Children In Trauma: What’s the Unmet Need? Regulation

January 20th, 2026

‘Control your body’, ‘Go back to your seat’, ‘Sit still’, ‘Keep your hands to yourself’, ‘Get back in line’.

Sound familiar? Chances are pretty high that if you’re a teacher or administrator, you may even have said one of those things today! But for so many of our students, particularly those who are affected by trauma, staying in line and in your seat and under control are much easier said than done. Not because they’re ‘busy’ or ‘hyper’ or inherently naughty, but because they have an unmet regulation need. Recognizing this as we work toward becoming trauma invested is critical. We must first understand the root issues of our children in need. Only then can we effectively understand and address what our students desire and require in order to have a positive education experience. Over the course of this blog series about becoming trauma invested and providing social-emotional learning based interventions, we’re exploring meeting the needs of relationship, responsibility and regulation, with today’s focus being on regulation.

For those of us in education, regulation interventions are the least complicated for us to provide; not because it’s a cinch to help children regulate, but because of the very straight-forward cause and effect connection that we’re helping students to make. In addition to being the least complicated, regulation is also the most important attribute for students to have in place. Our students must be regulated in order to learn, and it all begins in the brain. Think about it this way: Our brains are designed in order for us to survive…to run away from danger, to fight back when we’ve can no longer run, and to freeze when our fear has taken over. Chemicals like cortisol and adrenaline are released to help us during these dangerous situations, and we’re grateful for them when confronted with certain life-events. However, for children in trauma these reactions are not reserved for things like bear attacks. Instead, our students living with trauma’s brains  being exposed to these chemicals and physical reactions nonstop, thus ravaging their body’s systems and perpetuating excitable and even sometimes defensive or aggressive behavior.

With this information at the forefront, how might you identify a student with an unmet regulation need?

They often display the following behaviors:

  • Difficulty with change (transitions, a special school assembly, an unexpected announcement over the PA system and more)
  • Constantly fidget (This propensity towards being a wiggle worm can not only disrupt the learning of the student in question, but can agitate & distract students nearby, as well.)
  • Shut down (This goes back to the freeze response mentioned earlier, and sometimes shows itself as hiding under a desk, wanting to keep a hoodie up, and even daydreaming.)
  • Ride an emotional roller coaster

What are some effective strategies to support children with regulation needs?

  • Provide weighted pencils and weighted lap pads
  • Play soothing music to reinforce a calm classroom environment
  • Provide a stress ball
  • Play a gentle game of catch with a light foam ball or mini-pillow to focus the brain on a quiet, harmless task to help refocus the brain
  • Allow doodling or knitting to occupy the students hands. Some children (and adults!) need this in order to concentrate and process information
  • Provide ‘bottom’ or ‘brain breaks’

At the end of the day, when working with children who need regulation and are living with trauma, it’s important to remember the words of the great Fred Rogers. He said, “There are three ways to ultimate success. The first way is to be kind. The second way is to be kind. The third way is to be kind.” Keep in mind that you are the safe, consistent and kind adult in the lives of your boys and girls.

To dive deeper into how you can recognize and meet specific student needs through social emotional learning strategies, check out each of our blogs in this four part series! 

If you’d like to learn how GrapeSEED helps children to naturally acquire English while using strategies like Total Physical Response and student interaction, click here.

New Year, Clearer Path: Decluttering for Stronger Language Learning

January 20, 2026
January is the season of decluttering, but in schools, it’s about clearing space for what truly matters! This month’s blog explores how thoughtful organization supports multilingual learners and why strong language systems are worth keeping. A little clarity now can create momentum that lasts all year… and beyond!

Midyear Glow-Up: Refreshing Routines in Your Classroom!

December 11, 2025
The new year is a perfect time for reflection and renewal—not just for us, but for our students, too. After a long winter break, January offers a natural opportunity to revisit and reinforce classroom routines and procedures, especially in multilingual classrooms where clarity and consistency are key to helping all students feel secure and successful. For multilingual learners, routines are more than just classroom management—they provide language-rich structures that support understanding, reduce anxiety, and foster confidence. Whether students are newcomers or have been learning English for years, a clear and predictable environment helps them focus on learning rather than guessing what’s expected. Start the month by gently reviewing procedures: entering the classroom, transitioning between activities, participating in group work, asking for help, and using classroom materials. Model each step and invite students to demonstrate, using visuals, gestures, and multilingual supports when possible. Pair verbal directions with pictures or sentence stems to help students connect words with actions. This not only aids comprehension, it builds community and shared responsibility. Remember, reviewing routines isn’t about enforcing rules—it’s about resetting the tone for a peaceful, productive, and joyful classroom. Make space for students to share what helps them learn best and celebrate the positive habits they already bring with them. By investing time in January to revisit expectations with warmth and intention, you're setting the stage for a second half of the school year filled with growth, laughter, and learning—for every student, in every language.

