Supporting Emotional Regulation in Your Classroom

Creating a classroom that supports every student starts with intentional design and thoughtful tools. Social emotional learning (SEL) helps students manage emotions, build resilience, and feel safe while learning. Schoolgirl Style’s resources make it easy to bring calm, confidence, and regulation into every corner of your classroom.

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The Science Behind Stress, Safety, and Learning

In 2007, Dr. Nadine Burke Harris began her groundbreaking work in a small clinic in San Francisco. What she uncovered revolutionized our understanding of childhood development. Her 2011 research revealed that early childhood trauma can actually change the developing brain, creating long-term challenges with learning, behavior, and overall health.

Her findings confirmed what educators already know: a student’s stress and emotional struggles often show up in the classroom. Chronic stress forces the brain into a “survival mode,” hijacking the areas responsible for attention, emotional regulation, and memory. But here’s the wonderful truth: when students feel safe, calm, and supported, their brains are free to return to a state of curiosity, collaboration, and an eagerness to learn.

This is where the power of thoughtful classroom design from Schoolgirl Style makes a difference.

Calming Corners: More Than a Cozy Space

A calming corner is much more than a cute classroom space. It’s a trauma-informed tool that aligns with the core recommendations from Burke Harris’s research, supporting students through predictable routines, sensory regulation, emotional safety, and brain-body calming strategies.

Schoolgirl Style’s Calming Corner resources are designed to help you create a designated spot where students can:

Breathe, reset, and regulate their nervous systems.
Reconnect to feelings of safety and grounding.
Return to learning with renewed confidence and focus.

Why Affirmation Stations Work

Affirmations give students consistent, positive language that strengthens neural pathways tied to confidence, resilience, and self-worth. Our Schoolgirl Style Affirmation Station resources include encouraging words placed near a mirror, creating a powerful moment where students speak positivity into who they are.

These small moments of affirmation can be transformational, especially for students carrying stress or trauma. Over time, these daily reminders help children build:

emotional resilience
a stronger sense of belonging
confidence to participate
a calmer, more grounded mindset

Affirmation stations are one of the simplest ways to promote emotional wellness and one of the most effective.

A Full Toolkit for Emotional Wellness

Including social emotional learning in your classroom requires a cohesive system. That’s why we offer a complete set of tools to help students build regulation and resilience in every corner of your room:

Behavior Management Charts: Establish clear, positive expectations and help students take ownership of their choices within a safe framework.
Good Morning Greeting Sets: Establish warm, predictable routines that reduce morning anxiety and build a positive classroom culture.
Visual Emotion Posters: Give students the language and visual cues they need to quickly identify and communicate their feelings, an essential first step toward regulation

Explore our full SEL section on the Schoolgirl Style website to find everything you need to create an emotionally supportive classroom!

Helping your Students Thrive

When your classroom environment is intentionally designed to feel calm, safe, and supportive, students are better equipped to manage stress, participate fully, and truly embrace learning. With our complete SEL toolkit, you can help every student feel seen, capable, and ready to succeed every single day.