“Don’t ever pass away again.” – Olivia

Silvana opened up our morning meeting with the question, “Who would like to share news?” Olivia raised her hand and shared, “My doggy Lukie passed away.”  The children turned toward her and noticed that she had tears in her eyes. Everyone was very attentive, supportive, and empathetic. We reminded her that her first appointment would be in the Communication Center and that she was invited to work on her journal to share more. 

During that appointment, a small group of children created what is now called, ‘The Legend’. It is a visual key to emotional states represented by colors, words, and faces on which they agreed. So are, they have chosen colors to represent sad, happy, mad, shy, proud and scared.

This Legend lives in our classroom in multiple spaces.  The children often refer to it and it has inspired a lot of the work that we are doing. It supports conversations about, “How do I feel? How do we feel?” and now we use this with our journals. These symbols are in the shape of circles so the children can also draw the expression of that emotion. So when they are feeling a feeling, they can simply open up their journal and find the color that represents their feeling, and draw their face expressing that emotion.

Olivia’s journal read: This is Lukie. He passed away and I’m so sad. Don’t ever pass away again.

Gia’s journal reads: I taught Marcel how to swim! That made me feel proud! I feel scared when I go to bed with my mama. I feel a little scared at the aquarium. And there is an octopus that says, “I’m going to eat you!”

Kirby’s journal reads: Walter, my cousin. Don’t ever move away again. (Sad).

Sonia’s journal reads: I’m happy when my mom picks me up. And my doggy licks my chin. I’m sad when mommy drops me off. I’m okay at naptime with my lovely and blanket. I get to read books quietly.

These journals are done in community, where “my” story is heard by others and vice versa.  It gives the children the opportunity to say, “Me too” as they relate to one another. This also allows for reflecting and bridging their experiences from home or at school and making deeper connections. In our next steps, we will bridge these emotional connections through collaborative storytelling.

Through identifying and expressing our emotions, we become more self-aware and make connections about how others feel. Building a recognition of ourselves in others is a cornerstone of a healthy community. –    Jen