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Create A Happy Classroom

The document discusses 5 ways to create a happy classroom: 1. Providing support networks to help children feel less lonely and boost confidence. 2. Celebrating achievements and successes to increase feelings of happiness through dopamine and serotonin release. 3. Teaching self-confidence as a learned skill through encouragement and modeling confidence. 4. Building positive relationships with peers and teachers to improve happiness and develop important social skills. 5. Developing coping strategies so children feel in control during challenging times and can manage their emotions. Creating a happy classroom develops the whole child and gives them strategies for lifelong well-being and happiness.

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258 views

Create A Happy Classroom

The document discusses 5 ways to create a happy classroom: 1. Providing support networks to help children feel less lonely and boost confidence. 2. Celebrating achievements and successes to increase feelings of happiness through dopamine and serotonin release. 3. Teaching self-confidence as a learned skill through encouragement and modeling confidence. 4. Building positive relationships with peers and teachers to improve happiness and develop important social skills. 5. Developing coping strategies so children feel in control during challenging times and can manage their emotions. Creating a happy classroom develops the whole child and gives them strategies for lifelong well-being and happiness.

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Creating a Happy Classroom: 5 Ways to Spread the Happiness

Why is Creating a Happy Classroom Necessary?


In August 2019, the annual Good Childhood Report from the Children’s Society found overall
happiness among 10- to 15-year-olds had dipped below 8 on a scale of 1 to 10, with an average of
7.89. Nearly 5% of those surveyed reported happiness scores below 5 out of 10, which equates to
approximately 219,000 children in the UK being unhappy with life as a whole. It also reported that
there was a ‘significant dip’ in happiness with school in 2016/17.
So, as the report says, ‘As a society we have to start taking children’s well-being more seriously,’
and as educators, we’re in a prime position to do this.
At risk of sounding like the sixth Spice Girl, what we really, really want is for the children to come
in every morning full of excitement, ready and eager to start the day ahead. We want them to leave
at the end of the day with smiles on their faces, inspired by the lessons we’ve taught.
But it’s not always that easy. From family unemployment and poverty to young carer roles and
neighbourhood issues, many other factors can stand in our way.
Creating a happy classroom, therefore, becomes crucial.
5 Ways to Create a Happy Classroom
A classroom should be a space where happiness takes precedence, where children are always met
with a smile and with positivity. It’s a space where their wellbeing is as important as their academic
achievements. So how can we create one?
1. Providing Support
Creating a support network can help to build happiness in the classroom. From friends, family and
the adults within the school, children soon realise that they have important people to turn to when
they need them. Feeling lonely and with nowhere to turn can do much to damage a child’s mental
health and wellbeing. By creating a classroom with a clear support system in place, children’s
overall happiness and confidence can increase.
It’s not easy for all children to understand how to support others within the classroom either – it’s a
skill that needs to be explicitly taught to some. Working together to establish what that support looks
like within your classroom can help those who struggle with this aspect of personal relationships
and confirm your expectations to the rest.
2. Celebrating Achievement and Success
Celebrating individual and group achievements can do much to enhance the happiness in your
classroom. Studies have shown that reward and recognition can go a long way to boosting people’s
confidence and morale. When we achieve our goals, our brain sends messages to our body to say,
‘Well done you!’ We release neurotransmitters such as serotonin (the happy chemical) and
dopamine (the motivation and reward chemical), which help us to feel great.

In both children and adults, the levels of dopamine and serotonin that we have in our bodies play a
part in our overall wellbeing, digestion and sleep. The more serotonin and dopamine, the happier

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we tend to be. Celebrating mistakes can help here too. Creating a happy classroom starts with an
understanding of the importance of growth mindset and of learning from our mistakes.
As much as stickers and smiley faces can work wonders with happiness, an enjoyment of intrinsic
happiness is important too. Build in time for children to reflect on things they are proud of and why.
3. Teaching Self-Confidence
Confidence can increase happiness, but it’s not something we’re all naturally born with. For many
of us, it is a learned skill that improves with age, experience and practise. A happy classroom
embraces this journey and provides opportunities for children to learn this skill in their own time,
with the support of those around them.
For children to be successful, they need to be able to manage and overcome their fears, worries,
limiting beliefs and problems. They also need to look at how other people portray confidence, even
though they may not naturally be confident at all – this can be quite the revelation for some children!
Give children a wide range of vocabulary to indicate confidence. Talk about inner belief, optimism,
courage and determination, so that children understand what these traits are and the importance of
them. Make it part of your everyday classroom discussions and model what it’s like to struggle with
something, persevering until you get the hang of it. Share any relevant experiences from outside of
school or your own childhood that can show them what happens when you have the confidence to
continue.
Gentle encouragement and recognition of their efforts can be all most children need to slowly build
their confidence. Slow and steady wins the race every time.
4. Building Positive Relationships
Having positive relationships with peers and adults within the school can do much when creating a
happy classroom. Sadly, not all children have such positive relationships outside of school, so
providing a consistently happy, positive environment within it can contribute heavily to their overall
happiness.
Teaching and modelling what positive relationships look like will help children as they learn how
to build their own. Some may not have the confidence or the understanding and will, therefore, learn
a lot from how you build positive relationships with each pupil and with other adults in the
classroom/school.
As the children begin to build these positive relationships, it will not only improve their overall
happiness, but it will give them a sense of belonging and feeling valued. It will help to develop their
self-confidence and give a sense of security and comfort. Most importantly it will teach them how
to communicate openly, trying out new ideas without fear of judgement. All of these skills will stand
them in good stead as they make new positive relationships later in life.
It will also help them identify when a relationship is not a positive influence and how this can impact
their wellbeing.
5. Developing Coping Skills
Life isn’t fair. Decisions and situations rise up and are out of our immediate control. Children (and
adults) can find this one of life’s toughest lessons. What is in our control, however, is how we cope
and react when times get tough. In order to feel happy, we need to feel in control.

ПРОЕКТ 2020-1-BG01-KA101-078465

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If children develop core strategies early on, they can apply them throughout their life and adapt them
to suit any situation. If we’re able to teach children to understand their emotions, as well as how
their body may feel and react during times of stress, they will be able to identify what they need to
do to feel better.
It’s not a case of simply shying away from a challenge when it presents itself either; it’s about
developing coping behaviours that can help children to manage their emotions successfully.
Children with a bank of coping strategies up their sleeves can do much for creating a happy
classroom and for children’s overall mental health and wellbeing.
A Positive and Happy Influence
Creating a happy classroom isn’t just about smiling every day. It’s about developing an environment
that looks after the whole child and helps them build strategies to feel happier about all aspects of
their lives. All the themes listed above are interwoven and all are equally important in helping you
achieve this.
As teachers we are in the privileged position to be a constant, positive influence in the lives of our
pupils and this is a position we should feel proud of. Creating a happy classroom is just the
beginning.

ПРОЕКТ 2020-1-BG01-KA101-078465

„УЧИТЕЛИ - ТВОРЦИ, НОВАТОРИ, МЕДИАТОРИ И ВДЪХНОВИТЕЛИ“

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