feelings
Teaching kids about feelings
Body Language and Feelings A standard lesson that I taught every year as an elementary school counselor was recognizing feelings. It was a fun lesson. I’d bring in large cut outs of children showing mad, sad, happy or scared feelings and ask kids to guess how the child was feeling. We’d talk about body language and how…
Read Morehelping kids handle disappointment
Developing Skills to Handle Disappointment We all face disappointment, children and adults alike. Whether it’s missing the winning shot or rain that ruins a picnic at the park, life is full of big and little disappointments. As parents and teachers we would like to spare kids from these letdowns. However, we can do children a greater service…
Read MoreSeven Ways to Teach Children Empathy
Understanding someone else’s feelings What is empathy? Empathy is the ability to understand and feel what others feel. It is putting yourself in another’s shoes. When my youngest daughter was little she watched the movie, The Fox and The Hound and cried and cried at the end when Todd was attacked by the bear. That’s…
Read MoreHelping children overcome fear
Three things we can teach kids about fear The child in my office was in tears. Here was her story: She was selected to give the pledge to the flag on the morning news station at school. This is a great honor and she was excited until the morning of the show, when she suddenly…
Read MoreGirls and Emotional Literacy
Girls and Emotional Literacy It’s not just boys who have trouble with emotional literacy. While boys may have trouble recognizing emotions and expressing them in appropriate ways, girls are more likely to recognize and name emotions, but stuff negative feelings. Girls express positive emotions in an effort to please others but save expression of negative…
Read MoreHelping Boys Develop an Emotional Vocabulary
Helping Boys Develop an Emotional Vocabulary I’ve written a lot of posts on kids and emotions. There are several reasons for this. In many ways, emotions rule our thoughts and our actions, yet very little is taught about how to manage emotions in a positive way. Most of us simply learn that we need to…
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