Exploring our feelings progresses into feeling-bots in the studio

Our study this year continues to develop in the direction of emotional intelligence and awareness as the children investigate their feelings and experiences in the studio. Emotional intelligence (EI) refers to the ability to perceive, self-regulate and evaluate emotions.  Emotional awareness is how we recognize when feelings are present in ourselves and others.  It is closely related to emotional literacy, which is the ability to label feelings with specific feeling words.   As we work together, exploring and learning about our feelings in a socially supportive environment, I am humbled by the children's creativity, words and thoughts.  I am reminded that the human experience is wide and varied and we all grow, with greater ease and integration, when we spaciously invite even the most uncomfortable feelings within a caring community.  As the children create feeling-bots and portraits we talk about what feelings like: "mad", "sad", "angry", "jealous", "lonely" and "love" feel like.  Together we make room for the wide arc of human feeling and experience and we discuss how to recognize an emotion and what we need when we are feeling a particular emotion. Each creation is left out on our inspiration table for everyone to see.  As I walk by I'm reminded of the power of inclusion: when we include even the messiest aspects of self and other in conscious community, real opportunities for emotional intelligence and awareness emerge. 

Mad

I don’t feel good when I’m mad because it’s just way too much for me.  It’s lots to do and lots to fight.  Sometimes me and my brother fight because of lots of things, toys and lots of things.  I get mad when people push me into the mud or don’t listen to me.

When I’m mad I feel frustrated. 
Mad hurts inside.
Mad feels like a hard tummy.

Feeling Regular

When I feel regular I feel pretty happy.  I feel all the feelings when I feel regular and I feel sad.  Regular feels like everything.

Sad

Sad is if someone doesn’t want to play with you or if someone yells at you.  
Sad feels heavy like a twenty nine weight rock.

When I’m sad I feel lonely.  
Sad feels like an empty house.
Sad is when no one wants to play with you.

Happy

Happy feels like I’m warm and it feels like its summer inside.

When I’m happy I feel like I play with friends a lot. 
Happy feels like love and flowers and smiling.