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Learning About Our Emotions
"Ka whāngaia, ka tupu, ka puāwai; that which is nurtured blossoms and grows."
Just like big people, children need to develop strategies for managing their emotions so that they can build social-emotional skills. Feelings are important and it’s always okay for children to have, but when feelings get too big they can make the thinking and calming part of the brain take a little break until the big feelings are gone. Because of this, it’s important to teach children about self-regulation over their feelings. Over the last few weeks, we have been working on developing our understanding of social and emotional competence through creative arts. During this enquiry we explored creative tools to learn about our emotions.
• Movement - expressing our emotions using our body.
• Scribbling - Expressing emotions by scribbling and using colours that represent our feelings
• Soft toy breathing – Deep breathing using a sensory-based anchor for calming our bodies
• Art making - art making for exploring our feelings, increasing awareness, and reducing anxiety.
During this enquiry, the children learn how they can be the boss of their brains when big feelings take over. One of the most powerful tools we introduced is to breathe strong, deep breaths. It was important to make this a fun learning opportunity to encourage active participation.
The Emotional Environment of our Centre was also considered during this inquiry as we created cosy spaces for children to take a break alone or with a small group of children. Provocations such as puppets, dolls, books and other activities that encourage children to express feelings were readily available.