At St. Columba Catholic School, we have transformed our library into our STEAM Room and Zen den, with the areas separated distinctly to make the best use of our space.
On our shelving, we have all our items organized based on our science and math curriculum, in addition to a maker space for creativity!
We have an intermediate study zone with beans bags and tables where students can have their space to work with peers or individually. It also allows space for students to display their projects and work. We have empty Canvases for the students who love art to use and display their work.
Our zen den allows students to come and find their peace. It has fidgets, books for self regulation, emotions and social situations. It also has noise-canceling headphones and emotion wheels for students to identify and see what a good strategy would be to help bring them back to the green zone of regulation.
We have repurposed a Thomas the Train table into a Lego table for students to build upon and have a place to keep their creations.
In one picture, you can see a student using the space to build as she regulates her emotions. She is one of our students with ASD and has come to find the library to be an incredibly calming space; it has truly supported her to have a safe space to come and regulate herself. Her regulation comes quicker while in here because she lives to create!
