The Zones of Regulation is a curriculum designed to help students build awareness around their own feelings as well as learn helpful strategies to assist in emotional regulation. There are four color (Blue, Green, Yellow, and Red) that are used to help children visualize how they are feeling in a particular moment.
Blue: used to describe low states of alertness/arousal level and feelings such as when one feels sad, sick, tired, or bored.
Green: used to describe a calm state of alertness/arousal level such as being happy, focused, content, or ready to learn.
Yellow: used to describe a heightened state of alertness/arousal level and elevated emotions. However, in this zone, one still has control over their emotions. A person may be feeling stressed, frustration, anxiety, excitement, silliness, nervousness.
Red: used to describe extremely heightened states of alertness/arousal level and intense emotions. A person may be feeling anger, rage, devastation, or terror.
A key aspect of the Zones that should be explained to children who are using this method, is that there are no “good” and “bad” Zones. This framework teaches children that it is natural and okay to end up in any of these four Zones, but that there are techniques that can be used to recognize when one is drifting away from the Green Zone and entering one of the other three. In this sense, the Zones help children identify their emotions and state of alertness/arousal level as well as triggers and/or instances that make them drift towards Blue, Yellow, or Red.
To help children remain in one of these Zones or to move between the Zones, they utilize their Toolbox:
The concept of the Toolbox is that it is a collection of calming strategies and techniques that a child can sort through and pick from depending on what their current state and need is. Every toolbox is unique and specific to the needs of the child. The teacher or therapist that is working with your child will use the lessons within this curriculum to help your child discover circumstances and situations that cause him/her to move from zone to zone.
Differences in Toolboxes: You may be wondering why toolboxes are developed differently for each child. The answer has to do with self-regulation, a basis for The Zones of Regulation. Self-regulation, more frequently referred to as self-control, is a person’s ability to adjust their level of alertness/arousal level as well as how they display their emotions through their behavior to attain their goals. The need for different strategies and tools is dependent upon a person’s ability to self-regulate, as well as their integration of sensory processing, executive functioning, and emotional regulation.
Sensory Processing: the differences that can occur between toolboxes as a result of sensory processing might best be explained through the use of two comparing examples:
- A student may be able to process what is being written on the whiteboard, yet they may be overwhelmed by additional stimuli they are receiving (their itchy clothes, noise in the hallway, certain smells in the classroom). The student may appear to be distracted and irritated.
- A student becomes restless during the day from sitting at a desk for too long. This student may be craving additional stimuli and may seek ways to experience movement or proprioceptive input.
One student is hyper-responsive, unable to filter out stimuli or becoming sensitive to small amounts of sensation. The other student is hyposensitive, in which the student seeks out intense input to feel “just right”. The differences in a child’s sensory processing are why The Zones of Regulation curriculum is a client-centered approach and crafts the toolbox specifically to the needs of that child.
Executive Functioning: A child’s ability to effectively use these executive functioning skills will impact his or her ability to overcome problems when they are faced with them. When a child is faced with an undesirable event, their problem-solving skills will determine if they are able to remain in the Green Zone, or if they will drift towards another Zone. Lessons within this curriculum will help your child gain the skills necessary to increase these problem-solving skills.
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- Attention Shifting: being able to take notes while listening to a lecture
- Working Memory: updating the files in the brain with new information
- Internalization of Speech: self-talk
- Flexible Thinking: considering multiple options
- Planning: organizing one’s thoughts and executing a plan to reach goals
- Inhibition: impulse control
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Emotional Regulation: Lastly, emotional regulation is the process that is in control of your emotional reactions. A child’s ability to have objectivity, motivation, and understanding of other’s perspective’s will again determine his or her ability to self-regulate. Based on these three cognitive elements, a child will monitor, evaluate, and modify the intensity and timing of the emotional response differently.
The App
Available in: Google Play, Amazon Appstore, Apple Appstore, and Mac App Store Cost: $5.99 – $9.99
The tools and strategies that are taught through the Zones of Regulation framework are now available through an app that has been made accessible across multiple platforms (listed above). The app provides children the ability to learn about their emotions, while doing so through an engaging experience with fun mini games, a picture studio, and different teaching methods.
Now, let’s take a walk through the App together! (Click Me)
Photo Center
The Photo Center gives various scenarios related to the four Zones, in which your child can read and then describe how this situation would have made them feel. 
They can then take a photo using your devices camera that represents this emotion. This tool will allow your child to see what that emotion looks like on them, offering them physiological cues.
Lazy 8 Breathing and The Six Sides of Breathing
Both of these tools will walk your child through guided breathing. Your child may benefit from this tool in times of heightened emotions, to help regulate and move between the Zones. After practicing this technique within the app, you can begin to guide your child in using this tool in his or her daily routines outside of the app!
Match the Face
Throughout activities and lessons in the app, your child will learn what emotions are associate
with each of the four Zones. In the Match the Face portion of the app, your child can then test what they’ve learned in this interactive mini game. As your child advances, they can choose between Novice, Intermediate, or Advanced level of difficulty.
Key takeaway: The Zones of Regulation are used to help a person recognize where they are at and the activities to help them get to the optimal zone.
The Zones of Regulation framework can be used with children from Pre-K to 12th grade and is designed to help all children who are struggling with self-regulation. More can be learned about The Zones of Regulation at the following website: https://zonesofregulation.com/learn-more-about-the-zones.html
