Zones of Regulation
Your children might come home saying, "Mrs. Marks acted crazy in morning meeting today! She took off her shoe, threw her sock, rolled on the ground, snuggled with a classmate, stuck her finger in her ear..." I did....and it was all in good fun and to model expected vs. unexpected behavior during times on the carpet. During group share, I began acting different and they immediately picked up on it. After I couldn't contain my laughing (a good 4 minutes later), we started the discussion about what I was doing and how it made them feel. Right away, someone said uncomfortable, surprised, distracted. From there, we had a conversation about what was expected vs. unexpected when they are on the carpet. Doing what is expected of you, makes you feel proud, makes others happy and helps make you a role model. Lessons such as these are part of the social thinking currciculum called The Zones of Regulation. The Zones of Regulation is designed to foster self-regulation and emotional control. It helps students identify their feelings and guides them in selecting strategies that help them manage these feelings while in any of the 4 zones. As we are building our J13 community,creating rules and learning routines, we are discussing what is expected and unexpecteed during all aspects of the day so that kids feel safe and happy here. Ask your child about our conversations. Talk to them about what strategies they think work for them. Pretty soon, each child will have his/her own toolbox of strategies to pick from. This lets everyone know that all sorts of feelings are normal and you can help yourself through each.
