Kindergarten comes with some BIG feelings.
Our students are learning how to make friends, solve problems, follow classroom routines, communicate what they need, and manage emotions that can sometimes feel much bigger than they are.
This year, I wanted to be more intentional about teaching my kindergarten students what they can do when they’re feeling frustrated, overwhelmed, nervous, excited, or simply need a moment to reset.
So I created a Regulation Station for our classroom.
But this isn’t a space I’m planning to simply send students to when they’re upset.
Instead, I want it to be something we learn about, practice, and use throughout the school year as we build our self-regulation skills.
The goal is simple:
Notice → Choose → Regulate → Return
Here’s how I’m setting it up.
What Is a Kindergarten Regulation Station?
A regulation station is a designated space where students can access tools and strategies that help them practice self-regulation.
For my kindergarten classroom, I wanted the station to be simple, visual, and easy for young students to understand.
Most importantly, I don’t want it to feel like a punishment or a place where students are sent away from the classroom community.
Instead, I want students to learn that having emotions is normal and that there are strategies they can practice when they need help getting their bodies ready to learn.
Why I Created a Regulation Station in My Kindergarten Classroom
I believe self-regulation is something we need to teach, not simply expect.
A five-year-old doesn’t automatically know what to do when they’re frustrated because someone took their toy, nervous about trying something new, or overwhelmed by everything happening around them.
Those are skills they are still developing.
So before I introduce the Regulation Station to my students, we’re going to spend time learning about emotions and practicing different strategies together.
We’ll talk about what different emotions look and feel like, how we can recognize those feelings, and what we can do when we need to help our bodies calm down.
That way, when students eventually need to use the station, the tools and strategies won’t be completely unfamiliar.
They’ll already have practiced them.
The 4 Steps of Our Kindergarten Regulation Station
I wanted the process to be simple enough for kindergarten students to remember, so our station follows four steps:
NOTICE → CHOOSE → REGULATE → RETURN
1. NOTICE
The first step is to notice how you’re feeling.
Before students can choose a strategy, they need to begin developing the ability to recognize and communicate their emotions.
We’ll use different tools to help students explore and identify their feelings.
For example, students can use our feelings puppets, sensory bottles, or a hand mirror to help them identify what they’re experiencing.
These aren’t meant to tell a student exactly how they’re feeling. Instead, they give students different ways to explore and communicate their emotions.
Tools for identifying emotions
Some of the materials I’m using for this part of our station include:
- Feelings Family Hand Puppets
- Express Your Feelings Sensory Bottles
- Hand Mirrors
- Emotion Blocks
- Emotions Modeling Mats
I’m also using social-emotional books during our whole-group instruction so we’re not only talking about feelings when a student is having a difficult moment.
2. CHOOSE
Once students have identified how they’re feeling, the next step is to choose a strategy.
This is one part of the station that I’m particularly excited about because different strategies work for different students.
One student might benefit from practicing slow breathing.
Another might prefer something tactile.
Rather than assuming that one strategy will work for every child, I want my students to have opportunities to try different strategies and begin figuring out what helps them.
Our calming tools include things like:
- Calming Breathing Boards
- Jumbo Calming Tool Cards
- Sensory tools
- Sensory bottles
The tools give students something concrete to practice rather than simply being told to “calm down.”
3. REGULATE
After choosing a strategy, students will spend a few minutes practicing it.
I’m using a timer to give this part of the process a clear beginning and end.
For kindergarten students, having a visual or concrete understanding of how long they will be using the station can make the process much easier to understand.
The goal isn’t to spend a long period of time away from the classroom.
It’s to take a short amount of time to practice a strategy and work toward becoming regulated and ready to rejoin the group.
4. RETURN
The last step is returning to learning.
This is an important part of my plan because I don’t want the Regulation Station to become a place where students stay indefinitely.
After practicing their strategy, students will check in with themselves again.
They can choose an emotion stone that represents how they’re feeling and either hand it to me or leave it on my desk.
This gives me another opportunity to understand how they’re feeling and determine whether I need to check in with them.
