Zones of Emotional Regulation

Hello EC Families!

During our Feelings/Emotions Unit, we learn about a lot of different feelings and the zones that they fall into--green, blue, yellow, or red. Being able to identify emotions is very beneficial for all of us. Simply being able to name what you are feeling actually helps to calm your amygdala! This is one reason why it is so important for children to learn to name their feelings. Here are the feelings and zones that we learn about in class:

Green Zone - happy, calm, okay, focused, ready to learn, can do my best, show expected behaviors

Blue Zone - sad, tired, sick, bored

Yellow Zone - silly, frustrated, excited, worried

Red Zone - mad/angry, mean, terrified, hitting/yelling

We also learn that even though it is okay to experience all of these feelings, there are strategies or tools that we can use to get back to the Green Zone. We will learn more specific strategies throughout the year, but here are a few:
1) Take a break (in our classroom, we use the Cozy Corner)
2) Go for a walk (with a grown-up)
3) Drink water
4) Talk to an adult
5) Use breathing strategies (these will be learned throughout the year)
6) Use a calm down strategy (these will be learned throughout the year)

You can help your child at this at home by:

• Helping your child identify what he is feeling
• Reminding your child of things she can do to feel better and offering to do them with her
• Practicing breathing and calm down strategies when your child is in the Green Zone. This will help your child be more likely to use them when in the Blue, Yellow, or Red Zone.