Stop Sign Behavior Board

Part 1: How to Make the Stop Sign Behavior Board

Materials

• 1 sheet of sturdy cardstock or thin cardboard for the base

  • Size: about 8.5" x 11" (or whatever fits in your laminator)

• 1 smaller piece of white cardstock for the “stoplight strip”

  • About 4" x 10"

• Colored paper or cardstock in:

  • Green

  • Yellow

  • Red

• Optional: extra colored paper for emoji faces (green, yellow, red)

• Black marker (fine-tip and regular)

• Scissors

• Glue stick or double-sided tape

• Velcro dots or Velcro tape (hook & loop)

• Laminating pouches and a laminator (or clear contact paper if you don’t have a laminator)

• Ruler or something straight for drawing lines

• Pencil

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Step 1: Prepare the Base Board

1. Take your main piece of cardstock/thin cardboard.

2. Decide if you want it portrait (tall) or landscape (wide). The sample is portrait.

3. If you’d like a colored background (like the blue in your photo), either:

   • Use a blue sheet as the base, or

   • Glue blue paper on top of the cardboard base.

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Step 2: Create the Stoplight Strip

1. Cut your white cardstock into a long rectangle (around 4" x 10" or sized to fit your board).

2. Lightly draw three circles stacked vertically in pencil (top, middle, bottom).

   • Use a cup, small bowl, or jar lid as a tracing guide for perfect circles.

3. Cut three circles out of the colored paper:

   • 1 green

   • 1 yellow

   • 1 red

4. Glue each colored circle onto the white strip:

   • Green at the top

   • Yellow in the middle

   • Red at the bottom

5. Optional: With a black marker, add dotted decorative borders around each colored circle, like in your original board.

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Step 3: Make the Face Tokens (Movable Pieces)

You can do this two ways—choose whichever matches what you already did or feels easiest.

Option A: One Face That Moves

1. Cut one extra circle from colored paper (green or neutral color).

2. Draw a simple smiley face or neutral face on it.

3. This circle will move between the green, yellow, and red spots to show your child’s level.

Option B: Three Emotion Faces (Recommended)

1. Cut three smaller circles (about 1.5"–2") from:

   • Green paper

   • Yellow paper

   • Red paper

2. On each, draw a different expression:

   • Green: big smile (ready to learn / great choices)

   • Yellow: straight line mouth (warning, slow down)

   • Red: frowning face (stop, we need to fix this)

3. These will Velcro on and off so your child can move them to the stoplight positions.

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Step 4: Attach Velcro

1. Place Velcro dots (soft side or loop side) on the center of each colored stoplight circle on the white strip.

   • 1 dot on green, 1 on yellow, 1 on red.

2. Place the matching hook side of the Velcro on the back of each face token (or the single moving face, if you chose Option A).

3. Optional: Add a couple of extra Velcro dots on the right side of the board as a “parking spot” for faces you’re not using at the moment (like your storage area in the photo).

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Step 5: Assemble the Board

1. Glue or tape the white stoplight strip on the left side of the main board.

2. Leave some space on the right side of the board to:

   • Store extra faces

   • Add picture cues or simple written rules if you’d like (“Gentle hands,” “Listening ears,” etc.)

3. Make sure everything is flat and secure before laminating.

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Step 6: Laminate

1. Place the entire board into a laminating pouch.

2. Run it through the laminator following the machine’s directions.

3. Let it cool completely.

4. If you laminated before adding Velcro, gently poke a small hole through the lamination where each circle center is, then:

   • Add the Velcro dots on top of the laminate.

5. If you laminated after adding Velcro, just press everything firmly to be sure it sealed nicely around the pieces.

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Step 7: Final Touches

1. Attach Velcro to the back of each laminated face token if you haven’t yet.

2. Test the board:

   • Move the face from green to yellow to red a few times.

3. If desired, write the color meanings at the bottom or on the back:

   • Green = Great Choices

   • Yellow = Warning

   • Red = Stop & Fix It

Now you’ve got a durable, wipe-clean behavior board ready to use.

