Learn and Play with Mrs A

For each radio show on Learn and Play with Mrs A, I take notes because I’m learning so much about kids and kindergarten readiness from fascinating guests who are experts in a variety of areas. Each of them is passionate about kids and loves the work, or maybe that’s play? Here’s a play-of-the-day suggested from our play-of-the-week conversations and a little information about these awesome guests.

Emotional resilience is a skill that children will need far beyond kindergarten but the years between birth and when kids start school are an important time for emotional development. Lorelie Rozanno is a family counsellor, foster parent, and author of Gracie’s Secret. During a conversation with her about helping children learn about emotions she talked about ways to support children’s emotional development. Adults often talk to kids about “feeling good” and “feeling bad”. It’s very important not to label any feelings or emotions as bad, in case children then think that these feelings are wrong. When we ask a child something like “Do you feel bad because your toy broke?” the child may think that the feelings of disappointment, frustration, anger, and sadness, are also bad/wrong. Feelings can be comfortable or uncomfortable but all of them are good.

A play-of-the-day inspired by Lorelie to help young children learn about emotions is to listen and watch how your child is feeling and to label those emotions. There are over dozens and dozens of words that children can learn so they can tell us how they are feeling. It’s hard for them to do this if they don’t have the words. Here is a heart page to name some feeling words. Which one(s) are you and your little one feeling today?

Here is the podcast link for more of the conversation with Lorelie Rozzano:
Lorelie Rozzano/Learn and Play podcast link