"Emotions" Teacher Guide

Welcome to 21-day marathon of introducing a child to basic emotions

 

Smart Kids Toys will become good helpers who will be able to introduce your child to emotions in a more basic and comprehensive way. We have special stories for every basic feeling for all our toys

> For all our toys you will find 5 audio stories about basic emotions that teach your kid how to recognize and deal with happiness, sadness, surprise, anger and disgust.

> Here is an example of our story, the rest are available for customers - just write to us be email or Instagram

 

The story why did kind elephant become angry

 

 

Main principles:

  1. We take three days to learn how to manage every emotion because during this period of time kids develop a habit. The fourth day will be the moment when the action will be ordinary, and not something unknown. 
  2. We start our journey with positive emotions. First of all, it is important to teach kids to notice good and pleasant moments in their lives. Then we mix an introduction of negative feelings with positive/neutral emotions.
  3. When you acquaint the child with new emotion you shouldn’t forget about previously studied feelings.

 

How could you start your way?

😀 1st Emotion.
Start with the only positive emotion

Let's start our exciting journey with happiness. 

It is necessary for us to focus the kid’s attention on pleasant moments and note what gives them pleasure. Happiness is the key to success and emotional stability for everyone, including adults.

For the first three days, we will listen to stories about happiness that are attached to our toys. Don't worry about the complexity. Our team has thought everything through and made it suitable for the youngest kids.

After the 1st step, you try to focus on happy moments for three days and talk about it with the kid. You can just say: "Look, you really liked this toy and you are happy now." Or project this approach to other situations: "Look, the dog happily greets us after a walk. It's jumping and licking us thanks to the emotion of happiness."

Remember!

You need not only point out specific emotions but also ask questions. For example: "In your opinion, what does the boy who received a chocolate bar from his mother feel?"


😭 2nd Emotion.
Sadness is okay

Three days later, you introduce a contrasting emotion - sadness, for the same number of days. 

During 3 days, you focus on adding the emotion of sadness but do not remove the happiness. You need to note situations when your child is confronted with two studied feelings. 

You are also experiencing emotions, so do not keep silent, but tell the kid about it. 

Voila!

On the seventh day, we have already taught the baby to be aware of sadness and happiness. In this way, we have laid the foundation of empathy. 

In the next three days, it is very important to give tips to cope with sadness.

Remember!

Don't make sadness a completely negative feeling. It's quite normal to be sad and even cry sometimes. There is no need to put a block on emotions. The main thing is to control that there is no way into a super negative amplitude, which can turn into tantrums and apathy. The key to a person's emotional health lies in a normal and comfortable living of both joy and sadness.


😮 3rd Emotion.
Mix sadness with neutral emotion - surprise

The next and no less fascinating step awaits us - surprise. 

In the next three days, we add surprise to sadness and happiness. We are expanding our arsenal of emotions because these are the building blocks of empathy. 

The main task of this period is to focus on the amazing situations that happen to you or your child. 

Remember!

Our fascinating stories help to develop emotional intelligence harmoniously along the way.


😡 4th Emotion.
Your kid is now ready for the emotion that is most important to control

The next stage may be a little scary, but it is very important to work through it, it is an emotion of anger. 

Not every adult can cope with this feeling, that is why it is necessary to develop awareness and understanding from an early age. 

At the same time, remember that it is normal to feel anger, but you should give your kid the tools to deal with it.

During the first three days, we just need to notice the anger in our or others' behavior. At the same time, it is extremely important not to forget about previously studied feelings, so as not to go into a solid negative.

On the 16-18 day of the marathon we will learn to cope with anger. Psychological sessions and hard blocks of bad situations are not required here. The main goal is to take control of anger. The simplest and most effective method that you should know about is the correct breathing technique. Five deep breaths plus five deep exhalations equal mindfulness and the first stage of calm. 

Remember!

This is a basic exercise, but the child can remember it for the first time not during own tantrum, but when you or someone else feels angry. 

It's easier to work with other people's emotions than with your own. At such moments, thank the child and do not get mad, do not interrupt the emotional development.


😖 5th Emotion.
Finally, the most difficult emotion to explain

The last emotion is disgust. For kids, this is reflected in taste preferences. Disgust is most easily explained by examples of food or animals. For example, the well-known opinion is that cats do not like dogs. 

This emotion is very difficult to observe in real life. Fortunately, people don't encounter disgust every day. That is why we focus our attention on previously studied emotions and thematic stories. 

Voila!

So our marathon is coming to the end. Your kid knows the basic emotions and owns the main ways to recognize and control them. 

Remember!

In the future, it is important not to forget about the development of this foundation and give the kid more complex cases with the simultaneous inclusion of different emotions. 

For example, when two people have different feelings about the same situation. To do this, our stories from all four sets of toys will suit you.

 

 

Clarification

We did not include the emotion of fear in our marathon intentionally. After all, a separate focus on this feeling can provoke an increase of fears.

At the same time, in our library, you can find stories dedicated to various social problems and listen to them in random order. If a child wants to listen to one tale several times in a row, do not stop this process because this is the current point of development.

If you need therapeutic stories on the topics of fear of doctors, brothers and sisters fighting, sharing toys - we are glad to inform you that they are also in our library for Farm Animal Toys.

Develop your child harmoniously, and we will always be happy to support you in this endeavor.