Prep: True Colours

This term our Prep students have continued to engage in the Friendology program. Our focus has been on building their emotional literacy by exploring different feelings/emotions. Research tells us that children feel happier and cope better with challenges when they understand and manage their emotions. When young children can recognise and talk about strong emotions such as excitement, anger and disappointment they are less likely to express these emotions in their behaviour, but instead in their words.

To assist the students in building their emotional literacy, firstly the children practised making different facial expressions to represent different emotions

The students then viewed photographs of children displaying a variety of different emotions and we discussed as a class what emotion each child may be experiencing and why they may be feeling that way.

Maybe he’s sad because someone took his toy.

Abbie

I think she is angry because someone hurt her.

Nikki

He could be excited because it is his birthday.

Nathan

Following on from this, the children each chose an emotion and a corresponding colour for that emotion. They painted an oval in their chosen colour and then once they were dry they used permanent texta to add facial features and limbs to further represent that emotion.

This week the children have reflected on times where they have felt happy, sad, angry, nervous, surprised, worried or scared. They recorded these reflections using illustrations and explained their images to their educators. Some of their responses were:

I feel happy when I go to school.

Ireh

I am hapy when I play with Victor.

Richard

I feel sad when the school is closed

Ayanna

I feel sad when flowers die.

James

I feel nervous when I go to swimming lessons.

Willow

I felt worried when I first went to school.

Iggy

I would feel angry if someone hurt me.

Willow

I feel surprised when someone is singing so good.

Ayaana

I felt scared when there was a storm.

Abigail

In Term 3, Prep will continue with the Friendology program, focusing on what makes a healthy friendship.

Clare Wood
Prep Teacher