Leah Kuypers created The Zones of Regulation® for students to learn to manage their emotions to meet their own needs and show more adaptive behavior/responses to their feelings. Below is a summary of the Zones main ideas and suggestions for use:
Main Ideas:
We can categorize our feelings into 4 zones
•Blue Zone: Moving slowly; low state of alertness. Feelings: sad, sick, tired, bored, hurt, annoyed
•Green Zone: We feel best when we are in the green zone AND we are able to do our best learning; optimal state of alertness. Feelings: calm, happy, joyful, alert, ready to learn
•Yellow Zone: Losing some control; heightened state of alertness. Feelings: silly, excited, frustrated, stressed, overwhelmed, nervous
•Red Zone: Out of control; extreme state of alertness. Feelings: mad, angry, terrified
The purpose is for students to be able to identify more easily how they are feeling and then find the tools and strategies to help them regulate those feelings, or manage and cope in a healthy way to support their own wellbeing and be able to accomplish their goals or tasks.
When to Use:
•When a child is becoming emotionally dysregulated and/or engaging in maladaptive behaviors
•When a child is having a difficult time coping with a situation
•When a child’s big feelings are impacting their ability to meet their goals or the needs of the environment around them
•When modeling your own coping strategies and thought processes on handling strong feelings
Engage in regular opportunities to practice the language and strategies
•While reading together: “What zone do you think this character is in?”
•After playing at the playground: “Place your hand on your heart, you should feel your heart beating faster that it was when we first got here. This may be one clue you are in the yellow zone so let’s take 3 deep breaths together”
•Before a field trip: “You have a field trip tomorrow, what zone do you think you will be in when you get to school? Let’s brainstorm a calming tool you can use to manage your feelings”
•To model your own self-regulation:
•“My laptop is not working and I can feel myself becoming a little frustrated. I notice my muscles are a little tense and I’m starting to enter the yellow zone. I am going to take 3 deep breaths before trying again”
•“I am feeling a bit tired today. Which ZONE am I in? That’s right, the blue zone! Let’s do 10 jumping jacks together to get my body moving!”
•Integrate into your daily conversations:
•“I notice your muscles are tense and you are breathing faster. I can tell you are in the yellow zone, what should we do?”
•Encourage perspective taking: “What zone do you think grandma would be in if we did not wish her a happy birthday?”
See www.zonesofregulation.com or Mrs. Kopecki for more information!