Mental Health and Wellbeing News

Dear Parents and Carers,

This week in our Resilience Project lesson we looked at Emotional Literacy. Emotional Literacy is the capacity to identify, name, and express emotions effectively, both in oneself and in others. We discussed how different emotions can be felt in our bodies such as butterflies in our tummy. We also discussed facial expressions associated with different emotions.

 Why it's important:

Working on our emotional literacy skills provides us with opportunities to enhance our understanding and expression of various emotions. As we improve our emotional literacy skills, we can better recognise our own feelings and enhance our ability to manage them. This equips us to navigate diverse experiences, including handling conflicts, forming friendships, coping with challenging circumstances, and maintaining resilience when faced with change.

A great game to play with your children is Feelings Charades from The Resilience Project.

 What to do:

Sit around the dinner table as a family. Take turns to make a 'feelings face'. For example, a sad face, an angry face, an excited face, etc. You can also use body language, such as moving your hands or jumping up and down to show excitement. 

Invite other family members to guess the feeling. When the feeling is correctly identified, have a family discussion about a time when you felt that emotion.

Engaging in discussions about emotions and why we are feeling the way we do is extremely important for children, so they learn to recognise and express their emotions in a healthy way.

If you would like further information or have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Deb Owens

Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader