{"id":484,"date":"2021-05-13T15:12:22","date_gmt":"2021-05-13T15:12:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/ea\/tapteamwebsitemain2019\/?p=484"},"modified":"2021-05-13T15:12:22","modified_gmt":"2021-05-13T15:12:22","slug":"thursday-20th-may-little-people-big-feelings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.glowscotland.org.uk\/ea\/tapteamwebsitemain2019\/2021\/05\/13\/thursday-20th-may-little-people-big-feelings\/","title":{"rendered":"Thursday 20th May. Little People, Big Feelings."},"content":{"rendered":"

One of my all-time favourite quotes by Maya Angelou is \u2013 \u2018They may not remember what you said, they may not remember what you did, but they will always remember how you made them feel\u2019<\/p>\n

Young children are often challenged with big feelings like anger, frustration or sadness, however often lack the emotional awareness and breadth of language to articulate themselves in a given situation. As adults, we have a key role in modelling calm and considered responses in order to help children with using coping strategies. Over time, young children will grow in their emotional understanding and self-control through the consistent nurturing and supportive approach taken by the adult.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Introducing the language of emotions<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

It can be a good practice to begin introducing children to the language of emotions and feelings through the medium of story telling and things like puppets. It can be helpful to discuss how various characters in books may feel. Pause to ask, \u201cHow do you think he feels right now?\u201d Then, discuss the various feelings the character may be experiencing and the reasons why.<\/span> Helpful books might include \u2013\u00a0 <\/span>The Colour Monster<\/b> by Anna Llenas\u00a0 <\/span>, In My Heart<\/b> by Jo Witek or Lucy\u2019s Blue Day<\/b> by Christopher Duke<\/p>\n

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Encouraging children to talk about emotions using a colour analogy\u00a0 can\u00a0 help children to reflect on their emotions. The International Futures Forum ‘Kit Bag’ has some excellent resources for talking about emotions, including a colour chart to support children’s thinking and reflection. The picture below shows the contents of the Kit Bag.<\/p>\n

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A good example of using a colour analogy is encouraging children to check in daily, using the colours to describe how they are feeling that day using a \u2018feelings jar\u2019\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Children who understand their emotions are less likely to act out by using\u00a0temper tantrums<\/a>,\u00a0aggression<\/a>, and\u00a0defiance<\/a>\u00a0to express themselves. A child who can say, \u201cI\u2019m angry with you,\u201d is less likely to hit. And a child who can say, “That hurts my feelings,” is more likely to resolve their conflict peacefully.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

It can be a good idea to allow children to observe themselves while they explore what an emotion makes them feel inside their bodies and how it changes their facial expression.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Here the children were re-creating different emotions in front of a mirror to see how their faces looked:<\/p>\n

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Teaching Coping Strategies<\/b><\/p>\n

It is important to help children to understand that just because they feel angry doesn\u2019t mean they can hit someone. Instead, they need to learn<\/span> emotional regulation strategies<\/span>\u00a0so they can resolve conflict peacefully. We can be proactive and help children learn how to\u00a0deal with uncomfortable emotions<\/a>. Other feelings, for which it is important we support children to process in a nurturing, caring way are things like sadness.<\/span> For example when children feel sad when friends won\u2019t play with them, take time to talk about ways they can deal with their sad feelings. Children don\u2019t always know how to react when they feel sad, and so this can sometimes manifest in\u00a0aggressive<\/a>\u00a0and attention-seeking behaviours.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Something that I have seen to work well in centres is to try and create a \u2018calm corner\u2019 or quiet space where children can go in order to learn how to self-regulate and calm themselves in times of highly charged emotional states. These areas could have resources such as blankets, soft toys, soothing music, glitter jars and other mindfulness games.<\/p>\n

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Further ideas for exploring emotions:<\/b><\/p>\n