Self-Regulation
The Kindergarten Program
set limits for themselves and manage their own emotion, attention, and behaviour
essential to the development of learning skills and work habits
Domains:
internal motivation - not compliance
observing and wait time, modelling
environment - choice, caring, inclusive, safe
What is Self-Reg?
a method for understanding stress and managing energy levels
stress - things that burn energy
obvious (overt) stress
hidden stress
negative stress
positive stress - burn energy but promote growth
or creates more energy than it burns
Steps
- Reframing - recognize stress behaviours
- Identify the stresses
- Reduce the stress
- Developing strategies that
promote restoration and resilience
- Becoming stress aware
What You Need to Know:
Self-Reg in the Early Years
programs designed to instill self-control only have short term success
managing energy expenditure in response to
stressors and then recover from the effort
Common stressors
biology
poor sleep
poor diet
lack of physical activity
environment
Developing Self-Regulation in Kindergarten
Brain Development in the Early Years
a deep, internal mechanism that enables people to engage in mindful, intentional, and thoughtful behaviours.
- inhibit one behaviour
- engage in another behaviour on demand
predicts later academic success
self-regulation gets stronger with practice
Promote self-regulation
- Teach self-regulation to all children
- Create opportunities for children to practice.
- Use visual and tangible reminders.
- Play and games:
children set, negotiate and follow the rules.
Understanding Self-Regulation
Relationship and Connecting
Connecting vs Directing
Connection to and trust of teachers
leads to fewer behaviour problems
reinforcing desired behaviour
strong social and emotional literacy
leads to thriving individuals
punitive behaviour management teaches
that the bigger person wins
develop internal discipline
the ways in which a person copes with and recovers from ongoing stress (states of arousal)
In the classroom
each student reacts differently to different stressors
biological
emotional
cognitive
social
prosocial
get to know students
build relationships
use calming activities (down-regulating activities)
build teacher self-regulation
consider the environment
teach students to recognize their own signs of states of arousal
teach mindfulness and meditation
it will take time
use physical activities (up-regulating strategies)