At Lakeland Ridge we are taking intentional steps to enhance understanding and awareness of regulation and how our brains work with both students and staff. Our goal is to nurture emotional resilience and well-being among our students and school community.
Below are a sampling of regulatory strategies that we're practicing at the school to keep our amygdalas calm. Try some of these at home!
Place your non-dominant hand on a flat surface (the desk, your leg, etc). Use your finger to trace your hand without lifting it - up, down, and around each finger. As you do this, you should pay attention to your breathing and focus on the continuous movement of your finger. You can breathe in as you trace up and breathe out when you trace down. Do this for a minimum of 30 seconds!
This strategy is great for when you're feeling overwhelmed and need a quiet way to calm yourself at your desk.
While sitting, clap both hands once. Then hit your lap with both hands. Clap once more and then miss a clap (for the miss move your hands like you are going to high five the person to your LEFT and your RIGHT). Repeat for 30 seconds and see how fast you can go. HINT: Try as a class to say the motions out loud together while going through the actions.
Place your right fingers on your right shoulder and your left fingers on your left shoulder (lift them high so that your elbows are at a 90-degree angle). First shoulder twist to the left and inhale the entire time you are turning left. Next twist and exhale to the right. Try to keep your breathing slow AND remember your inhale should be shorter than your exhale!! Try to repeat this for 30 seconds to 1 minute.
Here is a great regulation practice that you can practice with your child at home over the break!
5 Things Exercise - Try to write them down or say them out loud.
This focused attention strategy is a good one to use when you are having overwhelming emotions as this helps guide your mind back to calm and redirects your thoughts.
To try out previous week's regulation strategies, check out the Regulation Strategies page on our school website.
Start from the top of your body, clenching your face, hands and abdomen and hold for 10 seconds (try to hold your breath as well). Release after the 10 seconds and breathe out. Try this again 3 times (10 seconds in between each clench and release). Here is what you should look like! This is an example of a body grounding activity. Body grounding activities are beneficial for students as they help reduce stress, improve focus, and enhance emotional regulation.
Start by moving your right-hand up and down in a rollercoaster-like motion, then at the SAME time move your left-hand side to side like a slithering snake. Try keeping these motions going for 20-30 seconds (if you can!) If you reach Expert mode, try switching arm movements while in motion!
Begin with your hands at your sides. As you inhale, slowly raise your arms until your palms touch above your head with straight arms, imagining that you are painting a rainbow with your fingertips! As you exhale, gently lower your hands to your sides, painting a rainbow from the top down. Repeat!