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Free templateChild Development & Programming

Emotion Zones Chart for Kids

A one-page colour-coded chart that gives children a shared language for how they feel — blue, green, yellow and red zones, each with four drawn faces and a feeling word, under the question ‘What zone are you in?’

Format
Printable PDF · A4
Pages
1
Best for
Educators · ages 3–8
Updated
Sept 2026
Download free templateSee what’s inside

No sign-up required. Print it and share it with your team — it’s free for any child care program to use.

Preview of the Emotion Zones Chart for Kids

What’s inside

Four zones, sixteen faces, and the words for them

  • Four colour zonesBlue, green, yellow and red, each in its own labelled box.
  • Faces with feeling wordsBlue: sad, tired, bored. Green: mellow, loving, focused, relaxed. Yellow: silly, proud, ecstatic, energized. Red: irritated, angry, frustrated, furious.
  • ‘What zone are you in?’The question sits in the middle of the page as a ready-made check-in prompt.
  • Zones named by colour onlyNo zone is labelled good or bad, which makes it easier to frame every feeling as okay.

How to use it

Four steps to put it to work this week

  1. 1
    Introduce one zone at a timeSpend a day on each colour at circle time. Act out the faces, name the feelings, and talk about what helps in that zone.
  2. 2
    Post it at child heightIn the calm corner or by the door, where children can point to it without asking.
  3. 3
    Check in dailyA quick ‘which zone are you in?’ at arrival becomes a routine — and an early warning for hard days.
  4. 4
    Model it yourself“I’m in the blue zone this morning because I’m tired — I’m going to have some water and a stretch.” Children copy what they see.

Tips from operators

What centers that use this well do differently

Learned the hard way across 3,000 child care spaces — and from the directors and educators who join our Lunch & Learns and Learning Labs.

Pair it with a calm corner

The chart tells children what they feel; the corner gives them somewhere to do something about it.

Add real photos of your children

Swap the illustrated faces for photos of the class (with consent) — recognition jumps immediately.

Log zone check-ins for behaviour support plans

A week of arrival check-ins is useful evidence when working with a family or a specialist on a support plan.

Do it digitally in ChildFriendly Pro

Plan the week in the app — tagged to your framework automatically

Build the same plan in ChildFriendly Pro and every observation you log is tagged to FLIGHT, ELECT, ELF or your own outcomes, added to each child’s portfolio and shared with families in their daily journal.

  • Pre-loaded provincial frameworks and outcome tags
  • AI learning stories from a photo and two lines of notes
  • Portfolios and progress reports that build themselves
See how it works Book a demo
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FAQ

Questions about the Emotion Zones Chart for Kids

Can’t find your answer? Chat with a real person who has run a child care center.

Read more FAQs
What age is the Emotion Zones Chart for?

It is designed for roughly 3 to 8 years — preschool through early elementary. Toddlers can use the faces and colours without the words; school-age children can read the feeling words on their own.

Is this the same as the Zones of Regulation program?

It uses the widely-known four-colour approach to emotional regulation, but it is a free classroom resource, not a licensed curriculum. If your center uses a specific program, use this chart as a display to support it.

How do I use it with a child who is already in the red zone?

Not in the moment. Regulate first (space, a calm adult, fewer words), then reflect with the chart afterwards: ‘You were in the red zone — what helped you get back to green?’

Can I send it home to families?

Yes — print a second copy for home. Consistent language at home and at the center is one of the most effective supports for emotional regulation.

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