My Favorite Strategies

When supporting kids at home, we can use simple, yet effective strategies to encourage their mood, emotional regulation, and motivation throughout the day.

Here are my favorite tips, tricks, tools, and strategies that I use to support kids of all ages!

Interactive Journal

Find a coping tool or strategy in their calm space.

It’s important that our children have tools and strategies that they know are going to support them, and building their toolbox is key. My favorite tool is this incredible interactive Feelings Journal that your children can use in their calm space. Kiddos will drag and drop visuals to identify how they are feeling, and then they will be able to choose strategies to support themselves from a menu of options. Kids can choose as many strategies as they want, and they will be prompted with activities and videos they can use right away.

If you’re going to do ONE thing in your home to support your child and their feelings, I highly suggest THIS! 

Check Back In

Use the phrase “CHECK BACK IN” to keep your child on track, motivated, and completing tasks at home. Just using a simple phrase can easily direct your child back to the main focus, without creating a power struggle or accusatory framework of language.

Show Me What I Can Do For You

Use this phrase to ease frustration and avoid escalation to get your kiddo back on track.

And when in doubt, MODEL the expected behavior for them so that we’re TEACHING and not EXPECTING!

Mood Meter

Use the MOOD METER to identify how they’re feeling, and choose a strategy or tool they can use to support themselves.

Have your child identify their level of pleasantness and their level of energy. Then have them choose a word to describe how they are feeling. After identifying how they feel, children can choose strategies that they can use on the spot, and throughout the day, to help support them.

These simple strategies are great and powerful for kids of all ages and abilities. Start implementing these with your kids and watch your home turn from chaos to calm!

Join Heart Hero Teaching to get access to all of the SELebrate Good Times Visuals and more!

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Disclaimer: The resources and ideas found on this website are all research-based and vetted with a parent and educator lens. The tools listed have worked for students and children that I work with; however, each child is different. This list is not exhaustive and is a compilation of ideas and strategies to try in schools or at home. No information on this website should be used as medical advice. I am not a clinical psychologist, but I do work alongside them as thought partners in this journey.