30 Calming Videos for Kindergarten
A kindergarten classroom is a bustling hub of activity, full of learning, fun, and exuberance. We know that children, by nature, are high-energy beings, and (most of the time) we can harness that energy to maximize learning. But, sometimes, the energy level begins to verge on chaos. When this happens, finding ways to re-focus the group is the key to success! Add this collection of calming videos for kindergarten to your toolbox so you’ll be prepared when chaos strikes!
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Like my other video roundups, this collection of calming videos for kindergarten is sorted into categories to help you quickly find just what you need!
Calming Videos with Quick & Quiet Songs
Perfect for a quick reset, these soft and gentle songs give students a couple of minutes to quiet their minds and regain their focus.
From Super Simple Songs, this two-and-a-half minute version of “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” has a sweet animation of an owl and a star. Kids will be soothed by the traditional song and focused on the story the animation tells.
“The Feelings Song” by Miss Molly gives students a 5-minute calming break to explore their emotions. With relatable scenarios and imagery, this song covers all the feelings kids might feel throughout the day and emphasizes that “they’re all okay!” As an added bonus, the lyrics are displayed throughout the song, giving print exposure and reading practice!
Also about emotions, the “Feelings Song” by The Singing Walrus also has a calming vibe (though it is a little faster-paced than Miss Molly’s song). After running through the basic emotions and how they make the narrator feel and act, this song ends with the singer feeling “strong and calm like a tree” due to being hugged (and feeling loved and accepted). This is a sweet song for helping students process big emotions that might otherwise leave them feeling overstimulated.
Here’s another calming video from Super Simple Songs! This 3-minute version of “The Alphabet Song” has a soothing pace and mesmerizing stop-motion animation. It’s a great way to help children quiet their minds for a few minutes.
Miss Molly’s “Count to 100” is another soothing song for a quick brain break. The predictability of the counting and the soft musical and visual tones make this video calming and perfect for settling little minds and bodies!
Looking for calming activities to re-focus your students when they are wired and out of control? The easy-to-prep boxes hold quiet and engaging activities that keep students busy, focused, and independent. You can find this set here on TPT, or by clicking below.
Early Finishers Fun Boxes – Bundle
This bundle includes 16 simple and engaging space-saving printable activities. These activities can be completed independently or with partners and are ideal for short periods of free time.
Calming Videos with Mindfulness Strategies
This next set of videos gives students strategies for harnessing their emotions and bringing themselves to a calm state.
In “Staying Calm When I’m Angry,” by Everyday Speech, the human host works with an animated cactus on strategies for cooling down rather than exploding with anger. She shows scenarios with actual children to make the strategies more concrete for students! This is one of the calming videos that’s great to have bookmarked for times when your students are at each others’ throats and struggling with conflict resolution.
Another one from Super Simple Songs, this video is both a calming song and a strategy lesson. The animal narrators of this animated video use the strategy of taking a deep breath to conquer situations that make them feel scared, angry, shy, or sad.
In this video, The Mindfulness Teacher teaches a breathing strategy to “blow away” thoughts that are getting in the way of being calm and productive. This video gives students a few minutes of quiet, meditative practice.
Go Noodle’s Flow channel has several calming videos that give students strategies for regulating their moods and using mindfulness strategies at school. In this three-and-a-half-minute video, students are guided to use visualization and breathing to bring themselves to a grounded state.
This 7-minute animated video from BrightenUp! Kids guides viewers through a mindfulness activity using movement, thought, and breathing to clear bad feelings away. Students will need a little personal space to follow along with this video.
Cosmic Kids Yoga is another channel to save for calming videos focusing on yoga and meditation. This video focuses on “The Candle of Concentration” strategy where students visualize a candle flame and then blow it out. If you need a short video to teach (or remind students of) a simple focusing strategy, this is a good one!
Calming Videos of Soothing Read-Alouds
Settling down to listen to a picture book can be very calming. Here’s a selection of read-alouds that have soothing themes.
Quiet by Tomie DePaola is a sweet and simple story of a grandfather and two children discovering the beauty of being quiet and still, observing the world around them. You can find the book here on Amazon if you’d like to add it to your classroom library.
