Zones of Regulation

The Zones of Regulation splits emotions into 4 coloured zones: 

Blue: Emotions that “slow you down” e.g. tired, bored, sad.

Green: When you are feeling “Ready to Learn” e.g. happy, calm.

Yellow: Emotions that make you feel “sped up” e.g. excited, nervous, silly

Red: Emotions when you are feeling out of control e.g. shouting, hitting

At Lisburne school, each class is accessing the Zones of Regulation to support the children with self-regulation, which is the ability to bring yourself up when you are feeling down, and bring yourself down when you are feeling up. Children check-in each morning and afternoon, using relevant strategies for their stage of development, as well as when needed throughout the day.

Some children check in by the adult labelling the emotions for the child based on the emotion the child is displaying, e.g. “John is feeling happy”. The adult labelling the emotion will use the appropriate object of reference to check in with these children. If the child is not feeling green and ready to learn, they will then be given an appropriate choice of regulating strategy using objects of reference or symbols, e.g. a tube of bubbles or an exercise ball.

Other children check in using check in individual cards. The children will say how they are feeling with support from the adults and then choose a strategy to help them to regulate e.g. deep pressure or counting to ten.

Useful links

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1cnNsTPRaA Zones of Regulation explained

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzeKZz8Iw7s Examples of what the Zones look like from Disney