Calming Tools that Bring a Sense of Order
We often have sensory tools like fidgets in a “calm corner” or “relaxation station” (or whatever you call it in your classroom or office) for children to use when they need to reset or calm their nervous system. However, some children benefit from activities that I describe as “bringing order to the universe.” These are things that tend to be structured and provide a sense of completion. Some of these also work well to help with cognitive shift if a child is upset. (What is cognitive shift?)
For example:
- a puzzle
- lining up objects
- a coloring page
- building a tower with blocks or Legos
In addition, here are some that have worked for my clients:
A Magnatab
This is one of the best investments I’ve ever made. I use it to address pencil grasp and fine motor skills, but I actually find these more useful to address self regulation than letter formation.
(picture from the Amazon listing)
Games
One of my clients loved the game Hisss both as a game and as an anxiety tool. We keep it handy to line up all the pieces if that’s what he feels he needs, but sometimes we just play it.
(picture from an ebay listing)
Well, it turns out Hisss is only available through 3rd-party sellers, but I recently saw the game Stack Attack that I thought may provide a similar experience, though I haven’t tried it.
(picture from the Amazon listing)
Simple Worksheets
Another client really liked this scanning activity. It’s just a worksheet with random letters in which he had to circle all of the f’s. I had this on hand to work on visual scanning with children, but it found another purpose!
This particular screenshot is from a copyrighted worksheet by Melanie Lambert that I got many years ago, but is easy enough to make yourself. (You may also be able to find this in her TPT store.)
Most of the time an academic worksheet isn’t going to be very helpful for calming the nervous system (it will probably do the opposite), but don’t rule it out if a child has a special interest and it is about that.
Coloring
A regular coloring page of the favorite character works well for some people, but I’ve also made a sheet with rows of circles to fill in. This is preferred by some people.
I hope you find this helpful for some of your clients!