Whether or not we are aware of it, we share a lot about our emotions through our non-verbal communication. This week at Tinkergarten Anywhere, we explore how all animals use body language to show their feelings. We'll get inspiration from Animal Feelings in Motion cards, each with an invitation to move and communicate a different type of feeling. What a great way to practice recognizing emotions in ourselves and others.
The Guide
Step 1: Watch the Tinkergarten Anywhere Emotions in Motion video lesson.
Hop into your My Tinkergarten trial dashboard to watch the Emotions in Motion video lesson. Kids can watch how Meghan and other explorers use body movement to express how they feel. Then, kids can get inspired to move their own bodies to recognize and express their emotions!
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Step 2: Introduce the Animal Feelings in Motion cards.
Print and cut out these Animal Feelings in Motion cards for some creature-inspired ideas (as featured in our Tinkergarten Anywhere lesson). Then, find a spot with plenty of room to move outside.
Show kids the cards and let them know that these have some ideas for how we can move our bodies to express the emotions we feel inside. Or, hide the cards around your outdoor space for kids to discover!
Step 3: Put emotions into motion!
Invite kids to pick one of the cards and guess which emotion is represented by the face on the card. Prompt thinking by asking kids to recall a moment when they experienced that emotion. Share about a time when you experienced that emotion, too.
Read from the card about some ways that creatures show that emotion through body movement and posture and try moving like the animal together.
Then, invite kids to show you how they like to move their bodies when they feel that emotion. Show kids how you like to move and try out each other’s moves.
When ready, move on to the next card.
Extend Play!
If kids are really enjoying moving their bodies to express emotions, try some of these ideas to keep the play going:
Add obstacles—For an extra challenge, welcome kids to make sad, happy, angry, etc. movements as they move through a physical obstacle (e.g. walk along a piece of rope or weave bodies in between a row of buckets).
Emotion dance—Listen to a song and notice how the music makes you feel. Then, dance to express the emotion you feel inside.
Emotion puppet—Turn a sock and some nature treasures into a nature puppet. Then, enjoy moving your puppet to show different emotions. Read the full DIY activity here.
Emotion charades—Take turns acting out an emotion and invite the other person to guess.
Why is this activity great for kids?
We can learn how to read and even regulate emotions (the foundation of emotional empathy) by paying attention to body movement, posture, gestures, touch and personal space. Acting out emotions through body language helps kids recognize the connection between the two. Through playful movement, kids also learn strategies for managing their feelings, especially the big ones! As kids move like different animals, they will activate their vestibular and proprioceptive senses, two of the hidden senses that help us feel alert, focus our attention and coordinate the function of other senses. Finally, moving like different animals helps foster creativity and inspires pretend play.
By creativity, we mean the ability to both imagine original ideas or solutions to problems and actually do what needs to be done to make them happen. So, to help kids develop creativity, we parents need to nurture kids' imaginations and give them lots of chances to design, test, redesign and implement their ideas.
"Creativity is as important now in education as literacy, and we should treat it with the same status.”
Why, you ask? For one, it is through being creative that a person is able to get senses, sensibility and spirit working together. Simply put, without creativity, we don't think our kids will live a full life.
On a more practical level, it's also the means by which humans of all ages make an impact on the world and other people around them. A lot of heavy stuff is going to go down in our kids' lifetime, and their generation will need to imagine and implement solutions to big and very complicated problems. Although our kids are still far from public office or the boardroom, today's political and business leaders worldwide are already pointing to creativity as the most important leadership quality for the future.
Although years from the art studio or design lab, little kids can learn to think and act creatively if you give them time and the right practice.
Gross Motor
Category:
Body Skills
What are Gross Motor skills?
Gross motor skills involve movement and use of the large muscles of the body (e.g. those in our arms, legs and trunk/torso) that enable such functions as walking, running, sitting upright, climbing, and throwing.
In the first 16 months of the average baby’s life, she rapidly acquires significant gross motor skills: rolling over, sitting up, standing, crawling and walking. Toddlers and young children go on to build gross motor skills such as throwing and catching a ball, balancing on a log, jumping, and running in a game of tag.
Gross motor skills develop through practice and repetition, which is why a baby takes weeks to perfect each new milestone motor skill, and a child will attempt that same climbing stunt again and again or take a whole season to learn how to throw or catch a ball successfully.
