Friends and Family Week

​Friends and Family Week
We will continue taking about your child and how they are part of our community. This fall we will talk
about homes, food, people, emotions and the world around them. At home you can talk about who is in your
family, who lives at your house and who lives in other places but are still part of your family. You can talk
about places people live — houses, apartment, farms, cities, in the mountains and by the water. When you
are out on a walk (and hopefully we will be able to do that again soon!) you can talk about the people in our
community and what they do when they are working. It is a great time to talk about the people in your
family and what they do for work. Joel told us that when Ansel is pretending to be PaPa 'he talks in a
deep voice and says he is going to go work on a project’! Children are aware of our activities and this is a
time to add to their vocabulary, and their understanding, of what people are doing to help their community
and family.
As you talk about what people do for work, and for fun, you can ask them what they like to do with their
family. What makes them happy when they are with family. It is a time to talk about emotions as well.
When we are sad who helps us feel better? When we are sad what can we do to make ourself feel better?
What happens when we are mad? How can we help someone else if they are feeling sad or mad. How can
you tell if someone is sad? How can you tell when someone is happy? Be sure to let them know how you
are feeling and how you are going to deal with it. You can say — I am feeling happy and want to dance. I
am sad and want a hug. I am mad and need a chance to be by myself. I was wrong and need to say I am
sorry. Giving children words to use with their emotions, and the actions that can be taken, gives them a
strong emotional base to build on as they grow.
Emotional Intelligence is the "capacity to be
aware of, control, and express ones emotions”
according to Daniel Goleman.
We will work on his 5 key elements this year:
~ Self-awareness
~ Self -regulation
~ Motivation
~ Empathy
~ Social Skills
More than ever we are dependent on our
family and friends this year. I have realized
how important my family is and how I had taken for granted my interactions with them. This is a great
time to build that connection with your child as well as teaching them the importance of strong
relationships with other people.
Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant. Robert Louis Stevenson

~Teacher Janice