🌱😀Understanding the Six Primary Emotions😡🌱

In this newsletter, you will get....

• Parenting Tips

• Activity of the Week

Parenting Tips

Helping Kids Identify, Regulate, and Express Emotions

• Name Emotions Often

  Use everyday moments to label emotions: “You look really happy playing that game,” or “It sounds like you’re feeling frustrated.”

• Use Books and Stories

  Stories are powerful tools! Pause during reading to ask, “How do you think that character feels?” and “What might help them?”

• Introduce a Feelings Chart

  A simple visual with faces or colors representing different emotions can help children point to how they feel when they don’t have the words.

• Teach Calming Tools

  Practice breathing exercises, counting to ten, or hugging a stuffed animal together. Help your child discover what works for them when big feelings show up.

• Model Emotional Honesty

  Share your own emotions appropriately: “I’m feeling a little worried today, so I’m going to take a deep breath.” This shows it’s okay to have and manage all kinds of feelings.

Activity of the Week

Emotion Dance Party – Move Through Your Feelings

Help children recognize, express, and release emotions through music and movement, promoting emotional awareness and self-regulation in a fun and energetic way.

1. Create an Emotion Playlist

   • Pick a variety of songs that reflect different emotions. Some ideas:

     • Happy: Upbeat, cheerful songs

     • Sad: Slow, soft melodies

     • Angry: Fast, heavy beats (but still appropriate for kids)

     • Surprised: Songs with sudden changes or dramatic moments

     • Worried/Fearful: Softer, slightly tense music

2. Explain the Game

   • Tell your child that you’re going to dance your feelings! Each song will have its own feeling, and they’ll try to move in a way that matches the emotion.

   • Emphasize that there’s no wrong way to move—this is about expressing feelings, not about "dancing perfectly."

3. Start Dancing!

   • Play a song and announce (or let them guess) the emotion it represents.

   • Encourage big, expressive movements:

     • Happy: Jumps, twirls, and big smiles

     • Sad: Slow, heavy steps, gentle sways

     • Angry: Strong, stomping movements (with safe boundaries)

     • Surprised: Quick, playful jumps and changes in direction

     • Worried: Tiptoeing, looking around carefully

     • Fearful: Small, cautious movements, maybe hiding behind arms

4. Add Reflection

   • After a few songs, pause to check in:

     • “Which feeling was easiest to dance?”

     • “Which was hardest?”

     • “How did moving your body make you feel inside?”

5. Create Your Own

   • Let kids pick their own emotion and choose a song to dance to, building their sense of agency and emotional connection.

Why It Works:

• Movement helps release physical tension and stuck emotions.

• Music can activate emotional memory and empathy.

• Acting out emotions builds children’s understanding of how feelings show up in the body.

• It creates a safe, playful environment to talk about and experience emotions together.