Emotional Literacy

All Feelings are Okay

“Emotional literacy… is the ability to recognize, label and understand feelings in oneself  and others. It  is a  prerequisite skill to emotional regulation and successful interpersonal interactions and problem solving and  is one of  the most important skills  a child is taught  in the early years.”

CSEFEL, Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning

Building Self-Awareness of Feelings

When children are able to name feelings, they will begin to understand what is going on inside.

A large and more complex feeling vocabulary allows children

•        to make finer discrimination between feelings.

•        to better communicate with others about how they are feeling.

•        to engage in discussions about their personal experiences with the world

 This self-awareness is a prerequisite for both 

well-being and understanding the feelings of others. 

(Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations of Early Learning)

Enhancing emotional literacy through children’s books

Emotional regulation in the early years can be enabled through the use of books in early years settings. Using books provides children with acceptance of their emotions as normal, self-awareness and awareness of others; all of which are relevant and needed for the child within an early years settings.

​​The Value of Books

Information in the books provides opportunities for the educator and child to exchange ideas on significant topics. Seeing characters with various feelings validates the child’s emotions. Exploring feelings during shared reading helps children understand names and reasons for feelings.

Educators can help children expand their 

knowledge of feelings with carefully selected books. 

Allow children time to consider the emotions of storybook characters and think about how characters feel and react.

This enables children to prepare to deal

with their own range of emotions and behaviours.

We want to provide children with strategies to accept and manage both comfortable and uncomfortable feelings when they occur.

The benefit of reading books together is that it creates a shared understanding and language.

What Children Learn

Exploring feelings during shared reading helps children understand 

•        names for the feelings

•        what a feeling looks like,

•        different things that cause that feeling in themselves and maybe others,

•        ways they show their feelings

•        how to change or maintain that feeling.

Children also learn that

• Emotions can change throughout the day.

• You can have more than one emotion about something.

• You can feel differently than someone else about the same thing. 

• Some feelings are comfortable and others make us feel uncomfortable  

All Emotions are accepted – it is what you do with them that counts.

This learning is crucial for emotional and mental health.

The My Feelings Children's Book Series helps young children (to age 6) to identify and manage their feelings.  

Each book promotes  three key learning concepts:

1.       When do children have this feeling? 

Introduce them to the experiences or situations that cause them to feel the way they do.

2.       How do their bodies react? 

The body provides clues for each feeling.

3.       How can they manage their feelings?

Give them strategies to calm down, and cope with their feelings.

Songs about Feelings

Each book includes the lyrics for two “feeling songs.”

How I Feel

(Tune: Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star)

On my face you’ll often see

How I feel Inside of me:

Sometimes happy, Sometimes sad,

Sometimes scared, And sometimes mad!

On my face you’ll often see

Just how I feel inside of me.

When You’re Happy and You Know it

When you’re Happy and you know it, clap your hands. <clap, clap>

When you’re Happy and you know it, clap your hands. <clap, clap>

When you’re happy and you know it, and you really want to show it,

When you’re Happy and you know it, clap your hands. <cheer>

Here are the first lines of variations you can also sing:

When you’re Happy and you know it, shout, I’m Happy! …

When you’re Happy and you know it, wave your arms …

When you’re Happy and you know it, shout, Hurray! …

When you’re Happy and you know it, give a hug! …

Each version  of the books has its own set of lyrics.

If you’re sad and you know it, cry, boo hoo …

If you’re angry and you know it, cross your arms …

If you’re scared and you know it, hide your face ... (cup face in hands)

The Value of Songs 

Music creates a positive emotion in the brain, which can be calming or motivating. There are many times during the day when the benefits of music and movement are invaluable.

The goals for these songs are: 

• to help children recognize the feelings in others 

• to begin the comprehension of empathy, and

• to reinforce the concept that all feelings are natural and “OK” to express, as long as an acceptable method of expression is chosen.

The messages are internalized when songs are used. Children remember the lyrics of a song because the melody captures their interest and acts as a prompt for remembering the words.

“Naming emotions accurately helps children be clearer about what is going on inside

— essential both to making clearheaded decisions and to managing emotions throughout life. Self-awareness—turning our attention to our inner world of thoughts 

and feelings— allows us to manage ourselves well. An inner focus lets us understand 

and handle our inner world, even when rocked by disturbing feelings.

This is a life skill that keeps us on track throughout the years..." 

Dr. Daniel Goleman: We Should Be Teaching Emotional Literacy in Schools, 2014

Emotional literacy will last a lifetime!

Moving Forward….

TFL Early Years Social Emotional Learning and Relationship Building Strategies encourages educators to implement intentional practices through both planned and spontaneous opportunities.

We would be happy to discuss your interest in our training.

Jan Blaxall    Janet Foster      info@tflearlyyears.com