32: Inside Out
Dare to tell the smallest of stories if you want to generate large emotions.
-William Zinsser
To feel is to be human. Whether it's the bubble of joy from a good laugh with friends, an enduring sadness from the loss of a loved one, or squeals of surprise from an unexpected gift -- our emotions are our personal proof that we are alive.
Our emotions are uniquely ours, shaped by our experiences and how we see the world. Sometimes, it is bound with tangible things, places and events from past memories that we made. Other times, we connect through the experiences of others.
Stories are a powerful tool to help us strengthen and deepen our emotions, and help us understand what it means to be human. Stories allow us to empathize -- to walk in another character's shoes -- and experience the world through their lens.
This week in Kinder 2, we explored how different stories make us feel, and tried to unlock the range of our emotions.
We started off with an emotion dance party. The children danced while looking for different emojis that were strategically placed around the classroom. Every time the music stops, they stepped on the emoji nearest them and copied the expression on the card.
The kindergarteners have become such eloquent dancers over time and can now express themselves well through movement -- it is always pure fun seeing them dance together.
Apparently, they're very good actors, too!
To help the children identify our different emotions, we took a sneak peek of the first part of Inside Out. It's a beautiful depiction of the feelings we have, and simplifies the complex way on how our emotions work.
Then I asked the children,
"How about you, what do you think do your emotions look like?"
And voila! This is how they depict their joy, sadness, fear, disgust, and anger -- some similar to the characters in the movie. 😁
Mana
Eimi
Yanchen
Emi
Haruto
Sophia
Michel
Jinnosuke
Atsuharu
Jae Hee
Arisa
Eda
Ren
"But what will YOU look like if these emotions are at play?"
Can you guess the emotions that the kindergarteners are expressing?
To connect our emotions with stories, we read The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf and talked about how the different parts of the narrative made us feel.
They felt excited to find out more about Spain.
"I live in Spain!" one of them shared.
They felt scared when the little bulls were running and jumping and butting their heads.
"They might get hurt, Ms. Pam!" some of them said.
and smell the flowers.
"I think he's happy doing that, so I'm happy, too," one of them reflected.
"I think his mom is sad, too" one of them said.
"Why do they want to do that?" some asked.
"They will be able to do what they want!" they exclaimed.
"They will leave their friends if they go," one of them reflected.
"I think it's going to hurt!" they said.
"This is going to be so funny!" they laughed.
and the men thought he was the fiercest bull in the pasture.
"Ferdinand is so funny," they laughed.
"The men will take Ferdinand away!" they said.
"I feel sad because the bee will die. Bees die when they sting.
That's why I don't want bees to sting me." one of them reflected.
"It looks really nice and happy," they said.
"I don't think he wants to do that," one shared.
and Matadors do to the bulls.
"Why will they stick those to the bulls? It will hurt them," they said.
instead of fight.
"Ferdinand is happy!" they said.
"I'm glad he was able to go home," they shared.
After reading The Story of Ferdinand, the children had the chance to explore our classroom library and pick a book that they would like to quietly read on their own. I asked them to be aware of what the story makes them feel -- whether it's from the pictures they see or the words they understand.
The children shared what they felt after reading their chosen story:
We ended the week by creating our own stories based on different feelings. The children picked an emoji from a bowl, and were asked to create a story that would reflect the emotion they got.
They handpicked the shapes that they would use to create their story.
And shared what they made.
Emi 😉
Once upon a time, there was a girl. The girl went to the mountain. The girl found a sheep The sheep followed the girl. They went to the forest. In the forest, the girl found a chicken. The chicken followed her. The girl saw a duck. The duck followed her. The girl saw a cow. The cow followed her. The girl was very happy. She brought them to their homes. She went home, too.
Atsuharu 😤
The boy has a ball. The chicken got the ball from the boy. The chicken broke the ball. The boy was angry. The boy went away from the chicken. He rode a boat.
