Every child is different. Some have difficulty expressing their ideas verbally. Some struggle to get along with peers or follow classroom routines. In each case, however, one thing is the same: improved learning and behavior requires strong self-regulation skills. Children develop foundational skills for self-regulation in the first five years of life, which means early childhood teachers play an important role in helping young children regulate thinking and behavior. Fortunately, teaching self-regulation does not require a separate curriculum. The most powerful way teachers can help children learn self-regulation is by modeling and scaffolding it during ordinary activities. In this article, the author defines self-regulation and discusses how it develops. She then describes an interaction she observed in a kindergarten classroom and explains how the teacher used an everyday experience to strengthen children's self-regulation.