4.5: Spaces for Emotional Regulation
- Page ID
- 222443
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The Centering Space is a designated area of the classroom that students can access to support their emotional self-regulation. The area features cozy seating, resources to help students identify their feelings, and a variety of activities to help students regulate their bodies.
When students are dysregulated, they are not equipped to participate and benefit from class-wide activities. Taking a quick pause to regroup enables them to come back refocused.
The Neurosequential Model
Developed by Dr. Bruce Perry
The Centering Space is effective when it supports children in Regulating, Relating, and being ready to Reason.
The Centering Space must have:
- Cozy seating
- Breathing strategies visuals
- Visual representation of common feelings
- Self-regulation tools across the five senses
- Support with problem-solving
Cozy Seating - Place child-size, comfortable seating, such as:
- rug
- beanbag
- couch
- pillows
Breathing Strategies Visual - Post visual representations of strategies for deep breathing.
Visual Representation of Feelings - Hang a poster and/or incorporate Feelings Friends soft toys showing a range of common feelings. You may also add a mirror for students to see their own expressions.
Guidance for using the Centering Space - Hang a poster reminding students of how to use the space, with words and pictures. You could also put the social story in the area.
Self-Regulation Tools - Gather an assortment of tools appropriate to the age and needs of your students. Choose around 6-8 total tools for your class.
Supply items across all 5 senses to help students regulate their brain and body. Ideas include:
- Sight: pictures of family, nature photos, glitter jar, liquid motion timer
- Hearing: noise-canceling headphones, student-chosen music, nature sounds, recordings of family singing familiar songs or giving reassurance
- Touch: stuffed animals, dough, putty, squishies
- Taste: crunchy or chewy snacks, water
- Smell: aromatherapy sachets, lotion, unlit scented candles, scratch-n-sniff
Incorporating calm-down tools that support all five senses ensures that students have a variety of options and can choose what works best for them.
Additional Self-Regulation Tools
Active Calming posters can help students with body movements to promote physiological regulation.
Include additional tools to support students with soothing their vagus nerve through breathing: pinwheel, Hoberman sphere, etc.
Support for Problem-Solving
Include tools students use for problem-solving.
- Peace path steps (or similar process)
- Solution cards
- Class-made books with student-created solutions
Children will need support and practice with each step!
Teach and support children through the following process:
Teaching the Centering Space
Implement a gradual roll-out plan:
Weeks 1-2:
- Prioritize safety and connection through rituals and routines.
- Read a customized Centering Space social story.
- Teach breathing strategies in Strong Start.
Weeks 3-4:
- Use books to teach, practice, and review identifying feelings.
- Model identifying feelings with Feeling Friends.
- Teach one or two self-regulation tools.
- Continue to practice breathing strategies.
Practice recognizing feelings and choosing an activity to self regulate gives children support for understanding their feelings and moving into a regulated state, ready to learn.
Weeks 5-6:
- Brainstorm with the class for how to get help solving the initial problem, and introduce Solution Cards for students who need that support.
- Introduce and practice the Using the Centering Space steps.
- Consider making your Centering Space a center rotation for 2-3 weeks.
- Review social story as needed.
- Continue adding self-regulation tools one at a time, and model how to use each one.
- Continue to practice breathing strategies.
Children are still developing the executive functioning skills to recognize and manage their feelings until their early twenties.
Implementation Tips
Centering Space Helper or Encourager is a student job that may provide peer support as needed.
Do not use the Centering Space as time-out or a punishment. Encourage students to go to the Centering Space and use the tools when they are having big feelings.
If you are concerned about students spending an unnecessarily long time in the Centering Space, you can add a sand timer to the area to provide a sense of time. However, be aware that feelings don't run on a timer and some big feelings may take longer to resolve than the timer takes to tick down.