Brooklyn Center School Creates ‘Virtual Calming Room’
Brooklyn Center Elementary School is offering strategies to help students cope with challenging times of the pandemic and virtual learning. The school has been welcoming students to its “virtual calming room” since distance learning began in spring.
The virtual space helps students explore coping strategies to manage emotions. The website includes several strategies including breathing, journaling, mindfulness, and movement.
“We’re all working daily to try to navigate life which includes mind, body, and connection of mind and body. During this time, kids lives have really turned upside down. And little people, they really don’t understand what’s going on. They just know that everything is very different,” said Angela Martinez-Deleon, a Brooklyn Center Elementary social worker.
Martinez-Deleon said prior to COVID, students would meet with social workers to do similar coping activities. Because there are no longer in-person meetings, the hope is that the virtual calming room brings back a little normalcy to students.
Martinez-Deleon also mentioned that Brooklyn Center Elementary adopted the virtual calming room from the Osseo School District.
