Indulging in Emotional Awareness

Many times in life we encounter many interesting things especially when we keep our mind open to possibilities. Our recent field trip to the Cloverdale Library offers us some opportunities to look within, watch what is happening, wonder. and ponder on things around us.

Fides takes ownership to be safe and careful throughout the trip despite being mindfully active with his observations.
Reflecting on her own experiences, Nora mentions, My Mom has a favorite seat whenever she sits inside the bus. She further adds, She too likes to sit by the window so she can see things around.
Emily is interested to take up a task of pulling a yellow cord as a way of communication with the bus driver of where we plan to hop off. She waits patiently for a cue and pulls it in time.

In this way, friends exhibit how this ownership of our experiences works hand-in-hand with structure and form. Just as our hearts need a skeleton, love requires another ingredient; it needs ownership, the ability to take upon one's own self the responsibilities, challenges, and issues of life, even in our early years.

As part of our moments, we always like to take time for pauses and turns. This time round we choose to run the hill upward and downward the slope.  By doing these repeated actions, we are figuring out on the relationships between our body and the space around us. When we run uphill and downhill, we overcome the challenge of gravity. It is fun despite its challenge indeed!

As how life always offers us interesting things, this time when we take a chance to enter an exhibition inside the Museum of Surrey, a serendipitous moment arrives.  An exhibition of mindfulness is being offered to us to experience how to look within.

There are encounters with our senses when we notice the smell of various leaves, beans. spices, etc. We enter a room depicts various emotions linked to changes of colors. It attracts Kai, Nora, and Emily to immediately enter and feel more. This connection between colors and our moods requires us to pay attention. However, we note that attention differs: It is either outward, as in the case of noticing the change of colors, or it is turned inward as in the case of feeling full or feeling love. 

Being mesmerized in a situation whereby Emily is in the pondering moment to gaze what she observes and how she feels. A large scale video of a tranquil element of nature empowers us to project a reflection of our calm feeling from within. At the same time, we ponder if this reciprocal synergy is created from a mutual relationship between something we take in and something we return. 

At this other side of our pondering, we are actually giving some time and room to ourselves to understand our own emotions. This ability to identify and understand emotions is a skill referred to as emotional awareness. Our ability to understand emotions - both our own and those of others - plays a role in how well we communicate and the strength of the relationships we form with others. 

To support us with abilities to draw the shapes related to our face structure, we include air drawing. Air drawing as a way to understand more of our diverse shapes of facial structure. Basically we imagine we have an invisible pen and we are drawing in the air with our finger.

My eyes are round, Emily states.
My nose has a shape of a triangle. Kai adds.
Meanwhile, Fides and Kai figure out when we shape our hands around our eyes, The shapes of our eyes are oval.

It is essentially a built-in strategy we can use to refer to the shapes of our facial structure. By conversing while drawing in the air exercise helps us improve our understanding of facial structure. Subsequently, this learning experience enables us to learn about emotion and how to communicate them visually. 

This time round we center our learning experience around the book We Are All Wonders by R. J. Palacio. We are being engaged with the story in ways that prompts deep and meaningful questions.

Kai asks: Why does he have only one eye? And why is he wearing an astronaut costume?

Kai’s questions show a natural inquisitiveness about physical differences and why people may choose to wear costumes, perhaps as a form of expression or protection.

Meanwhile, Fides ponders, what does ‘ordinary’ mean? This sparks a discussion about the concept of being “ordinary” versus being “unique,” revealing a developing understanding of these ideas. We collectively explore the concept of what makes someone unique.

The book invites us to explore themes of ​inclusion, difference, and empathy. During the reading, our curiosity leads to deeper reflections on how we treat others who may seem different. How do you think the boy feels when people point or laugh at him, or when people say mean things?  This part is meant to encourage empathy and understanding of the impact of negative actions.

In response, Fides asks, what are mean things? His question opens the door to a conversation about the concepts of “mean” and “kind.”
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We gain insight into how our actions and words can impact others. And through our reflections, we recognize that by choosing to see others with kindness and understanding, we can help create a world where everyone feels respected and appreciated for who we are.

​We discuss how we may look different on the outside but how people can choose to see us in a more compassionate and understanding way. This leads to a conversation about being special and embracing uniqueness, a key theme of the book. 

Emotional awareness is crucial for fostering self-regulation and social-emotional from within. Music can play an integral role in helping us understand and process our emotions. Recently, we introduce The Feelings Song by Mooseclumps to our context, a fun and engaging way to learn about the zones of regulation and how to identify and manage our feelings.

​The Feelings Song uses simple language and catchy melodies to introduce the four emotions--happy, nervous, sad, and angry—that we often experience. These feelings are universal and form the basis of emotional awareness.

Building emotional awareness -  Through the song, we learn that all feelings are valid and that it’s normal to experience different emotions throughout the day. We talk about how happy moments are for sharing and celebrating. When feeling nervous, it can help to talk to a teacher or a friend or to take deep breaths. It’s okay to feel sad, and sometimes, a hug or time alone helps. Anger can be managed by closing our eyes, taking a deep breath, and finding ways to calm down, just like in the song.

We do not just listen to the song—we actively participate by showing how each emotion looks on our own faces. This interactive component is where the real learning happens. For example, when the song describes the feeling of being happy, our faces light up with big smiles.

​Nora, expresses how much she loves the emotion “happy” because it makes her feel good too. This connection goes beyond a mere reaction—it shows how happiness as an emotion is contagious and comforting, especially in a group setting. It’s amazing to see how something as simple as a smile can uplift the entire class.

One particularly meaningful moment in the song comes during the part that talks about being scared and worried. The character feels this way because "eyes kept looking at him," which is a relatable experience for many children—feeling self-conscious or nervous when others are watching. However, the song reassures listeners that despite feeling scared, everything will be okay and it will be all over soon. This message offers comfort and a reminder that uncomfortable feelings like fear are temporary. It has been an important talking point in our classroom, where we discuss how it's normal to feel nervous but that we can also remind ourselves that those feelings will pass.

​Perhaps the most significant learning comes from the song’s approach to anger. In the song, the character calms down by closing his eyes and taking a deep breath—an accessible strategy that we have adopted in the classroom. When we practice this together, we quickly see the shift in our own emotions. After furrowing our brows and making angry faces, we encourage ourselves to close our eyes and take deep breaths. It’s almost magical to watch our faces relax as we move from tense to calm, and we have begun using this technique on our own when we feel upset.

The Feelings Song by Mooseclumps has been an incredible addition to our emotional learning curriculum. It’s not just a catchy tune—it’s a gateway to deeper emotional understanding for us. Through facial expressions, discussions, and self-regulation techniques, the song has helped us articulate our feelings, build empathy, and develop crucial emotional regulation strategies.

Kindest,
​Children & Friends.