This week in the Toddler 2 classroom, we introduced the concept of emotions and self-regulation to the class. We chose to introduce this through play, reading books, gross motor and sensory activities. As a precursor, we had a group discussion about various emotions that originated from a spontaneous conversation about what makes us happy and what makes us sad.
We started off our lessons about emotions by using Lego pieces that represented various feelings. The children had to observe the pieces carefully and match the upper and lower half of the Lego pieces together to complete the correct emotions, such as sadness, happiness, anger, excitement, fear and calmness. The pictures shown on the Lego pieces acted as non-verbal clues for the children to help them recognize and identify the emotions. Meanwhile, another group of children utilized the felt boards and combined various facial expressions to make and create their own custom representations of how they were feeling that day.
Furthermore, we discussed some strategies on how to comfort one another when we feel sad or hurt. On the topic of self-regulation, we created our own stress balls by funnelling flour into balloons to act as a tactile way to “squeeze” out our anger and frustration. Through this activity, the children learned that there are many ways to express how they feel. As a group, we played an “I spy…” game, where the teacher placed different emotions on the wall. The children were encouraged to find the corresponding face and call it out. The children had a great time moving from one location to another.
On Valentine’s Day, we discussed the topic of what makes us feel loved. A child responded by saying “My mommy makes me feel loved”. The teacher read the book Love Makes a Family written by Sophie Beer, as well as the book When I Am Feeling Love written by Tracey Moroney.
As a class, we each decorated a Valentine’s Day card, and each of the children were given mini foam boards and multi-colored beads to create a small gift for their parents to show their affection and appreciation. In the afternoon, we had our Valentine’s Day party. The children enjoyed their mini cupcakes and fruit platter. We also shared some Valentine’s Day themed nursery rhymes! They also received some glow sticks and enjoyed waving them in the air with the party music.
At the end of the day, we also invited our students and their families to take part in our photo booth. Seeing the smiles on their faces warmed our hearts and truly made us feel loved, appreciated and grateful to be part of a larger Wesley family!
