Self-regulation is the ability to effectively manage your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. It’s the ability that helps kids to manage everyday emotions, focus well on tasks, and positively connect with others. While it’s an important skill throughout the whole year, self-regulation strategies become even more critical for kids before and after winter or holiday break. With the change in routines, increased indoor time, and potential for holiday stress, children and young adults often need extra support this time of year.
That’s where self-regulation activities can come in. Practicing these skills can (and should) be fun!
Here are 10 engaging activities to help your kids and teens practice self-regulation skills this winter season:
Winter Breathing Activities
What it is: Deep breathing exercises to help calm the body and mind (with a winter theme).
How to give it a try: Start by explaining what mindful breathing is – by focusing on our inhales and exhales, we can calm our body and mind. It helps to think of mindful breathing as a way to hit the pause button. Instead of just reacting to our immediate feelings or impulses, we can take some slow and deep breaths. With practice, this can help us feel calm, relaxed, and focused. Best of all, it’s a great self-regulation strategy you can use anytime.
Here are a few winter breathing exercises to try together:
- Winter Breeze – Slowly breathe in. Feel the chilly winter breeze as it enters your nose. Slowly breathe out and relax.
- Snowman Breathing – Imagine you are a snowman standing strong, solid, and still. Slowly breathe in and out.
- Penguin Breathing – Pretend you are a penguin walking across an icy landscape. Slowly breathe in and out with each careful step you take.
Why it works: Simply put, learning to focus on the breath is a foundational self-regulation exercise. Mindful breathing activates the parasympathetic nervous system, the part of our bodies that allows us to truly rest and relax. Additionally, a huge amount of research has shown that mindful breathing exercises support self-regulation, boost focus, and create an overall sense of calm.
Outdoor Nature Walk
What it is: An outside exploration walk focused on noticing our surroundings – what we see, feel, hear, smell, and taste in the moment.
How to get started: Review some expectations for going on an outdoor nature walk, such as sticking with the group and respecting nature. Then, bundle up and head outside! As you walk, encourage kids to use their senses to notice what’s around them. You might see a hawk soaring high up in the air and feel the chilly breeze hitting your face.
After the walk, you can give time for students share their findings with others or write about what they experienced.
Of course, if you can’t get outside, you can always try a nature themed brain break together.
Why it works: Research has shown that spending time in nature helps to reduce stress, strengthen attention, and improve overall mood and well-being. By noticing what is around us, we are actually practicing mindfulness. In addition, getting outside is a great way to encourage exercise and getting extra sunshine, something we all need more of during the winter months.
Winter Gratitude
What it is: Taking time to reflect on what we are thankful for during the winter season.
How to give it a try: Give time to share what you are thankful for this winter. Make a simple list on the board to start. You might include things like the hot cocoa, holidays, skiing, and extra time with family. Next, encourage kids to dig deeper and be really specific about what they are grateful for. For example, you might be thankful for the warm feeling of sunshine on your face on a chilly winter day.
You can also use gratitude sentence starters:
- A winter memory I feel grateful for is when…
- Something simple I feel grateful for this…
- This winter, I am grateful for…
- One winter activity I feel grateful for is…
Lastly, you can always turn winter gratitude into a journal writing activity. Students can write about what they feel grateful for, draw a picture, and share with the class.
Why it works: Practicing gratitude helps rewire our brains to focus on the positive. Science and research tells us that gratitude has a number of benefits – reduced stress, improved mood, stronger resilience, improved sleep, and overall greater feelings of well-being.
Mindful Winter Coloring
What it is: Mindfully coloring winter-themed pages to give extra time for focus and relaxation.
How to give it a try: Begin by passing out winter coloring pages (or have kids draw their own from scratch). Allow students to use and share coloring supplies like colored pencils, crayons, and gel pens. As kids color, encourage them to slow down and breathe. With mindful coloring, the goal is not to create a perfectly designed piece of art. Instead, the goal is to relax, breathe, and just be. Choose your own coloring pages or give these positive self-talk winter coloring pages a try.
Why it works: Mindful coloring is an evidence-based tool to reduce stress, lessen feelings of anxiety, and improve mood. Since coloring doesn’t require stillness like meditation, it can be an incredibly helpful self-regulation strategy for kids who need movement.
Cozy Reading Time
What it is: Getting comfortable with a good book to promote relaxation and connection.
How to get started: Set the tone by playing a video of a fireplace. Next, you can choose to have students read silently on their own or share a read aloud. While both are great options, a read aloud also has the added benefit of building connection and co-regulation.
