In this self-regulation craft and activity, we used a lion and a lamb concept to bring the abstract meaning of regulation to a concrete place of learning and exploration, by helping kids to see that self regulation strategies can make a huge difference in paying attention and learning in the classroom or completing tasks that need to be done at home. Leah created The Zones of Regulation® (www.zonesofregulation.com), a framework designed to teach self-regulation, and is author of the book by same name (2011, Social Thinking Publishing). In addition to working with students, she provides trainings and consultation to parents and professionals on self-regulation and challenging behaviour, as well as offers workshops on the Zones to groups across North America. She currently resides in Minneapolis, MN with her husband, son, daughter and dog. Self-regulation can refer to emotional regulation or behavioral regulation. Self-reflection of feelings, emotions, and our response to situations is the ability to use emotional regulation.

The yellow zone is for when individuals feelings are heightened, but not to the extreme. This is to describe feeling silly, worried, frustrated, anxious etc. The first step of self-regulation is the ability to identify emotions. Social emotional learning begins with naming emotions, matching emotion names to faces and body language. We will teach the children that everyone experiences all of the Zones. The Red and Yellow zones are not ‘bad’ or ‘naughty’ Zones. All of the Zones are expected at one time or another. We will show them that the Blue Zone, for example, is helpful when you are trying to fall asleep. As support for those struggling with self-regulation challenges, modeling is the strongest tool that we have as adults/parents/therapists to teach kids/teens/others how to cope.

Anyone interested in learning how to implement The Zones of Regulation curriculum should sign up for training, including:

Just like there are no two children alike, and no two teens or adults alike, there is no exact blueprint to these self-regulation strategies.

What People Are Saying About The Zones of Regulation

This blog post on Zones of Regulation, self-regulation strategies, and activities to support the Zones of Regulation curriculum was originally written July 20, 2020. It was most recently updated on November 15, 2023. The zone of the regulation framework is created to help develop learners toward more independent regulation while also respecting and honouring each individual. Social Thinking® Methodology concepts are integrated all through the curriculum to help learners become skilful problem solvers and build awareness of others’ intense emotions, feelings and thoughts and to identify the social context of an event, both these factors help individuals in regulating themself from time to time. To enhance learners’ deeper understanding of daily life regulation, the lessons teach several skills, such as reading others’ body language and facial expressions, understanding the circumstance of the situation, noticing the change in body language due to the feelings, when and how to apply regulation tools, insight into circumstances that activate their less regulated Zones, identifying a wide range of emotions in other persons and themselves, and the role of regulation in their personal goals, overall wellness and success in life. There are many different programs that offer self-regulation curriculum. These are regulation programs and interventions that can assist a child (and adult) to learn the skills necessary to achieve emotional regulation fit for every situation, circumstance, and environment. In The Zones of Regulation Comprehensive Training participants will take a deeper dive into the competency of regulation and how it fits into a climate and culture of social emotional learning. This expanded version of our Basic Training webinar offers a more in-depth look into the neurological components, development of regulation, and compassionate mindset as the foundation to understanding and teaching The Zones of Regulation. Whether you are new to The Zones or are a seasoned practitioner, this training will provide you with a thorough understanding of the lessons and concepts within The Zones curriculum. Extensive exploration of regulation tools and strategies will help you teach The Zones of Regulation with fidelity and efficacy. In addition to highlighting the most recent innovations of The Zones framework, this webinar includes student work samples, classroom artifacts, and videos. It explores strategies for adapting and differentiating The Zones to help all learners, both neurodivergent and neurotypical, meet their goals across school, home, and community settings. Participants will walk away with an in-depth understanding of regulation and how The Zones makes this competency easily accessible for both teachers/practitioners and learners alike.

Use the link below to explore lots of ideas for helping your child to regulate their emotions including: A self-regulation blueprint can be created that includes helpful strategies and self regulation activities that can be used when needed to support children. This article on using the Mightier program for self-regulation shows how to use the application and game to help a child identify their feelings and utilize coping strategies that impact those various emotional regulation changes. The games adjust to challenge the child as they become more proficient in coping strategies. I designed the regulation tools shown below for individual children to help them better understand and navigate their emotions while identifying strategies that help them shift from a less desirable zone to a more calm and focused space, which is better for participating and learning at school, home, community, church, therapy, or any environmental location where the individual participates.It’s best for children to experience the natural consequences of being in the RED zone. If a child’s actions/choices hurt someone or destroys property, they need to repair the relationship and take responsibility for the mess they create. Once the child has calmed down, use the experience as a learning opportunity to process what the child would do differently next time. One of the common self-regulation programs is the Zones of Regulation. Zones of Regulation Information What are the real benefits of the Zones of Regulation? There’s probably too many to list! A group of us brain stormed together and came up with the most important benefits that we have noticed since using Zones of Regulation; Behavioral regulation refers to decisions related to actions and what we say, do, or think in response to inner thoughts and desires. The green zone is probably the best zone to be in. This is when the individual is at their best for learning and interacting. The green zone is to describe feeling calm, happy, focused, ready to learn etc.