❤️ Guiding Kids through Emotional Growth ❤️

In this newsletter, you will get....

• Featured Articles

• Parenting Tips

• Activity of the Week

Featured Articles

1. Jan Pierce, author of “Helping Children Identify and Manage Their Emotions” highlights 5 tips in helping toddlers with emotional identification. Click here to read.

2. Samatha Engel, author of “Why Identifying Emotions is so Important for Young Children to Learn” provides multiple ideas on how to help your child practice identifying their emotions. Click here to read.

3. Claire Lerner, author of “Helping Toddlers Understand Their Emotions” explores ways parents can help their child learn to identify emotions starting during infancy. Click here to read.

Parenting Tips

1. Model Emotional Expression: Demonstrate expressing emotions through facial expressions, body language, and tone of voice. For example, say "I feel happy when we go outside" with a smile. Consistently naming and showing your emotions helps children learn to recognize and label their own feelings.

2. Read Books: Read books that focus on emotions and discuss the characters' feelings. Ask questions like, "How do you think he feels right now?" This helps children connect emotions to facial expressions and situations.

3. Label Emotions: Acknowledge and label your child's emotions as they occur. For instance, say "I see you are feeling sad because you fell and got hurt" or "You look excited about going to the birthday party." This practice helps children become more aware of their feelings and understand that it’s normal to have a wide range of emotions.

4. Use an Emotion Chart: Purchase or make a chart with different emotions. Use it multiple times a day to check in on how your child is feeling. This visual helps children identify and express their emotions more accurately over time.

5. Provide Access to Emotional Vocabulary: Offer a variety of words to describe different emotions by using books, songs, and daily conversations. Regularly introduce new emotional terms and use them in context. This approach helps children expand their emotional vocabulary and express their feelings more precisely.

Activity of the Week

Emotion Sort

What You Need:

• Printed pictures or magazine cut-outs of people showing different emotions

• Scissors

• Glue

• Poster board or construction paper

• Markers or crayons

• Optional: stickers and other decorative items

Steps:

• Gather Materials: Collect a variety of pictures from magazines or print out photos of a variety of people showing emotions.

• Prepare the Area: Set up a workspace for your child.

• Sort the Emotions: Sort through the pictures together and talk about the emotions each person might be feeling.

• Create Emotion Art: Help your child glue the pictures on the post board or construction paper. Add any embellishments.

Benefits of Emotion Sort: Remember

• Recognition Skills: Helps children identify various emotions.

• Language Development: Encourages discussion about emotions and increases emotion vocabulary.

• Creative Expression: Allows children to express themselves through art.

• Connection: Increases connection between parent and child.