A Note from the Author

In 2017, I attended a positive behaviour guidance course in Wellington, New Zealand, called The Incredible Years.  I was particularly drawn to the calming strategies and found myself thinking about fun ways to implement them.  One day, a vision of a robot with steam coming out of his ears came to me, and from that moment, Rima the Robot was born.

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While the word 'Rima' means the number 'five' in te reo Māori, this is also the age when New Zealand children transition from kindergarten to school.

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When I first started trialling my idea in the classroom, the use of a robot seemed to appeal to boys and girls alike.  I started by drawing a basic Rima on a whiteboard using multicolour pens.  The strategies I am sharing here have evolved from the initial Incredible Years methods to embrace methods used by parents I have worked alongside.

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Within 6 months, I saw a significant improvement in their childrens' abilities to regulate their own emotions and also navigate social situations.

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Over an 8 year period, this concept has developed into using Rima in an interactive, hand-drawn whiteboard story on a weekly basis.  Each week, the scenario was changed to support the specific social and emotional situations we were facing as teachers, taking individual childrens' interests into account.

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Having seen how Rima has positively impacted the children I have taught, I decided it was time to share Rima the Robot with families and teachers beyond the centres I've worked in.

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I hope you find these Rima the Robot adventures helpful and fun to share with your children as a teaching tool to supporting their emotional regulation.