Acorn Was a Little Wild by Jen Arena is a story that may feel very relatable to some of your students. Little Acorn enjoys things that are thrilling, stimulating, and wild. This picture book follows his journey as he matures into an oak tree that learns to embrace growth and change (and even some calm) while still retaining his “wild” side. You can find Acorn Was a Little Wild here on Amazon.
Can’t You Sleep Little Bear by Martin Waddell tells the story of Little Bear learning to calm himself down by facing his fears with the help of a loved one. This sweet bedtime story has a calming ending, making it a great transition into a quieter activity. You can find it here on Amazon if you’d like to add this book to your classroom library.
Tomorrow I’ll Be Kind by Jessica Hische is a sweet rhyming book that focuses on positive character traits (such as being grateful, helpful, and kind). It encourages listeners to reflect on their day and think about how they can improve tomorrow. Designed to be a bedtime story, this is lovely for settling down before a rest or at the end of the day.
Also by Jessica Hische, Tomorrow I’ll Be Brave follows the same pattern (and actually was written first), but focuses on being adventurous, strong, smart, curious, creative, confident, and brave.
Calming Videos with Timers
This section of videos will come in handy when you want students to focus quietly on their own tasks (or rest) for a set amount of time. With relaxing sounds and a visual countdown, these videos are great to display in the background.
This first video is a 5-minute timer video set to classical piano music and video footage of a spring tree moving gently in the breeze. FYI, this video ends with an alarm sound.
Here’s a 10-minute timer video. This one has an ocean backdrop and sounds in addition to relaxing classical music. This video does not end with an alarm.
This 15-minute timer video also has an ocean backdrop. This one has soothing new-age music and ends with a gentle chime.
At 20 minutes in length, this timer video includes classical music and footage of flamingos wading. I like that this video has a countdown timer accompanied by a circle visual so children can easily see how much time is left. This video also ends with a soft chime-like sound.
If your students are fortunate enough to have a rest time in kindergarten, this 30-minute timer video is perfect. It’s also great for quiet work time! This video has music that is very calming—it was hard for me to stay awake while previewing it 😂—and mesmerizing visuals of colorful clouds of smoke. This timer does not end with an alarm.
From the same channel as the previous video, this one lasts for an hour and has an entrancing jellyfish backdrop.
Calming Videos to Play in the Background
The following calming videos are long ones—perfect for having on in the background as students work.
This first video is about 10 minutes of Brahms’ Lullaby, just the right amount of time for a quiet brain rest while putting heads down, coloring, or looking at books! This video has a gentle animation of an airship floating above a mountain scene.
Looking for something longer? This video has 50 minutes of classical music over relaxing animated floating bubbles.
This soft and relaxing piano music with bird sounds over an autumnal scene lasts for over an hour. 🍂
Paper-tearing art (TPT) can be a very calming activity for students to work on while one of these calming videos plays in the background.
Fall Paper Tearing Activity
This fall paper tearing activity comes with 12 themes in several variations! Children build their fine motor skills while filling these tear art templates. Choose the level of complexity that’s perfect for your students and the amount of time you want to fill.
Play as much or as little as you need to of this 4-hour calming music and ocean sounds video. The undersea animation gradually darkens throughout this video, so starting it partway through may give a calmer feel if you are looking for a rest-time video.
This soothing collection of instrumental Disney music is long enough to leave playing for the whole day—with no ads!
Just a Few More Fun & Calming Videos
This narrated wildlife video shares adorable footage of sleepy animals. Anyone with pets knows that watching animals sleep is very soothing!
I challenge you to try not to yawn while you watch this two-and-a-half-minute video of animals yawning!
Finally, this sweet bedtime video takes children on a calm counting journey around a farm for about 10 minutes and then encourages them to rest for the remaining 20 minutes of the video (to peaceful music and images of the farm animals).
I hope this collection of calming videos for your kindergarten classroom will give you the tools you need to bring your students back to you when they are overstimulated and wound up! Thanks for reading! Find more video round-ups here.
