How a Heart-Centered Classroom Changes Students’ Lives

You may be asking, “What is a heart-centered classroom?”

A heart-centered classroom has a strong classroom management system. But it is rooted in social and emotional development. In a heart-centered classroom, your students will display character traits such as compassion, empathy, and resilience. Every classroom should have heart at its core. But it can be hard to know where to start.

As teachers, it is crucial we are providing students with the skills to make healthy decisions about behavior and relationships in and out of the classroom. 

My goal is to help all teachers to be able to have a thriving classroom community, give their students a lifelong foundation in social and emotional skills, and teach their students how to repair relationships in meaningful ways.

If we can learn these skills, I am confident that we are teaching our students lessons that will change their lives. 

Conflict Resolution

When you have a heart-centered classroom, your students will be able to confidently handle conflict while you step into the role of facilitator, leaving you more time to focus on instruction.

This is a crucial component because how many times do you have to stop your instruction to handle a conflict in your classroom? Especially when teaching early elementary students, this number can get pretty high throughout the course of a school day. 

Creating an environment where your students know how to healthily handle conflict will be a game-changer for you as you are trying to work through lesson plans. 

These are also skills that will stay with them and carry over to relationships outside of the classroom as well. You are making an impact far more than just a healthy classroom environment. 

Intentional and Connected Relationships

Another impact of a heart-centered classroom is that you are giving your students the lifelong foundations to have intentional and connected relationships. 

Your students will feel safe to explore words like empathy, gratitude, and kindness. With this, they will be more engaged in classroom activities because you have created a safe environment for them to thrive. 

A heart-centered classroom means you are focusing on more than just getting through lesson plans, you are actually teaching your students lessons about their emotions, life skills, and ways to process hard things. 

With this, you are giving them the means for connected, deep relationships. 

Social and Emotional Skills

Having the right resources and time to teach your students social and emotional skills can be daunting.

In a heart-centered classroom, social and emotional skills will no longer be separate from the rest of your day. You will be weaving it into everything you do.

Here are some easy activities to get started teaching your students social and emotional skills:

• Feelings Chart and Discussions:
  • Create a feelings chart with various emotions depicted through drawings or images. Include emotions like happy, sad, angry, surprised, and more.
  • Discuss different scenarios or situations that might elicit these emotions. Encourage students to share their own experiences.
  • Ask students to identify and express how they feel about certain situations. This activity promotes emotional awareness and vocabulary.

• Role-Playing Scenarios:
  • Organize role-playing activities where students can act out different social scenarios. This could include situations like resolving conflicts, sharing, or taking turns.
  • Encourage students to take on different roles and perspectives. This helps them understand others' feelings and fosters empathy.
  • After each role-play, facilitate a discussion about the emotions involved and discuss alternative ways to handle similar situations.

• Gratitude Journaling:
  • Introduce the concept of gratitude by having students create a gratitude journal. Provide them with a notebook or have them create their own using art supplies.
  • Encourage students to write or draw one thing they are grateful for each day. This helps them focus on positive aspects of their lives and fosters a sense of appreciation.
  • Periodically, discuss as a group some of the things students have expressed gratitude for. This promotes a positive and supportive classroom environment.

• Classroom Songs:
  • I sell an awesome resource that gives you songs to teach your class that you can sing throughout your day.
  • I find that having these songs calms students down and creates a routine, ex: when we sing the “Are You Listening” song, they know it is time to quiet down. 
  • You can find that resource HERE!
    
    

The Impact of a Heart-Centered Classroom

As you can see, the impact of a heart-centered classroom is undeniable. 

You are giving your students the means to be healthy individuals with skills that will stick with them forever.
 

Need more help creating a positive classroom environment? 

You can download my free resource, 10 Ways to Create a Positive Classroom Community Guide!

This includes help on building relationships, setting expectations for learning, and introducing routines for behavior. This is a great guide for helping you create a heart-centered classroom!

Click here to download

10 Ways to Create a Positive Classroom Community Guide now >>