The Boys and Girls Club of Lower Naugatuck Valey recently received a grant from the Derby Shelton Rotary Club to enhance four “Calming Corners” in the Club’s Lavietes Clubhouse in Shelton. The grant of $2,141.91 consisted of $1,060 in matching funds from the Rotary District 7890 Managed Grants program and $1,081.91 from the Derby Shelton Club.
The Boys and Girls Club established Calming Corners to support Club members when they are having difficulty because of emotional or behavioral problems while at the Club. Rather than being punished, the children are now directed to one of the four age-appropriate Corners located in the Club. There, they have a relatively private comfortable area in which to gather their thoughts in a bean bag chair and with the assistance of a variety of mindfulness posters and coloring books, fidgets, pocket mantras, sensory walls, sound machines and feelings mirrors. When they are ready, children return to being with their peers. Club staff report that the Calming Corners have achieved their objective of calming children, improving their behaviors and decreasing the amount of disruption these children cause to other Club members.
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