Meet AI, Your New Teaching Assistant!

December 2, 2025
In today’s classrooms, elementary school teachers juggle countless responsibilities—planning engaging lessons, managing behavior, communicating with families, and differentiating instruction for every learner. Fortunately, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is opening up a world of support tools that can help educators reclaim valuable time while still meeting the diverse needs of their students. Lesson Planning, Simplified AI tools and other educator-focused platforms can generate customized, standards-aligned lesson plans in minutes. Whether you're teaching reading comprehension, performing science experiments, or developing math centers, AI can help you brainstorm activities, create differentiated tasks, and suggest formative assessments—all tailored to your students’ grade level and learning goals. Behavior Intervention Plans Made Easier Creating thoughtful, individualized behavior intervention plans (BIPs) often requires collaboration and time that’s hard to find. With the right prompts, AI can assist by generating plan templates, suggesting positive reinforcement strategies, and even helping you write goal-specific language that’s clear and professional. This allows for quicker implementation and better support for student growth. Boosting Communication with Families Need to send home a weekly newsletter, a classroom update, or a quick note in family-friendly language? AI can help you write clear, respectful, and engaging messages in seconds—and even translate them into multiple languages. This promotes stronger school-home connections without adding to your workload. More Than Just Words AI isn’t just about writing. It can generate visual aids, adapt texts for different reading levels, offer creative ideas for classroom themes, or even draft rubrics and anchor charts. When used responsibly, AI becomes a teaching assistant in your pocket—offering fresh ideas and saving you time. A Word of Caution—and Empowerment AI isn’t a magic wand, and it doesn’t replace the care, creativity, and wisdom that teachers bring to the classroom. But when used thoughtfully, it can remove some of the mental load and help you focus on what matters most: building relationships, inspiring learners, and making a lasting impact. AI can be a game-changing tool for educators—not by replacing the human touch, but by enhancing it. With the right approach, you can use AI to create, communicate, and collaborate more efficiently—without sacrificing quality. Just as AI can support teachers in the classroom, GrapeSEED does the same. From intentionally designed lesson plans to materials at your fingertips, to a results driven, joy filled curriculum for your language learner students, GrapeSEED has it all. Click here to learn more !

Finding Balance in a Too-Much-to-Teach World

November 3, 2025
If you’ve ever looked at your lesson plans and thought, “There’s no way I can fit all this in,” you’re not alone. Teachers today face an ever-growing list of standards, assessments, and initiatives, all while striving to create joyful, meaningful learning experiences for young children. The struggle is real! So how can we honor curriculum expectations without overwhelming ourselves or our students? Read on for ideas and strategies! Start with What Matters Most Not everything carries equal weight. Identify the skills and concepts your students truly need to succeed, both academically and developmentally. Prioritize depth over breadth when possible. A well-understood concept is more valuable than one that’s been rushed and checked off a list. Integrate Across Subject Areas Look for ways to blend content. A science lesson can include reading comprehension. A writing activity can connect to social studies. Integration allows for richer, more efficient learning and saves time while deepening student understanding. Protect Time for Play, Talk, and Joy Children learn best when they are engaged and emotionally connected to content. Carve out time for class discussions, movement, and creative exploration. These “non-academic” moments often bring about the deepest learning and are critical for social-emotional development. Be Realistic, Not Perfect It’s okay if not every lesson goes as planned or every objective is met on the first try. Focus on consistent growth, not perfection. Trust your professional judgment. After all, you know your students best. Support One Another Collaboration is key. Talk with teammates about what’s working, what can be scaled back, and how to share the load. A balanced curriculum starts with a balanced teacher, and that balance often comes from working together. Remember, you aren’t just covering content, you’re helping to shape children’s lives. When we prioritize purposeful, joyful learning over packing it all in, we give students (and ourselves) what truly matters most.. To learn how GrapeSEED English for Children saves teachers time so that they can focus on what is important, click here today!
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