Introduction

Educators working with PreK students often face the challenge of helping them self-regulate and manage their emotions. One effective way to do this is by engaging them in a calming activity that uses their senses. This approach is rooted in the principles of Social-Emotional Learning, which focus on developing students’ self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. In this blog post, we will discuss a simple, no-prep activity that can help students feel more grounded and focused while also encouraging them to be more present and mindful of their surroundings.

No-Prep Activity

This calming activity is easy to implement and requires no additional materials from the educator. Follow these steps to guide your PreK students through a sensory calming break:

1. Invite your students to find a comfortable seated position and close their eyes.
2. Ask them to focus on their hearing and pay attention to every little noise around them. Encourage them to identify the sounds they hear, such as a fan, a chair moving, or someone’s breathing.
3. Next, have them shift their attention to their sense of touch. Encourage them to notice the sensations on their skin, like the feeling of their feet in their shoes, their arm resting on a table, or a gentle breeze.
4. Guide them to focus on their sense of smell and identify any scents in the room, such as a snack or a specific classroom smell.
5. Finally, ask them to open their eyes and look around, searching for something they haven’t noticed before. It could be an item on a shelf, a detail on the wall, or something outside the window.

This sensory calming break can be used whenever students need a moment to regroup and refocus. By directing their attention to their senses, they can become more present and less preoccupied with their thoughts and emotions.

Discussion Questions

After completing the calming break, engage your students in a discussion to reinforce the concepts and encourage self-awareness. Here are some questions to stimulate conversation:

• What sounds did you hear during our calming break? Were there any surprises?
• How did focusing on your sense of touch help you feel more grounded and present?
• What scents did you notice in the room? How did they make you feel?
• What did you see when you opened your eyes that you hadn’t noticed before? How did it feel to discover something new?
• How do you feel now, after our calming break? Do you think this is a helpful strategy to use when you need to refocus and calm down?

Related Skills

Along with this sensory calming break, there are other relevant skills that can help PreK students develop self-regulation and emotional awareness. These include:

• Mindful breathing exercises to help students focus on their breath and relax their body.
• Body scanning activities that encourage students to pay attention to different parts of their body and release tension.
• Guided imagery exercises where students visualize a calming scene or situation to help them feel more relaxed and focused.

Next Steps

Are you interested in exploring more activities and strategies to support your PreK students’ social-emotional learning? Sign up for free sample materials from Everyday Speech to access a wide range of resources designed to promote self-regulation, emotional awareness, and other essential skills for young learners.