These calming classroom activities aren’t about creating perfect quiet. They’re about helping students build awareness, practice regulation, and experience the safety of co-regulation with a trusted adult. Your presence, your tone, your willingness to pause… those things shape the nervous system of the classroom more than any visual schedule or strategy ever could.
So try one small shift this week. Maybe it’s a Silent 60 after recess. Maybe it’s offering a calm corner pass or doing a drawing check-in during a transition. Notice how it lands, and trust that even if it doesn’t feel like much, these calming moments matter more than you know.
If this post was helpful, you might also like my post on co-regulation strategies for parents, or want to check out my printable tools for emotional regulation.
And if you found something that worked in your classroom, I’d love to hear from you! Or feel free to share this post with a teacher friend who might need a little extra calm in their week.
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