![]() ![]() I wanted to make sure that students weren’t casting a negative or positive tone on any of the feelings. Looking at the lists they generated, they could identify with how it feels when our energy is low, elevated, balanced, or out of control. This brainstorming session helped me take the zones out of the box and make it come alive for the students. ![]() I was very impressed how the students articulated their feelings in each zone and deepened their understanding of the range of emotions we might feel throughout our day. The Red zone: Students described this zone as feeling mad, angry, explosive, extreme, elevated, at your witts end, fed up, short tempered, violent, aggressive, want to be alone, isolated, out of control and had enough. The Yellow Zone: Students described this zone as feeling frustrated, anxious, over-excited, about to blow up, nervous, irritated, stressed, hyper, fidgety, twitchy, grumpy, unable, tense, unfocused, ready to burst, on edge, impatient, ecstatic, caution, needing relief. The Green Zone: Students described this zone as feeling happy, good, ready to learn, strong, comfortable, kind, nice, helpful, well rested, confident, awake, focused, in the zone, up beat, patient, proud, mindful and calm. The Blue Zone: Students described this zone as feeling tired, sad, bored, sick, lonely, unhappy, slow, hungry, depressed, lethargic, emotional, drained, lazy, played out, out of it, confused, need a friend, low energy, annoyed, grumpy, forgetful, uncomfortable, shy and not ready to learn. So with each class, after introducing the basic ‘feeling’ attached to each zone, we brainstormed a more extensive list on how else you may be feeling in that zone. One of my struggles with this program was that I know kids have a much wider range of emotion and what if they don’t identify with any of those in a particular moment? The program offers a list of basic emotions attached to each zone: The red zone is represented by the stop sign as it is when we have lost control and need to pause or stop what we are doing. The yellow zone is represented by the slow sign as it is when we need to exercise caution or slow down. Our energy is usually heightened in this state. The green zone is represented by the green light as it is the ‘good to go’ zone. The blue zone is represented by the rest area sign, as it is when our energy is low and we need to stop to re-energize ourselves. There are four zones, often represented with these four road signs: The goal is to have students be able to identify their emotional state or ‘zone’ independently throughout their day, and then with the introduction of a variety of tools and strategies be able to choose one that will help them regulate their feelings and be ready to face their day in a more optimal state. Upon further investigation, I realized that the ‘heart’ of the program spoke to the ‘hows’ and ‘whys’ of self-regulation in the classroom. I guess this was a personal test in approaching something more mindfully. However, a dear colleague of mine tested the program in her class for a few years and recommended that I give it another look. I am not very good at putting things in boxes, I am usually trying to take things out. It seemed to be a rather rigid way of identifying emotions with too many categories and boxes. To be honest, when I first learnt about this program I wasn’t ‘moved’ by it in any life changing way. I have introduced the classes to the Zones of Regulation Curriculum. Now that we have established an understanding of our brain’s limbic system which is in charge of our emotions and behaviour, it is time to become familiar with the range of emotions we may feel throughout the day and what we can do to help manage them, or self-regulate. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |