This is one of our favourite areas of teaching positive behaviour for learning at Lyttelton School. By teaching Emotional Regulation, we are giving our children lifelong skills to manage their ever present emotions in a constructive and positive way.

The following explains the concept of Emotional Regulation really well:

All of us experience emotions of various kinds and attempt to cope with these emotions in either effective or ineffective ways. It is not the experience of anxiety that is the real problem. It is our ability to recognise our anxiety, accept it, use it if possible, and continue to function in spite of it. Without emotions, our lives would lack meaning, texture, richness, joy, and connection with others. Emotions tell us about our needs, our frustrations, and our rights—they motivate us to make changes, escape from difficult situations, or know when we are satisfied. Yet there are many people who find themselves overwhelmed by their emotions, fearful of their feelings, and unable to cope because they believe their sadness or anxiety prohibits effective behaviour. (Psychotherapy in Australia, Vol 19 No 1, November 2012)

This term we are giving our students the opportunity to firstly label emotions and feelings - which is the basis of being able to personally identify what they may be feeling.

We are doing activities that support our tamariki to make further connections with each other, name emotions and how we can categorise these into four zones called 'The Zones of Regulation' supporting them to recognise different emotions within themselves using I feel...when...statements.

It is important to note that it is okay that we feel different zones at different times; this is expected and part of being who we are and helps us understand why others may act in different ways.

We encourage family/whānau to spend time talking together about what zone they are in & how they are feeling in different situations.

You might like to enjoy the following video clips / stories together:

• The Way I Feel

• The Colour Monster

• In my heart

• Guess the emotions

• Inside out - Guess the feeling

Also, you could choose an emotion, and together with your child make up a story about someone feeling that emotion, get your child to come up with a situation that has led to the character feeling a certain way. Let them use their imagination and creativity.

Other activities you might like to try at home:

• The Faces Game
• Musical Emotions
• Emotional Rollercoaster
• Sliding Emotions
• Tummy Breathing
• Magic Minute
• Hikitia te Hā

Over the coming weeks, we will look at ngākau aroha, and being able to recognise how others may be feeling. We will delve into effective strategies that can be used for overcoming obstacles - e.g. calming strategies, as well as strategies for persevering when things get tough, and being able to deal with mistakes by treating them as learning opportunities.

How to help kids keep calm - is a parenting article with some great tips.

We would love parents to be cued into using these strategies with their children at home, too. Keep in touch with what we’re covering each fortnight in the school newsletter, and drop a few key phrases into your conversations with your children.