This set of preschool self-regulation activities is jam-packed with visual supports, and activities to teach self-regulation in little learners! It was created for the early childhood level, but can also be used at the early elementary level with students who are just learning about emotions and working on self-regulation. There are also ideas for sensory activities for autism to help calm children’s bodies.

Basic emotions are addressed in several of the preschool self-regulation activities (see below). There are also several choices for calming strategies that can be used to help students learn self-regulation. The “I feel ____, I need ____” visual support is a great precursor to strategies such as the Zones of Regulation and the Incredible 5 Point Scale. The students learn to identify their feeling (I feel) and choose an activity (I need) using pictures. There is also a 2nd level of sentence strip that adds “because” (e.g. “I feel ___, because ___. I need ___).

I’ve used these preschool self-regulation activities with several young children ages 3-5 and they have responded very positively! I LOVE strategies that really work and are easy to use in the classroom setting. This resource is perfect for early childhood special education teachers, preschool teachers, speech/language pathologists, occupational therapists, school counselors, social workers, and parents. It is a very easy strategy for paraprofessionals to use in classrooms too.