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Part 2: Step-by-Step Behavior Plan to Use With the Board

You can adapt this for home, school, or therapy, but here’s a clear structure you can follow.

Step 1: Choose 1–2 Target Behaviors

Pick the specific behaviors you want to work on first so your child isn’t overwhelmed. Examples:

• Following directions the first time

• Keeping hands and feet to self

• Staying at the table during meals

• Using kind words

Keep it simple: “We’re going to use this board to help with listening and gentle hands.”

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Step 2: Define What Each Color Means (In Kid-Friendly Language)

Explain in very concrete terms. For example:

• Green – “Go!” (Great Choices)

  • “On green, you are listening, using gentle hands, and following directions. Green means you are ready to play and learn.”

• Yellow – “Slow Down” (Warning)

  • “Yellow means you need to slow down. Maybe you forgot to listen or your body is getting too wiggly. You still have a chance to fix it.”

• Red – “Stop” (Reset Needed)

  • “Red means we have to stop. We need a break and a plan to make a better choice.”

You can even draw little icons or write one word under each color: “Go,” “Slow,” “Stop.”

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Step 3: Introduce the Board to Your Child

1. Choose a calm moment (not during a meltdown).

2. Show the board and say something like:

   “This is our Stop Sign Behavior Board. It helps us see how your choices are going. Everyone starts on green when we begin an activity. If you forget the rules, you might move to yellow. If you keep forgetting, your face might move to red, and we’ll take a break and fix it.”

3. Practice pretend scenarios:

   • Act out good choices and move the face back to green.

   • Act out tricky choices and show how it might move to yellow or red.

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Step 4: Decide on Rewards and Consequences

Keep it simple, predictable, and consistent.

Rewards for staying on Green (or returning to Green):

• Extra 5–10 minutes of a favorite activity (tablet, toys, playtime)

• Choosing the bedtime story

• Sticker on a chart; after X stickers, a small prize

• “High-five and praise” – never underestimate how powerful your positive attention is

Consequences for Red:

• Short, calm break (2–5 minutes) in a quiet spot

• Losing a small privilege (e.g., no extra screen time that day)

• Having to repair the situation (e.g., help clean up, say sorry, redo the direction)

The key: link the color to something that always happens, so your child understands the pattern.

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Step 5: Daily Routine With the Board

You can customize, but here’s a sample daily flow:

1. Start of Day / Activity

   • Place your child’s face on Green.

   • Say: “You’re starting on green because your body is ready to learn and you’re making good choices.”

2. During the Activity

   • If you see great behavior:

     • Point to the board: “You are staying on green! I love how you’re listening.”

   • If behavior starts to slip:

     1. Give a verbal reminder first:
        “Remember, green means gentle hands and listening.”

     2. If it continues, calmly move the face to Yellow:
        “You’re on yellow. That means slow down and fix your choices.”

3. From Yellow Back to Green

   • If your child improves their behavior, move the face back to Green and praise:

     “You fixed it! You went back to green. That was great problem-solving.”

4. If Behavior Still Continues (Red)

   • Move the face to Red calmly:

     “You’re on red. That means we need to stop and take a break.”

   • Follow your pre-decided consequence (short break, reset, etc.).

   • After the break and a brief, calm chat, give your child a chance to earn back Green:

     “Let’s try again. If you show listening and gentle hands, we’ll move back to green.”

5. End of Activity / Day Reflection

   • At the end, look at the board together for 1–2 minutes:

     • “You spent most of your time on green. That’s why you earned your extra story!”

     • Or: “We hit red during playtime, but you worked hard to get back to green. I’m proud of you for trying again.”

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Step 6: Keep It Visual and Concrete

• Pair the colors with short phrases:

  • Green: “Good choices”

  • Yellow: “Fix it”

  • Red: “Take a break”

• Some kids do well with picture rules next to the board:

  • Little drawings showing “listening ears,” “quiet mouth,” “gentle hands,” etc.

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Step 7: Adjust as Your Child Grows

Over time you can:

• Add specific goals (e.g., “stay on green during homework”).

• Use multiple boards in different areas (mealtime, homework, bedtime).

• Fade it out slowly when your child is able to use the skills without the chart.