Ahhh, quiet time. Don’t get it confused, I am not necessarily recommending a nap time in your classroom (although that sounds glorious). Years ago, I noticed that the most chaotic time in my classroom was when my students returned from PE class. The competition, movement, and excitement from all the physical activity made it feel impossible to transition back into academics. This is when I started implementing our daily quiet time.
What is quiet time?
This is a structured and meaningful downtime scheduled into your school schedule, most typically after a time of high energy. I know many teachers implement quiet time after PE class or lunch/recess… or both!
How do you structure this?
I LOVE this question because without some structure and explicit expectations, this will not be as meaningful as it could be. Students should be presented with a variety of quiet activities they can participate in. In my classroom, we had journaling, drawing/coloring, reading, puzzles, sensory bins, and quiet sitting. It’s important to note that there is a difference between being quiet and being silent. I never mandated silence during this time, just that our activities, bodies, and voices needed to be calming.
These affirmation journals are a great choice for a quiet activity. Check them out here!
Teacher role
During this time, as a teacher, I tried to stay really hands-off. If I needed to check in with a student, I was sure to pull them into the hallway. Why? It’s crucial that we model for students the behaviors we want them to exhibit. If I had a chat with a student at their desk in the middle of quiet time, I am not necessarily setting a great example of what it means to be calm and quiet. Prompting students and giving quick and quiet reminders about expectations is a perfect use of time, along with modeling! I often grabbed a coloring page or a book and engaged in activities alongside students.
Have you ever implemented a quiet/mindful time in your classroom? I find that these 15 minutes were some of the most beneficial moments of our day. Scheduling in time like this helps students understand its importance and shows them that being quiet and mindful is a valuable skill to practice.
