5 Ways to Incorporate Hygge in the Classroom

Looking to add hygge to your elementary classroom? This list will share some fun and easy ways to make your classroom cozy and warm.

This was a fun podcast for me to put together because I have recently become obsessed with hygge ever since we traveled to Denmark in August. It’s so important we create warm and welcoming classrooms and incorporating hygge in the classroom is an easy way to do that.

Hygge in the Classroom

I first learned of hygge when I read the book “The Year of Living Danishly.” Essentially hygge is the “feeling” of joy created by a welcoming space and cozy things. I give a much better definition on the podcast! 😉

clickable graphic- Organize Classroom Papers with the Student Paper Workflow Guide

I listed out five ways you can incorporate hygge in the classroom (and thrown in a sixth one for fun!)

Music in the Classroom

Music is an easy way to create a cozy and welcoming environment in the classroom. When I was in grad school, our professors had a “morning/welcome” playlist and an “end of day/goodbye” playlist.

I put together a short little playlist to help you get started and you can get it right here!

Lighting

Lighting makes everything feel cozier. Lamps instead of overhead lighting add to the hygge feel as well as string lights hanging from the ceiling or your whiteboard.

You can even use sheets or fabric over the lights to dim the overhead lighting in your classroom.

Organization

Organization is key to hygge because disorganization is NOT cozy!

There are three resources I have available for you to help organize and cozify your classroom!

You can check out the free 5 Day Classroom Organization Challenge I have put together to help you organize areas of your room.

The Organize Your Utable Resource is also helpful in getting your teacher desk or teaching table organized.

Lastly, I have put together a Classroom Organization Guidebook where I break down all the areas of your classroom you’d want to organize! You can learn more about it here.

Plants and Textures

Texture is a great way to add a cozy feeling to your classroom. You can also incorporate plants (real or fake!) in you the decor in your room. If you decide to go with real plants, be sure to include that in your Classroom Jobs!

Community Building Time

It’s so important to your classroom (and to hygge) to create a welcoming and safe community. When I learned about hygge, a big piece of it is by surrounding yourself with people that bring joy.

We and our students spend so much time with each other that we have to learn how to find joy in each other. By building a community, you are creating that cozy and welcoming space needing in the classroom.

You can do this through Class Meetings, Team Builders, and Class Builders. I love the book Silly Sports and Goofy Games for finding fun and different team builders and brain breaks.

Greet Your Kids

Finally, it is really important to greet your kids each day and send them off each afternoon. They need to know they are important to you- both little kiddos in elementary and older kiddos in high school.

I’d love for you to have a listen HERE. And I would especially love it if you shared it with your other teacher friends!!!

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Until next time,

If you found this helpful, make sure to pin it to your Pinterest board so you can refer back to it or so other teachers can find it!