Exploring Feelings

Working with values is sometimes easier said than done. However, with the power of storytelling, some stories make so much sense for us to comprehend and apply into our daily practices. One of the many resources is to include This Is Not My Hat by Joe Klaseen. The illustrations are self-explanatory which empower us to decipher in an interactive way.

In the spirit of sharing our values, this story explains the significance of respecting choices regardless of our differing perceptions. Based on our comprehension, we pose the following questions to open-up our mindsets. 

• Would that make it okay for the little fish to take the hat since the hat is too small for the big fish?

Based on the above question as our reference, we further take our conversation into this direction.  ​In our classroom, we emphasize the idea of community and care for one another, and This Is Not My Hat offers a wonderful opportunity to revisit these concepts. We discuss how the small fish in the story feels that taking something isn't a big deal, but in reality, it is not his to take. This leads us to consider how we will feel if someone takes something that is important to us.

​This story opens up an insightful discussion in our class about respecting other people’s belongings or opinions. One of our children, Fides, shares a meaningful comment after the story, My dad has a small pillow, but he still keeps it. Fides explains that even though the pillow may not seem the right size for him any longer, it is still his, and we need to respect that. This comment resonates deeply with our class, expanding the discussion to the importance of valuing what belongs to others, even if it may seem insignificant or different to ours.

​In addition to Nora’s achievement of reading This Is Not My Hat independently, she also demonstrates a deep understanding of the story. After finishing the book, Nora is able to share insights about the characters and the themes of ownership and respect. Her ability to grasp the message behind the small fish's actions and the consequences adds another layer of significance to her accomplishment.

Luka, being part of our community, exhibits his interest in looking at and flipping the illustrative pages of another book about feelings, In My Heart by Jo Witek, by sharing his umph and nyea. Happiness, bravery, anger, shyness ... there are so many feelings Luka explores through his socially and emotionally aware. By being aware in this way Luka, with his effortful attempts to sound words out, navigates relationships, being calm and problem solves when challenges arise. 

However, we also acknowledge that sometimes it can be difficult for us to recognize and understand emotions in ourselves and others. The process of calming down when upset and using words to describe feelings and address challenges requires a lot of practice. Many times we do not have the vocabulary to identify feeling words like angry or frustrated, or have the skills to read facial cues or to interpret body language.

According to experts, there's a close connection between a person's sense of smell and our ability to remember things. When it comes to us, scent usually plays a crucial role in evoking memories. Hence, we may connect some scents to our experiences. For instance during our smelling scents of spices, Nora mentions the smell of cinnamon makes her feel she's in nature. 

Aside from memories, smelling a particular scent we've already smelled before can also induce familiar emotions within us. For example, if a food's specific aroma reminds us of our mother cooking in her kitchen, we may feel a sense of happiness and nostalgia. In other words, smelling scents experiences can also make us feel emotions.

​It sparks another possibility through questioning our own senses, How can we understand feeling or emotions without words? We start thinking about understanding feelings or emotions through the many ways.

Kai offers to use a mortar and a pestle to pound and mash the salt to refine it. This experience harness our schema of transforming - changing the state of a material. The repetitive actions of schematic play allow us to construct meaning in what we are doing.

Emily, in other way, is seen engaging her sense of touch to build her descriptive words. Her hands clawing to scoop some coarse texture of salt. She changes her expressions throughout the experience. When asked what she is feeling, Emily laughs and says, The salt tickles my feeling!

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We believe that emotions are just as important to express as ideas, and recently, we find a creative way to do just that—through art! We turn our feelings into beautiful works of art by designing wooden circles using various materials like yarn, shells, googly eyes, and clear stones.

This is me when I am feeling mad - Emily

This is me feeling brave like when I am standing on a tree branch - Kai

We too learn to explore our various feelings through a form of music and movement. The freedom of moving following the music in a natural way. We naturally love music! Whether it's soft and soothing or a lively tune, we feel it both physically and emotionally. 

We are also learning that movement can communicate messages and represent actions. We begin to learn about the world by acting on objects and people, and we think with our bodies well before we think with words. ​

And music helps to set a mood. Quiet, soothing music calms and relaxes us, while a lively marching tune rouses us for energetic clean-up time. Music and movement are also social learning experiences that help us feel part of the group. 

Kindest,
Children & Friends.​