Regulated & Ready Guide - Additional Activities

Snowflake Tapping

Standing with your arms at your side, take a deep breath and raise your arms. Slowly, exhale as you tap the tips of your fingers, across the top of the head, down the sides of the face, the front of the neck, out to opposite shoulders, and down to your arms ending at your hands. Take another deep breath as you raise your arms up to begin again. Repeat as needed.

Rhythmic Hands

Start with one hand in front and one hand in back of the head.

One hand at a time:

• Move the hand on the back of the head to the chest

• Opposite hand to the stomach

• Opposite hand to the back of the head

• Opposite hand to the front of the head

Repeat as needed.

Move Like an Animal

Use animal imitations to engage the vagus nerve and build up a child's ability to be aware of the body. Body awareness is essential to self regulation.

Balancing

Anything, anytime, anywhere.

Magic Arms

Stand in an open doorway. Put your arms at your side. Push the backs of your hands against the door frame keeping your arms straight. Push hands outward firmly against the door-frame for 30 seconds. Step out from the door frame and try to relax your arms. Notice that your arms feel like they are floating upward.

Play Catch

Include different ways and patterns of tossing.

Gimme Gimme This This

Recite the following pattern using the matching hand motions (claps).

Gimme, gimme, this, this.

Gimme, gimme, that, that.

Gimme, this, gimme, that - gimme, gimme, this, that.

This - palms clap to partner’s hand.

That - back of hand clap to partners.

Master Sculptor

Youth are given a set timeline to sculpt the object chosen by the instructor. Try not to give too many directions. Youth walk around after or look at their peers’ creation.

Animal Freeze Dance

Play “Animal Freeze Dance” by The Kiboomers and follow along.

Enhancement: Explore other musical activities by The Kiboomers

Freeze Dance

Play the song “Freeze Dance” by The Kiboomers, and follow along.

Enhancement: Explore other musical activities by The Kiboomers

Weighted Down

Fill a bag or stuffed animal with rice and sit with it on your lap. Fill a backpack with books and go for a walk. Lay down with a weighted blanket. Wear ankle or wrist weights during any activity.

Butterfly Taps

Cross the arms on the chest with the fingertips on the collar bones. Take a few calming belly breaths, deep breaths from the diaphragm where the inhale is shorter than the exhale. Begin tapping the collar bones while focusing on the normal breathing rhythm.

Enhancement: Add affirmations (I am loved, I am calm, I am whole, I can make a difference)

Sing Vowel Sounds

A-E-I-O-U Sing them and hold the sound as long as an out breath. Breathe in for about 6 seconds and as you breathe out slowly sing the vowel. End together (with or without eye contact) and then take a deep breath and sing the next vowel.

Evolution

This is a variation of rock, paper scissors so all students need to be taught how to play. When students pair up for the first time they are all “eggs” and should be crouched down like wobbly eggs for the first round. The winners “evolve” into chickens (clucking and flapping) and move on to find each other while the eggs stay put. The winner of the chicken duel evolves into a dinosaur and finds other dinosaurs. Again the chickens stay frozen. The winners of the dino challenge become human and then begin to match up the lower evolved participants until everyone is human.

Process the game by asking how it felt to be stuck in evolution and then how it felt to be assisted by the humans to evolve themselves. Talk about the importance of encouraging and accompanying others when they are stuck.

Music Scribble

Play a song and have students scribble what they envision the song to look like. When finished, the students can share if their scribble looks like anything and give their art a name. Think about matching the music you choose to the need in the room. Slow music for calming and more upbeat music for energizing and transitioning.

Group Counting

Youth lay on their backs at least an arm's length away from each other or sit in a circle with eyes closed. The teacher or a designated youth starts with 1 and players call our 2,3,4 etc without interrupting each other. If two or more people talk at the same time, start back at 1. Try to set records!

Share the flowers, Smell the flowers

Have a jar of scented cloth flowers available for students to use when the class feels dysregulated.

Each student gets a flower, walks purposefully around the room and then, on cue, shares (exchanges) the flower with a classmate. The students stand together and breathe deeply enjoying the moment (smell, color, texture).

Cotton Ball Soccer

Designate a field and goal area on the floor or table. Using one cotton ball, use a straw to blow the cotton ball around the field to attempt to score a goal on your partner.

Variation: Race your cotton balls to a finish line or try to beat your personal best time.

Untangled

Prep: Use 5 equal pieces of different colored rope and tie them in separate circles about 7-10 mm in diameter. Take a 6th piece, same length, different color, and loop it through all 5 other pieces and tie it off (like keys on a key ring).

Arrange the ropes on the floor so that the “master loop” is not evident. Cover with a cloth until you are ready to play, then remove the cloth and have the group work together to figure out which color is the “master loop” without touching the pile. The group must come to a unanimous decision before they pull up on the rope..

Hum breathing

This breathing exercise involves you specifically activating your Vagus nerve, which is the largest nerve in our bodies that connects all our major organs and bodily functions. Activating this nerve turns our internal alarm system off, and switches on the rest and digest part of the nervous system, bringing a sense of calm and relaxation.

For this exercise, you will take a deep breath in through your nose, and as you exhale you will hum until all the breath has left your lungs. Then, simply repeat five to ten times, or however many times you need! The reason this technique works and can bring an immediate feeling of relaxation is that the humming creates a vibration in your vocal cords, which connects directly to your Vagus nerve. Try this exercise the next time you feel anxious or overwhelmed and pay attention to any release of tension in your body.