It’s back to school…for SNOObie! Yes, your tot’s favorite bedtime white noise machine, nightlight, and meditation buddy is also the perfect teacher’s sidekick! Learn how SNOObie can help your child learn to relax, share their feelings, and so much more as they venture to preschool, pre-K, or kindergarten!

Free SNOObie Teacher Printables

As a special treat for teachers, we have free downloads to help support your use of SNOObie in the classroom:

• "I Can Calm Down" Poster
• Magic Breathing Guide
• SNOObie Coloring Sheet

How to Use SNOObie at School

SNOObie can empower kids to talk about feelings.

SNOObie’s rainbow light can jumpstart conversations about feelings! Here’s how: As teachers move SNOObie’s Rainbow Light Slider, they can invite their students to pipe up when they see the color that best represents how they’re feeling right now. Perhaps a child will see the color red and share that they’re feeling angry, which invites their teacher to inquire about why they’re feeling that way. Then, the group can talk about strategies for moving the child’s feelings to, say a calming green. Each classroom can create their own color/feelings chart to let kids match their emotions to SNOObie’s eight colors. (More on teaching children to express their feelings.)

SNOObie can help young children calm down.

Preschool is fun and full of energy! That’s fantastic…until the hyped-up vibe keeps kiddos from settling down to listen and learn. To bring calm to the classroom, teachers can enlist their trusted pal SNOObie’s two Magic Breathing tracks. Magic Breathing is Dr. Harvey Karp’s powerful calm-down technique designed to help children turn their motors off! SNOObie’s Magic Breathing tracks synchronize light and sound to guide children through some super-effective mindful meditation breathing exercises.

Bonus: Mindful breathing does way more than encourage children calm their bodies and brains. Studies have shown that introducing preschoolers to school-based mindful meditation can improve their ability to self-regulate, increase their body awareness, strengthen their capacity for empathy, and, if practiced regularly, may even improve a child’s academic development. (Learn more kid-friendly ways to teach mindful meditation.) 

SNOObie can make rest-time easier.

Lots of preschool programs require a rest time for their young pupils where they can snooze or enjoy some quiet play. This type of “time out” is considered an important opportunity for children to slow down, relax, and to learn self-regulation, according to Head Start, a program that provides early childhood services to low income children. The experts at Head Start suggest dimming the lights, playing soft music, and even incorporating deep slow breaths into rest time. In addition to SNOObie teaching the recommended slow breathing, SNOObie is a soothing nightlight that plays sleep-inducing white noise and calming tunes, like Brahms’ Lullaby and Amazing Grace. Talk about a triple rest-time threat!

SNOObie can ease transitions.

Since reading words and clocks is a skill that preschoolers and kindergarteners are still working on, color and music can easily step in to be the ultimate little-kid communicators! Take SNOObie. It’s loaded with eight brilliant colors and 12 song and sound options, including lullabies and shushing sounds, that can be used to signal transition times or to announce classroom rules. For example, teachers could let the class know that when SNOObie “sings” circle time is starting, when it shines blue it’s time to get ready for rest time, or when SNOObie is red, it means return to your seats. Teachers can pre-set up to four routines on so that your classroom buddy will always “remember” to signal when it’s time to, say, move to the rug for stories!

SNOObie may help children focus.

While white noise is normally used for sleepytime, emerging research shows that white noise may be useful in other ways, too. For instance, a 2022 report suggests that white noise may help children with ADHD focus, reason, and think. And earlier research has shown white noise may be able to improve reading and writing speed, impulsivity, and working memory, which is a skill that allows you to work on a task without losing track of what you’re doing! SNOObie, of course, has a number of pediatrician-designed white noise sounds to choose from, including SNOO sounds, and shushing sounds. (Dr. Karp shares how to help children with ADHD sleep better.)

SNOObie can encourage reading!

No preschool, pre-K, or kindergarten classroom is complete without a reading corner! The child education experts at Scholastic recommend that these sacred reading spots are stocked with oodles of reading material (books, menus, comics, and more), they have ample space, plenty of comfort, plus a little extra light for reading and for a cozy atmosphere. Here’s how SNOObie can make any reading corner extra special:

• SNOObie provides the just-right light for little readers.

• SNOObie’s sweet and welcoming design can encourage children to pick “reading corner” during choice time.

• SNOObie is the perfect “reading buddy” for children to read aloud to—without the nerves that can be associated with doing so to classmates or a teacher.

More on Education and Learning:

• How to Prepare Your Toddler for Daycare
• Dr. Harvey Karp on Getting Your Child Ready for Preschool or Kinder
• What Kind of Preschool Is Right for Your Child?
• Science-Backed Ways to Boost Language Development

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REFERENCES 

• Feasibility, Acceptability, and Preliminary Effectiveness of the OpenMind (OM) Program for Pre-School Children.  Journal of Child and Family Studies. July 2019
• Mindfulness-Oriented Meditation for Primary School Children: Effects on Attention and Psychological Well-Being. Frontiers in Psychology. June 2016
• Head Start, Early Childhood Learning & Knowledge Center: Rest Time for Preschoolers
• Listening to White Noise Improved Verbal Working Memory in Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: A Pilot Study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. June 2022
• White noise as a possible therapeutic option for children with ADHD.  Complementary Therapies in Medicine. November 2018
• Understood: What is Working Memory?
• Scholastic: How to Create the Perfect Independent Reading Environment

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Disclaimer: The information on our site is NOT medical advice for any specific person or condition. It is only meant as general information. If you have any medical questions and concerns about your child or yourself, please contact your health provider.