Safe Place (2024)

Table of Contents

How to Use a Safe Place in the Principal’s Office Video Examples: Safe Place in the Principal’s Office Photo Examples: Safe Place in the Principal and Clinic

How to Use a Safe Place in the Principal’s Office

The Safe Place is a center where children can go to change their inner state from upset to composed in order to optimize learning. It is the centerpiece of your self-regulation program. The principal and any other administrators who see students in their offices should set up a Safe Place in these spaces to help children calm themselves during times of upset.

A chair, beanbag, throw rug or pillow serves as a base for your Safe Place. Fill the Safe Place with tools and activities that lead children through the five steps of self-regulation: I Am, I Calm, I Feel, I Choose, I Solve. The I Am step involves the initial upset when the child becomes the emotion. “I am angry!” The I Am Smock is helpful for demonstrating this stage of upset. The I Calm step requires active calming, featuring the four main breathing techniques, access to a Friends and Family book, and other calming activities. The I Feel step includes identifying the feeling with the Feeling Buddies or a Feeling chart. The I Choose step requires the child to consciously choose additional calming activities utilizing theBrain Smart Choice Cube,I Choose Self-Control Boardand/or class-made choice boards. The I Solve step involves the child solving the original problem before returning to work or play, often through the use of theConflict Resolution Time Machine.

Problem solving is a higher-order skill, and most children who arrive in the office will be operating from the lower centers of the brain. Simply put, an upset child is not a thinking child. It is essential for the administrator to assist the child in completing the first four self-regulation steps before attempting to address the problem that brought the child to the office (step five).