Classrooms at Naomi Pasemann Elementary School are about to get a lot calmer this fall.
Counselor Courtney Nuckols received a $2,000 grant from the Taylor Educational Enrichment Foundation to bring calming kits to every classroom on campus.
From their home class to even the gym, pupils will soon have a dedicated space for selfregulation.
“We have a lot of friends here that are really sensitive, and that’s great that they’re aware of their feelings, but they really struggle,” Nuckols said. “So, I’m hoping that this will limit the need for them to come out of class for some of those smaller things that cause an upset.” After the height of the COVID-19 pandemic when students returned to classrooms from lockdown and attending school virtually, Nuckols noticed learners struggled to stay calm and to regulate their emotions when frustrated.
Many teachers already have cool-down areas for students in their classrooms, and fidget toys proved helpful during her time at Taylor Middle School, Nuckols said. Wanting to bolster the effort, she found premade calming kits for sale online and thought the idea would be a great way to bring self-regulation to all classrooms.
So, she applied for a grant to provide teachers with supplies they might have already been thinking of buying themselves.
“I wanted to be able to put kind of a systematic approach, bring that to our campus, so that … there is a system that they (students) are comfortable with and that they know how to use, and it’s consistent across the spaces,” she said.
When developing the idea, Nuckols worked closely with the counselors at the other elementary schools in the Taylor Independent School District. With the support of her colleagues, Nuckols hopes the kits will be a success so they can be supplied to other campuses.
“I’ve never seen a process like this, where it’s (kits) being put into all the classrooms on a campus,” Nuckols said. “So, this is definitely going to be trial and error for me. I’m hoping it goes well.”
The grant will provide 32 teachers with calming kits that include timers, posters featuring grounding techniques and various fidget and sensory toys, including squishy and soft items, things that click and snap to drawing boards for doodles and expression.
“(The foundation committee was) aware of the fact that social-emotional issues are on the forefront,” TEE Foundation Executive Director Anita Volek said. “I’m gonna tag COVID behavior — these are students that missed out on a year of school. … They may have learned what they needed to learn online with online education, but you can’t learn that social interaction when you’re stuck at home.”
The kits will be given to teachers within the next few weeks.
As the classrooms begin to use the materials, educators who find a pupil who can’t focus on the lesson or assignment will be directed to the kit to calm himself or herself for a couple of minutes Nuckols hopes that as time goes on, students will be able to identify their need for the kits themselves.
The kits used in the classroom will be up to the teacher’s discretion, as they may want to limit the supplies used in a designated area to curtail distractions or allow students to bring the items to their desks if needed, Nuckols said.
“Instructional minutes are so important, and so, it’s a good way to give a kiddo support without having to remove them from that instructional environment,” she said. “The goal, ultimately, is to get them to where they can do this (for) three minutes, maybe four minutes, they can get themselves calm, and then they’re ready to put it up and go back.”
Nuckols is the only counselor serving the 550 students at Pasemann. By keeping more students in class with the calming kits, Nuckols will be able to focus on students who are dealing with bigger issues.
“Anything we can do to help out counselors and help out the classroom teacher is something that we need to try to do,” Volek said.
In addition, Nuckols hopes the kits reinforce the Tier 1 guidance lessons she provides students. Each month, Nuckols teaches students about different social-emotional topics — September focused on growth mindset and October will be about bullying prevention.
