Self Regulation Movement Activities

  1. Swishing: Stand up and extend arms out wide, cross your left arm across your body to bring your left hand to meet your right hand (right hand still extended), and switch sides, swishing from side to side.

  2. Weather tapping: like a light rain, very gently tap the top of your head with your finger tips, move down your neck, face, arms, body, and legs. Second, make the “rain” harder, third, cup your hands and (gently) pat your body 

  3. Shake countdown : starting at 10 and counting down, shake out one hand, the other, one foot, and the other. Then, start at nine, and repeat; can add shaking out your head, shoulders, hips, etc. 

  4. Anchor breathing: Run in place, jog with high knees, do butt kickers, or jumping jacks for ten seconds (count backwards down from ten) and then say: If you feel comfortable, close your eyes, or soften your gaze looking at something still in front of you. Starting with the top of your head, and moving down your body, pay attention and try to feel where in your body you feel your heart beat hardest. Place your hands, one on top of the other, on that spot. If you feel it in two places, place one hand on each spot. It could be your heart, your belly, your throat, or anywhere else. This is your anchor spot. Anytime you feel yourself getting upset, put your hands on this spot and see if you can feel your heart beating again, and take deep breaths until it slows down. 

  5. Emotion poses: Call out an emotion (start simple: happy, sad, upset, excited) and have kids silently act out the emotion with their movement or body pose. Progress to more complicated emotions (disappointed, bored, jolly, surprised) 

  6. (For small groups or families) Standing in a circle, have each kid say their name and do a movement to go with it. Go around the circle, adding a new student each round and see if the group can remember everyone.  

  7. Affirmation chanting: Come up with a four word Mantra, or positive phrase, you want to chant- something like “Peace begins with me” or “I am a friend.” Have kids hold up one hand in front of them, fingers spread wide - pressing thumb and index finger together, say “Peace,” tap middle finger and thumb together and say, “Begins,” Ring finger and thumb: “With",” pinky finger and thumb: “Me.” Repeat with different volumes, with silly voice, etc.