creating peace in the classroom

I have instituted in my classroom a mandatory Rest Time.  I should have done it earlier in the year.  According to Responsive Classroom, a "Quiet Time" is a gift given to students (or everyone) at times in the day when our brains need to process learning, emotions, feelings, thoughts, relationships....  It is an "oasis of peace and quiet in the midst of a busy and energetic school day." The Quiet Time in our classroom has been a struggle this year.  It has always been excruciatingly difficult to keep the room quiet or give the children choices that can warrant quiet or even get other adults to understand and respect the quiet.  One day it hit me like a Mack truck to the forehead.  My class needs so much more than a typical 20 minute Quiet Time.  My children come from histories of trauma.  They are enmeshed in trauma.  I, myself, have experienced some trauma lately and my brain has needed more than a 20 minute Quiet Time each day.  Luckily, I know this about trauma and have given myself more than that when I get home or over a weekend.  The children in my classroom may not have that luxury.  I, as their educator and life helper (at this moment) should be providing for their needs.  Maslow's hierarchy of needs, right?  If they are not getting it anywhere else, they should be getting it from their teacher and school!  That is what my school is supposed to be all about anyway- meeting the children's emotional needs along with their educational needs when their school district could not!

Enters REST TIME into Ms. Aranda's room!!!!

I designated a mandatory "lay-down-with-a-blanket-and-pillow-and-rest-your-brain-time" immediately following lunch.  For some children in my classroom this means that they may sleep for an hour.  Others may sleep for 20 minutes.  Does it really matter how long they sleep or how long the Rest Time is in my room?  NO.  It.  Does.  Not.

I get a daily meditation reminder from my Calm app.  A few times it has reminded me, "A ten-minute meditation is the 1% of your day that uplifts the other 99%."  Children with and in trauma need more than ten minutes, but I like to apply the idea.  "Due to traumatic early childhood experiences, children ... may still be more like a toddler," explains Heather T. Forbes in her book, Help for Billy.  We give toddlers naps- not to give ourselves a break from their busy, energetic bodies- so that their brain and body can process the constant change in their development.  Toddlers are growing at a tremendous rate and so our my children in the classroom when their brains are needing healing.

Something I have noticed with this sudden change in classroom routine, is the feeling of safety and security has increased.  Our classroom has become a safe space again.  We feel safe when one part of the day requires the curtains to shade out the sun, the constant chatter and/or arguing becomes calming guitar music, and the floor once littered with school materials becomes a rest spot with a soft blanket and pillow.  I may even diffuse some Peace, Balance, and Console essential oils.  If a brain needs 20 minutes or an hour of this to sort out life, it will be given in my classroom.  It is an appropriate response.