Encourages Emotional Expression (E2.2.12)

Sub Category: Developmentally Appropriate Guidance: Supporting Social and Emotional Development
Credential Level: Level 1 • Age Group: Infant, Toddler, Pre-K

COMPETENCY STATEMENT

Acknowledges, models and encourages emotional expression (encourages children to express feelings, labels feelings, thinks aloud to model their own feelings and reactions, makes connections between actions and emotional reactions)

DEFINITIONS

Teachers help children express their feelings by showing and encouraging emotional expression. This includes labeling feelings, talking about their own feelings, and linking actions to emotions. Teachers can use strategies like reading books about feelings, using puppets, and role-playing to support emotional development.

EXAMPLES

eCIRCLE Social and Emotional Learning: Self Concept – Hear About Self Concept
Age Group: Pre-K

This video explains the importance of children having self-control and self-regulation skills. In this video a teacher allows a child to express his feelings.

eCIRCLE Social and Emotional Learning: Self Control – Observe Self Control – Specialist Commentary
Age Group: Pre-K

In this video the teacher uses many opportunities throughout the day to encourage children’s emotional expression by labeling their feelings and making connections between those feelings and their reactions.

eCIRCLE Social and Emotional Learning: Self Control – Observe Self Control – Specialist Commentary
Age Group: Pre-K

Exemplar Video: Label Feelings
Age Group: Infant, Toddler

In this Exemplar Video when comforting infants and toddlers teachers labeling feelings helps children identify feeling words. This teacher labels the infant’s feeling and reaction as mad. Teachers may be hesitant to use feeling words, however it’s important to encourage these words like sad, mad, or upset because it helps children identify these feelings and connects them to the infant or toddlers emotional reaction and actions.

Exemplar Video: Label Feelings
Age Group: Infant

in this Exemplar Video the teacher reacts to positive feelings, like the infant expressing their smile. While intense negative feelings, like crying, receive lots of attention from teachers it’s just as important to pay attention to positive feelings. Notice how the teacher labels the child’s feeling as happy. By labeling the feeling the teacher provides a connection to what the infant may be feeling building their emotional vocabulary.

Exemplar Videos: Label Feelings
Age Group: Pre-K

In this exemplar video the teacher helps manage the child’s feelings and behaviors by labelling the feelings responding to the situation. The teacher is seen comforting the child by responding to the child who was hit. The teacher promptly responds to the child by using a gentle touch and asking if the child was scared by the toy that had hit their leg. By focusing on the child’s feelings the teacher acknowledges that is normal to feel scared and surprised.

Talk about Feelings I1
Age Group: Infant

In this exemplar video, a teacher is interacting with infants in a play area in the classroom. Notice how the teacher watches the children she’s interacting with, labels the feelings and asks questions–examples of acknowledging, modeling and encouraging emotional expression.

WAYS TO PRACTICE

All the Feelings I Feel
Age Group: Toddler

In this Circle Activity, children talk about different feelings and what events cause those feelings in order to support their social and emotional and cognitive development. This activity can be used to promote positive interactions and provide the teacher an opportunity to acknowledge, model and encourage emotional expression.

Feeling Faces
Age Group: Toddler

In this Circle Activity, children sing a feelings song using puppets and will attempt to imitate the facial expressions for each feeling in order to support their social and emotional and cognitive development. This activity can be used to promote positive interactions and provide the teacher an opportunity to acknowledge, model and encourage emotional expression.