- Jumbo Calming Tools Cards
- Feelings Family Hand Puppets
- Emotions Blocks
- Calming Breathing Boards
- Calming Corner Poster Pack
- Express Your Feelings Sensory Bottles
- Calm-Down Time Board Book
- Jumbo Sand Timer
- Sensory Stress Balls
- Know Your Emotions Books
- Hand Mirrors
Then the goal is to return to the classroom and continue learning.
The goal isn’t to stay at the station.
The goal is to use a strategy, regulate, and return to learning.
What I’m Putting in My Kindergarten Regulation Station
I partnered with Discount School Supply to create this Regulation Station, and they sent me a variety of materials that I’ll be using throughout this process.
Some of the products I’m using include:
One thing I really like about this collection is that the materials don’t all have to live on the regulation cart.
Some of them will be used during our whole-group lessons and morning meetings, while others will be available for students to use when they need a strategy.
That makes the materials useful beyond just one small area of the classroom.
Shop the Discount School Supply materials I’m using for our Regulation Station
Some of the products featured in this post were gifted to me by Discount School Supply as part of a creator collaboration. This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a commission from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you.
How I’ll Introduce the Regulation Station to My Students
I’m not planning to introduce the cart one day and immediately expect my students to know what to do.
We’ll practice first.
During our morning meetings, we’ll talk about different emotions and what they might feel like in our bodies.
We’ll practice recognizing emotions.
We’ll learn different calming strategies.
We’ll practice those strategies together when everyone is calm.
And we’ll talk about when and how the Regulation Station can be used.
I want students to understand that the station isn’t a reward, a punishment, or a way to avoid classroom activities.
It’s a tool they can use when they need to practice a strategy and get themselves ready to learn.
How to Keep a Regulation Station From Becoming a Time-Out Space
For me, the biggest difference between a regulation station and a traditional time-out space is the purpose behind it.
I’m not sending students to the station because they’re “in trouble.”
I’m teaching students that emotions are part of being human and that they can learn strategies for managing those emotions.
That doesn’t mean students get to avoid expectations or classroom responsibilities.
It means we’re giving them an opportunity to practice the skills they need to meet those expectations.
The station is simply one tool within our larger classroom approach to teaching self-regulation, problem-solving, and responsibility.
Teaching Self-Regulation Before Students Need It
One of the biggest things I want to emphasize is that these strategies need to be practiced before students are in the middle of a big emotional moment.
We practice classroom procedures before we expect students to follow them independently.
We practice letter sounds before we expect students to read words.
And we can practice regulation strategies before students actually need to use them.
My hope is that, over time, my students will become more familiar with their own emotions and more confident in choosing strategies that help them regulate.
Eventually, I want the tools to become less important than the skills they’re learning.
A Regulation Station Is Just One Part of the Bigger Picture
I’m excited about our new Regulation Station, but I don’t expect one cart to solve every behavior or emotional challenge that comes up in kindergarten.
It’s simply one part of how I’m teaching my students about emotions and self-regulation.
We’ll continue talking about feelings during morning meetings, reading social-emotional books, practicing strategies together, solving problems as a classroom community, and helping students develop the language they need to communicate what they’re experiencing.
The cart simply gives us a physical, consistent place to practice those skills.
I’m excited to see how my kindergarteners respond to it throughout the school year.
My hope is that they’ll learn to recognize how they’re feeling, choose a strategy that works for them, practice that strategy, and then feel ready to return to learning.
Because ultimately, the goal isn’t to create a perfect calm-down space.
It’s to help children develop skills they can carry with them long after they leave the kindergarten classroom.
Want to See the Regulation Station?
I shared a video showing the setup and walking through how I’m planning to use the station with my kindergarten students.
You can also find me on Instagram for more kindergarten classroom ideas, routines, and hands-on learning activities.
https://www.instagram.com/smellsliketeachspirit?stkn=cHBqYmFlcGo0Mms5&utm_source=qr
And if you’d like to see the materials I’m using for our Regulation Station:
SHOP THE DISCOUNT SCHOOL SUPPLY MATERIALS
Disclosure: I received products from Discount School Supply as part of a gifted creator collaboration. This post also contains affiliate links. I may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through my links.
