“A-san didn’t sit with me.” “I tried to help A-san because B-san was angry at her.” “I don’t want to play with them any more!”
We witness these scenes more often in the 4-5 year old class recently.
The children seem to be torn by various conflicts, seem to have their way blocked by walls, and seem to be lost in their emotions.
When things never work out as the children expected, when their feelings can’t be conveyed properly, they would realize there are unfamiliar feelings.
At those times, at YGK, rather than forcibly distracting the children from what is bothering them and letting them get away with it, we would like to emphasize the importance of children facing their own feelings.
Can I know what happened?
…I see. You wanted to sit next to your friend. But the friend said no to you. And you didn’t like it. Hmm, you must be feeling sad and maybe… a bit angry..
It’s about time to go to the park. What do you want to do?
Oh... So you don’t feel like going to the park with your friends today.
It is such a beautiful day. You might feel nice and comfortable outdoors.
How about going with friends from other classes?
…I see, you really don’t feel like going. Okay, it’s one of those days. I understand how you feel. Thank you for telling me how you feel.
She decided not to go to the park on this day. She made her own choice. We choose to respect her decision.
Once all the friends had left the school for the park, she seemed to start to miss her friends. She looked out from the window and said, “Look, I can see their hats!” “The clock hand points to this number, so it should only be five more minutes.”
She, then, started talking about various things while waiting for the friends, her family trip memories, favorite cartoons, etc.
After enjoying a good conversation, she started working busily at a table in the literacy area. She seemed to need her own time and space.
After a quite while, she said in a bright voice, with a big smile on her face,
"I wrote a letter to A-san to say sorry."
"Oh, I see. So do you mean you had a fight with her?"
"No, I got angry at her. So I wrote I am sorry and I love you. " I will put this in her cubby so that she can find it as soon as she comes back from the park and can open it."
Although she was about to be overwhelmed by her emotional waves, she took a pause, faced her emotions and thought out what she wanted to do.
Children may undergo these moments or find themselves standing in front of a huge blocking wall as they grow.
We would like children to be able to balance their feelings and emotions by facing them sincerely and asking for help from those around them, rather than forcibly keeping a lid on their feelings and letting them pass by.
We believe that early childhood is an important time to nurture the roots of a person. This is why we value acknowledging and loving them for who they are, including their negative sides that arise in them at times. It is our belief that children grow more, develop their talents and have a firm sense of self-worth when they feel loved. Because we believe that because you can love yourself, you can also cherish those around you.
We would like to watch over the children's upbringing with love and care with their families.
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