Kayla Diehl
When reading through the chapters in Trauma Informed Practices for Early Childhood Educators I was thinking about spaces I could create to have a calming place for children who need time to regulate. It’s important to have a space for children to remove themselves from whatever is causing them distress at the moment. I was also reflecting on what that space looks like and the tools within the space that will help children to learn to describe the sensations in their bodies. I want to give them the tools to connect their sensations with the emotions they are experiencing. During my time spent with Julie Kurtz, we received training on her app called Trigger Stop. She actually made us a beautiful paper version to hang in our “peace corner” as well. The app uses an image of a body. The body can be manipulated with items that represent different sensations (such as fire for feeling hot). The child uses the app to assign the sensations they feel with the parts of their body. This is a great tool to use with the child while they are in a calm regulated state. This app can help them to recognize the sensations and begin to self-regulate and deal with stress before it becomes explosive. The app is easy to use and very child friendly. I recommend it for all early childhood learning environments. The app can be found on Apple Store under the name, Trigger Stop. There are also links found at https://www.optimalbrainintegration.com/app-1