Each child develops at his or her own pace and in his or her own way. Typical gross motor skills development also requires that the brain, spine, nerves and muscles need to be intact and undamaged. If damage has occurred through birth trauma, accident or illness, then progress of motor skills, as that of other skills, may be not resemble the notes below.
Why does it matter?
Gross motor skills are essential for every day, important body movements including walking, keeping balance, reaching, lifting and even sitting. These skills are essential for getting around, accessing the things we need and participating in games, sports and other activities that promote wellness, social development and learning. Gross motor skills are also necessary for other physical functions. For example, a child’s ability to sit and hold his upper body strong and steady will likely impact his ability to use his hands to write, draw and cut as well as his ability to follow instructions and participate actively in a classroom setting.
Typical Gross Motor Development by age:
18-24 months
Babies learn to walk well, skip, jump, and run. They learn to climb on stairs, logs, small ladders and age appropriate playground equipment (or, if like ours, on equipment designed for kids much older!). They also enjoy moving and grooving to music.
24-36 months
Toddlers run, jump and climb with improved coordination. Toddlers start to enjoy playing games that coordinate more than one gross motor skill like those that involve running, kicking and/or climbing. Toddlers also enjoy experimenting with movement in certain directions such as: forwards and backwards; in straight lines; rotating until dizzy, etc.
Age 3-4
Large muscle movement grows more coordinated. Children can run faster and switch both terrain and direction with much more ease, making chasing games and races both fun and helpful. Many children this age begin to use pedal toys and attempt to hop with both feet and then on one foot while keeping their balance. They can toss objects in the direction of a target and play catch at short distances.
Age 4-5
Large muscle movement grows even stronger and more coordinated. Most children master the hopping with one or both feet. They can run, jump forward and often skip. They can throw objects and often hit a target. Games that involve kicking and throwing while running are now possible and fun. Toddlers this age love to balance on the edges of objects and walk in straight lines. Movement that is rhythmic is both highly engaging and possible.
Ages 5-6
Large muscle movement only continues to grow stronger and coordinated as children’s energy level soars at this age. Most kids can hop, skip, and even jump rope. They easily throw balls at targets and are improving their ability to catch balls that are tossed to them. Kids this age start to take more risks with their climbing, making it an great age to begin climbing trees, challenging logs and rocks.
Sensory
Category:
Body Skills
What is Sensory Development?
Although some scientists classify as many as 20 senses, when childhood educators talk about "developing the senses," we typically mean developing the five standard senses: sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste. In addition to honing these senses, educators care about sensory integration, which is the ability to take in, sort out, process and make use of information gathered from the world around us via the senses.
Why does it matter?
The better kids are able to tune and integrate their senses, the more they can learn. First, if their senses are sharper, the information kids can gather should be of greater quantity and quality, making their understanding of the world more sophisticated. Further, until the lower levels of the brain can efficiently and accurately sort out information gathered through the senses, the higher levels cannot begin to develop thinking and organization skills kids need to succeed. Senses also have a powerful connection to memory. Children (and adults) often retain new learning when the senses are an active part of the learning.
So, if kids have more sensory experiences, they will learn more, retain better and be better able to think at a higher level. Makes the days they get all wet and dirty in the sandbox seem better, doesn't it?
Empathy
Category:
Social Skills
What is Empathy?
Simply put, empathy is the ability to think and care about the feelings and needs of others. The good news is, the more we study, it appears that children are empathetic by nature. All we need to do is nurture it in them—that of course is now always easy. Even though young children are simply working on gaining control over their emotions and won’t learn to really think about their emotions and the cause and effect of their behavior on others until their school years, they can start to develop the foundation for empathy much earlier. Taking actions (and watching adults take actions) that benefit other people, caring for animals and their environment and even just wondering how other people or creatures are feeling helps build both positive habits and a strong base for the development of empathy.
Why does it matter?
Empathy is at the root of what psychologists call “pro-social” behavior—behavior that people must develop in order to develop a conscience, build close relationships, maintain friendships, and develop strong communities. Empathy also helps kids avoid bullying, one of the most worrisome social challenges young kids face. Being able to think and feel for others can keep kids from becoming either bully or victim and equip them to stand up for others who are bullied. Imagine if all kids had such tools!
Age: 0 to 8+
Time: 1 hour+
Materials: downloadable Animal Feelings in Motion cards
