Differentiated socialization of boys and girls reinforces gender stereotypes. For example, anger is more accepted when expressed by boys. During childhood, they mainly learn to express this emotion, and that could hinder their ability to communicate (Ducret & Le Roy, 2012). We also note that adults, when talking to girls, have conservation subjects that are more often oriented towards emotions and tolerate crying more with girls than with boys (CSF, 2016).

Expressing emotions is part of the four dimensions of a child’s global development. It is therefore important to make sure that all children, girls and boys, are able to fully develop their emotional dimension through a variety of activities. These activities must as well be strongly anchored in the lived experiences and perspectives of Aboriginal peoples in order to foster an optimal social-emotional development (Tremblay, Gokiert, Georgis, Edwards & Skrypnek, 2013). This page points to a few activities you can facilitate in a childcare setting.

Strategies to deal with emotions

By learning about emotional literacy and how to express their needs, children build a healthy sense of self-awareness. They must learn to read emotions. In other words, we need to teach emotional literature to children so that they can develop better interpersonal skills. Recognizing and then verbalizing emotions will help children to understand them. Beginning in early childhood, we must help children to develop greater emotional agility using simple techniques to calm down after feeling an intense emotion, whether positive or negative (Jasmin Roy Foundation, 2019).

The Jasmin Roy Foundation created three short videos educators can use with children to teach them how to find calm, emotional balance and a total well-being. You can watch the videos on their website or just below.

Shai and his strategy for calm

In this first video, we teach different strategies for responding when a friend bullies us. Invite children to try out the suggested strategies with you, pausing the video as needed. You can also ask them about similar situations they may have experienced, and to share their own strategies for calming down when they feel angry or sad.

Tchoumy and his secrets for an emotional balance

For each secret shared by Tchoumy to “feel good in our head, in our heart and in our body”, invite children to try out the strategy. For instance:

1. Hug yourself and say “I am unique! I love myself!” or find yourself some qualities;
2. Benevolence : invite children to name one think they’ve done and that they regret, then to forgive themselves;
3. Concentration : try a role play where one of the children tries to distract you from something you are doing to make you angry, to show them how you can stay focused and avoid an argument;
4. Wait : what are the children’s strategies to be patient?

Akiko and her strategies for total well-being

Invite children to mimic emotions, to understand that others have emotions and to learn how to recognize them.

Social and emotional learning for First Nations children

As Blanchet (2019, p. 26) states in an article on social and emotional learning among First Nations students in Quebec, many studies have shown the benefits of including these types of learning in schools’ curriculum (Shanker, 2014; Taylor, Oberle, Durlak et Weissberg, 2017). She adds that in many indigenous educational institutions, the implementation of a positive and caring environment is essential to children’s well-being and academic success. As some of them grow up with a lack of emotional security and experience intergenerational trauma, they need sustained attention (Clarke, 2007).

Teaching children how to express their emotions is a day-to-day challenge, but investing time in it will foster the development of the emotional dimension of the child, create favourable conditions for learning (Blanchet, 2019), as well as improving the child’s relational behaviours, decreasing his or her stress and increasing his or her learning capacity (Taylor et al., 2017).

The Jasmin Roy Foundation, in collaboration with the Centre des Premières Nations Nikanite and the Secrétariat aux affaires autochtones, has put together pedagogical tools to foster social and emotional learning among Quebec’s aboriginal students. The posters are available in English, French and Mi’gmaq (as well as other indigenous languages), and customizable versions are also available. They come with a teachers’ guide, available in English and French. Don’t hesitate to print them and put them in your group’s room to use it when children are struggling with expressing how they feel.

You can download the documents below.