Why it works: Simply put, reading helps us feel calm. Research has found that reading can help lower stress levels, ease muscle tension, enhance empathy, and promote long-term well-being. Getting immersed in a good book also provides a healthy focus from other stressors throughout the day – a positive break we can all use.
Winter Sensory Bins
What it is: A hands-on activity where kids explore bins that are filled with winter-themed materials.
How to give it a try: Gather large containers and fill them with safe sensory items with a winter theme. Some examples include:
- Small figurines like snowmen
- Toy animals like penguins or polar bears
- Cotton balls as “snow”
- Nature items like sticks and pine cones
- Shredded paper
- Pom-poms in different colors
- Spoons and scoops to dig and move materials
Why it works: Sensory bins use tactile play to encourage mindfulness, calm, and focus. They can also support other important abilities like fine motor skills, storytelling, and curiosity.
Hot Cocoa Sip
What it is: A simple mindful activity that encourages calm and relaxation.
How to give it a try: Bring in supplies for hot cocoa in the classroom! Invite students to mindfully enjoy their cup of hot cocoa. Hold it in your hands and feel the warmth. Smell the sweet aroma. Slowly sip and taste the drink. It also helps to pause between sips, paying careful attention to the entire experience. Note that if you don’t have hot cocoa available, this mindful activity can be done with any food or drink.
Why it works: Sipping hot cocoa is more than just a treat; it’s mindfulness in action. Focusing on the sensations of the hot cocoa helps quiet the mind, creating a moment to practice calm and comfort. Warm drinks like hot cocoa also naturally relax muscles and send signals to calm the central nervous system.
Winter Imagination
What it is: Taking time to visualize a relaxing winter scene.
How to get started: Encourage kids to close their eyes and imagine a calming winter scene. Guide them with simple sensory prompts such as: What do you see around you? What do you hear? What do you feel? What can you smell and almost taste? You can use any winter setting, but here are a few to give a try:
- Sitting by a fireplace during a snowstorm
- Walking through the snowy woods
- Watching snowflakes fall outside your window
- A walk in a snowy park
Why it works: Visualization helps us practice calming our bodies and minds. By focusing on a relaxing mental image, we can shift into a state of calm.
Winter Crafts
What it is: Hands-on creative projects with a winter theme.
How to give it a try: Gather any craft materials you want students to use. You can choose to direct them on the artwork they are making, or give them more flexibility and freedom to create their own unique pieces. Students can try creating:
- Winter trees
- Paper snowflakes
- Pinecone or wreath ornaments
- Any winter scene
Need some SEL crafts you can use right away? Check out this Social Emotional Learning Crafts and Hands-On Activities set! They don’t have a winter theme, but you can use them to teach self-regulation and other skills throughout the year.
Why it works: Hands-on crafts help engage fine motor skills and creativity, offering a calming structured activity. Learners and practicing self-regulation skills as they focus their attention, follow each step, and manage emotions when things don’t go perfectly.
Play Winter-Themed Music
What it is: Mindfully listening to winter-themed music to create a calm and focused atmosphere
How to give it a try: Choose gentle and calming winter-themed songs. Instrumental tracks are a great place to start, such as songs with piano or guitar. Play the music during transitions, independent work sessions, or just background music anytime. As a mindful activity, you can encourage kids to close their eyes and imagine a winter scene as they listen.
Why it works: Music is an incredibly powerful tool for self-regulation, focus, and calm. Hearing the music and listening carefully can help trigger a relaxation response, allowing for stronger calm and focus throughout the day.
Winter Freeze Dance
What it is: A playful movement activity where kids dance to music and practice self-control by freezing when they hear a winter-themed word or phrase.
How to get started: Play music and allow kids to dance and move around. Then, have students “freeze” when they hear a winter vocabulary word, such as snowman or icicle. You can add your own words to the list, or have students come up with them beforehand.
Why it works: Freeze dance builds self-regulation skills by allowing kids to practice listening carefully, managing their own bodies, and shifting between movement and stillness.
Learn about more games to practice self-control and self-regulation skills with your learners.
More Self-Regulation Ideas
There are countless ways to work on self-regulation skills with kids and teens. Here are a few to check out:
- Self-control lessons for self-regulation and executive functioning skills – Use detailed step-by-step lessons to teach about self-control and why it matters. Kids will learn how to “hit the pause button”, stop and think, and more.
- Coping strategies visual poster – Use a free printable poster to discuss and practice coping strategies to manage emotions.
- Self-control board game – Use a board game to practice self-control skills with a racecar theme.
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