All is calm. All is bright. Hygge in the classroom. Self-Regulation part 2

Authors Note: Last week I wrote about play and self-regulation. It seems I have a bit of a theme these days, because, in a sense, this week's post is also about self-regulation, and as I think about next weeks post... same thing! So, if you'd like to read last week's post, you can find it here: Play and Self-Regulation Now, on to this week:

In the course of a school year, particularly if you live in a northern climate, the months of January, February, and March drag on. Three months, but they can sometimes seem like the longest three months of the year. It's cold outside and the weather can be dreary and unpredictable. Every winter has its own pattern. This winter, our weather pattern seems to be: snow, rain, freeze, ice, snow, rain, freeze, ice, repeat. 

In order to combat this type of seasonal unbalance, we try to make our inside calm. In our homes, this might manifest in comfy blankets and spaces, candle light, warm drinks, quiet music and sounds. We can do this in the classroom too. Embracing the Hygge way in the classroom leads to a sense of well-being for all, and another way to promote self-regulation in Kindergarten.

Because of Covid, our school has a "staggered entry"- which means, as the children get to school they come straight into the classroom. Other years they played on the playground until the school day began. This created students rushing to get into the school, pushing, shoving, chaos. When this year began, and we discussed this "new" idea, my concern was, what to do with them? I started out having play time. As soon as they came in, they would sign in (a way to practice writing their names), then they would go play- with the over-head fluorescent lights blazing away. As winter approached, this method wasn't really working for anyone- it was loud, it was hectic, and it was overwhelming for many. I thought about this and decided to switched our schedule around a bit- come in, sign in, and sit at the tables doing quiet activities like play dough, drawing, writing, reading, until everyone gets here, then do a morning meeting before our play time. 

Now when the children come in, the lights are dimmed. I have a plethora of Christmas/fairy lights, as well as some stand up lamps around the room to give it a soft, warm glow. I play environmental music, or some kind of calming "happy" music. The children can talk, of course, they can move around and visit each other (masks on), it isn't an "everyone sit down and be quiet" time. It's just a calm, quiet way to centre ourselves before we start our day. So many of us ride the bus- which can be so hectic and crazy, then they come into a hallway where kids may be running up and down, yelling, etc (we are a hallway of 6 classrooms of 5 and 6 year olds after all)- that it helps to have this little down time to acclimate to being back in the classroom.

After we all arrive, we have a morning meeting. We sing songs, talk about the day, incorporate a little math workshop, then move into our play time. I keep the lights low for play time, as well, and I play the calming music in the background. We try to keep the atmosphere as cozy as possible. Sometimes I'll even put up a fireplace video or a video of a stream in winter, etc. on the board.

Does all of this work? It does. In the Reggio Emilia approach to learning, we often say "environment is the third teacher". This is a perfect example of that- if the environment is calm, it creates a general feeling of calm. And calmness allows us time to think, plan, create, problem solve, talk, and discuss. What I have found is even those days when we are a bit more...extra... than others, we still have room to breath. This idea of Hygge- creating a calming, cozy atmosphere- is possible in the Kindergarten classroom. 

There are many things that Covid has taught us as educators. We were not trained to teach in a pandemic, we were not trained to teach students to wear masks and social distance as much as possible. But there have been some benefits of Covid- I call them my Covid Linings. Embracing a Hygge classroom is just one of those Covid Linings. I've toyed with it, I've experimented with it in the past, but this year has given me permission to just go with it. I think this will be the way from here on out.

Next Week: Self-Regulation part 3: Dinosaurs!

This website really helped me define what I mean by Hygge: Hygge House