Mana 😋
There was a baby, mommy, and sister. They were in a jungle. There were many animals. There was a cow in the jungle, too. The cow pinched Mommy. Mommy said, “Stop!” The cow did not stop. Near them, there was a unicorn. The unicorn made a rainbow. The cow saw the rainbow. The cow stopped. Mommy said thank you to the unicorn.
Haruto 😄
There was a boy with his pet bird. The bird got lost. But later, it came back. The boy was happy when his pet came back. The boy and his pet went to the house. They played games together. After playing, they got tired but they were so happy. They slept at night.
Arisa 😜
A girl saw a boy. She asked him about the funny things around. He answered, “cat, chicken, rabbit, and duck.” They played in a silly way. They jumped upside down with their head on the ground. The girl went on the top of the tree still upside down. The boy followed. They did silly play all day.
Diego 😳
Once upon a time, there was a lady that had a tall house. One day, she climbed to the very top and she was scared. She opened the dool and fell out! She poked herself on the sharp rock and went crazy. She saw a duck and said, “Hello, duck!” The girl said, “Can you help me?” The duck poked her on her feet with its beak and she went crazier. Poor lady!
Eda 😗
There was a boy and a girl. They were playing with the ball. Then the boy took the ball. The girl got angry at the boy. After many years, the girl grew up. She met a man. They fell in love. They kissed and married. When night time came, they snuggled on the bed, hugged, and slept The next day, they bought some bought some pets, like horses and rabbits.
Michel 😢
The man shot the ball very strong. That’s why the ball landed on the roof of the house. The ball was stuck and the man was sad. Then a cow appeared and ran against the house. The ball fell off the house.
Jinnosuke 😅
The car was in his house. Then the boy went to the cat’s house. The cat hid from the boy and went to the tree. The boy looked for the cat. He can’t find the cat. The boy went up the tree and saw the cat there. He was tired from looking for the cat so he rested. When the boy and the cat were on the tree, someone cut the tree! The boy and the cat fell down. The boy’s mommy called the doctor.
Sophia 😠
The boy and the girl were playing soccer on the farm. The boy did not share the ball. The girl was angry at the boy. On the other side of the farm, the bird and the horse were hungry. They had some food but the horse did not share. The bird was angry at the horse. The animals around them were scared because they were angry, and sad because they’re not sharing.
Eimi 😴
The girl lives in a farm. The girl went outside and saw a car. The cat made a magic beam from its mouth and it made the girl sleepy. The girl fell asleep outside. In the morning, she woke up because the cat woke up the animals. The animals made a lot of sound. It woke up the girl. The girl got sick because it was cold outside.
Jae Hee 😃
It was nighttime and there was a loud sound, “grung! grung!” A boy woke up and got his sword. He wanted to check if his animals are okay. He opened the door and he saw the duck. The duck said, “quack!” Then he saw the chicken. The chicken said, “cockadoodledoo!” All his animals were okay and happy to see him. The boy was happy, too.
Ren 😍
There’s a cute flower and a girl loves it. She wants to take the flower. She thought, “If I take the flower, it’s going to die.” The girl left the cute flower. She visited it everyday and looked at it. She was happy.
Yanchen 😡
There was a car. The car was going to China. On the way to China, there were animals crossing the road. The car could not move. He was angry at the animals. He beeped his horn. The animals did not move. The car said, “Please move!” The animals listened to him and moved.
If to feel is, indeed, to be human, then we are lucky to have stories that help us
feel more and more alive every time we read.
Have a wonderful Golden Week break, everyone.
Your Kindergarten teacher,
Pam
----
P.S.
We also removed some tulip bulbs from the field last Monday to get it ready for sweet potato planting. It's about to come full circle, as the children will soon plant sweet potatoes for the next batch of students in Kinder 2. Has it already been that long since we harvested the sweet potatoes for Unit 1? (My current feeling: nostalgia)
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