Zones of Regulation

Zones of Regulation is an approach to teaching self-regulation in a way that makes children aware of how they are feeling and then identifies strategies they can utilize to help them regulate their emotions.  It is a colour based system that makes it easy for kids to self-identify how they are feeling.  Our whole school is using this system.  We introduced it to our kids last week so if you hear them talking about what colour they are, you will know what they are talking about.

The BLUE zone is when one may feel tired, sad, sick or bored
The GREEN zone is when one is calm, alert and ready to learn
The YELLOW zone is when one feels anxious, frustrated, silly-wiggly, nervous
The RED zone is when one is really angry, over - excited, explosive behaviour

Ideally we want to be in the green zone, so if we are in the blue, we can do things like eat if we feel tired (food is fuel for the body).  If we are in the yellow or red zone we can tell a teacher, take deep breaths, take a break or walk away.  It is important for children to be able to identify their emotions and then learn how to manage them so that they can get themselves into an optimal state for learning.