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The importance of learning emotions in early childhood education
Teaching foreign languages to young learners, especially toddlers, is quite challenging. As children start to acquire their first language, they spend time in daycare facing unfamiliar feelings while acclimating to new faces and their environment. For teachers, it is essential to create a strong bond between themselves and their students. This can be accomplished by practicing empathy.
During our playtime and mini-lessons in English we play a game called “Emotions Dice.” This exercise is intended to spark students’ curiosity and grab their attention. The rolling of the dice keeps students engaged and is a great way to start each learning session. To begin, we close our eyes, try to focus, and count to 3, 5, or 10 depending on each child’s age and ability. We then continue by greeting each other with the “Hello Song” and use our magical dice to express how we are feeling today. Each child has a chance to roll the dice, choose their emotional state – happy, sad, or a little bit tired, and then pass the dice to their friend or teacher.
The children enjoy hugging each other or a teacher in moments of feeling blue as they are comforted or providing comfort at the same time. The aim in the end is to all feel “Wonderful!”
It is proven that children with healthy emotional development are more capable of responding to the emotions of others in a healthy and respectful manner. This skill makes it easier for them to navigate social situations and develop positive relationships with their peers.
During our playtime and mini-lessons in English we play a game called “Emotions Dice.” This exercise is intended to spark students’ curiosity and grab their attention. The rolling of the dice keeps students engaged and is a great way to start each learning session. To begin, we close our eyes, try to focus, and count to 3, 5, or 10 depending on each child’s age and ability. We then continue by greeting each other with the “Hello Song” and use our magical dice to express how we are feeling today. Each child has a chance to roll the dice, choose their emotional state – happy, sad, or a little bit tired, and then pass the dice to their friend or teacher.
The children enjoy hugging each other or a teacher in moments of feeling blue as they are comforted or providing comfort at the same time. The aim in the end is to all feel “Wonderful!”
It is proven that children with healthy emotional development are more capable of responding to the emotions of others in a healthy and respectful manner. This skill makes it easier for them to navigate social situations and develop positive relationships with their peers.
