Respond

Ensure mokopuna have access to a range of natural materials, loose parts, music, messy or sensory play, and ways to make marks (e.g., paints).

Consider how the aesthetics of the environment and routines (including care moments) influence both emotion and wairua (e.g., providing a calming social atmosphere at mealtimes).

Model using different ways to express yourself. For example, name the feeling and show it using facial expression, body gesture and sign.

Support children’s exploration of and engagement in their play by listening to children’s verbal and non-verbal expressions, being attentive, attuned and responsive.

Consistently use a select range of karakia, whakataukī, waiata and pūrākau during everyday play, experiences and routines.

Sing waiata and oriori that mokopuna are familiar with and may hear at home.

In consultation with each child’s whānau, integrate significant forms of expressing spirituality into everyday practices and rituals.

Provide opportunities to experience and observe spiritual connectedness, such as exploring te taiao and listening to familiar spiritual practices and rituals such as karakia and waiata, pese and lotu.

Engage with mokopuna in these experiences and watch and listen for the ways children engage and express themselves.

Ensure that resources such as books and images include diverse examples of spirituality and cultural celebrations. Take care to ensure that resources reflect the spiritual diversity of the children and whānau in your community.

Identify a range of emotion words to use with mokopuna to support core emotions, such as harikoa/ happy, pōuri/ sad, hiamo/ excited, pāmamai/ upset, pukuriri/ angry, mataku/ scared.

Use core emotion words in multiple languages, including te reo Māori, sign and children’s home languages.

Be expressive when using emotion words, matching these with your facial and body language.

Name and affirm emotions mokopuna appear to be feeling.

Support mokopuna to tune into the emotions of others around them, using a range of emotion words.

Reassure and support understanding by empathetically reflecting and responding to children’s emotional expressions, such as smiling broadly when a child smiles, or showing concern to acknowledge a child who may be feeling uneasy or unhappy.

Support children to be aware of the feelings of others by noticing and sensitively commenting on the actions and emotions of mokopuna nearby. For example, “Sam has a big smile! … Harikoa!”

Be expressive using tone of voice and body language to support your meaning when commenting on or talking about your own emotions.

Use story books that illustrate a range of emotions. Name and discuss why characters may seem to feel that way.

Respond promptly to children’s cues to co-regulate, provide comfort and reassure them when they are upset or overwhelmed.

When offering comfort to mokopuna, name and affirm their emotions.

When getting to know a child’s preferences for support or comfort, begin by enacting co-regulation strategies suggested by whānau.

Use appropriate type and level of co-regulation support for the individual child. For example, some mokopuna may be comforted by a cuddle, some prefer a favourite blanket, while others may like to hear soothing music or experience gentle movement.

Be engaged, attuned and offer support when mokopuna are overwhelmed. Gently model a way to calm down, such as taking deep breaths while comforting a child (co-regulating).

Be respectful of children’s big emotions and allow them time and space to feel and express these, remaining close by and available to help them when they are ready.

Consider how the learning environment (including resources, spaces, textures, and sounds) can support mokopuna to regulate their emotions themselves. For example, soft furnishings, enclosed spaces, and sensory experiences that mokopuna can access independently.

Ensure care routines are responsive and support children’s confidence that their needs will be consistently met, supporting children’s ability to regulate their emotions across the day.

Create opportunities that support mokopuna to engage in familiar and new media such as messy and sensory play, visual art materials (drawing, painting, constructing, sculpting, weaving), music, musical instruments, kapa haka and movement.

Within different media, support mokopuna in their varied expressions including movements, use of gestures and signs, use of words and talking, sounds and singing and use of symbols or mark-making.

Sensitively join mokopuna in their play and engagement in ways that affirm their expression of emotions and wairua.

Find opportunities to repeat familiar karakia and waiata supporting children’s engagement and participation and encouraging them to support each other.

Talk with mokopuna about their connections to whakapapa, marae, maunga, awa and whenua.

Have conversations with mokopuna about the value of gratitude and why we give thanks.

Provide meaningful opportunities to experience and observe spiritual connectedness, such as exploring te taiao or participating in familiar spiritual practices and rituals such as karakia and waiata, pese and lotu.

Listen and be engaged with mokopuna in these experiences and support them to share their ideas and feelings in different ways, such as through words or movement.

Explore families’ spiritual practices and rituals that may be reflected in the setting, for example learning a song or a celebration that could be observed with the children. Have open conversations with families about how to do this in authentic and respectful ways.

Begin to expand the words you use to acknowledge a wider range of emotions such as whakararuraru/ frustration, hihira/ shyness and whakahī/ pride.

Use books and images to explore emotion words and talk about the emotions depicted. Ensure resources are supportive of multiple languages, including te reo Māori, sign and children’s home languages.

Find opportunities to comment on and discuss how emotions might feel within the body, such as having goosebumps, a thumping heart, a tight throat, or a hot feeling in the tummy.

Name and affirm emotions children appear to be feeling. Talk about what you see in the child’s facial expression and body that makes you think this.

Provide authentic opportunities for mokopuna to talk about their feelings, supporting them with words they could use to name their feelings.

Reassure mokopuna that emotions are valid with simple clear messages such as, “You seem frustrated. It can be hard to wait".

Find appropriate opportunities to describe or share ideas about the feelings of others. For example, “Sam has a big smile on his face. Do you think he’s feeling proud that he has finally finished the puzzle?”

When and as appropriate, talk with mokopuna about your emotions and how they feel in your body.

Talk with mokopuna about ways they might respond sensitively to people who may be feeling overwhelmed or upset, and model different ways to offer support. For example, “Sam looks upset. Let’s help … Sam, you look upset. Do you want to play with us?”

Be attuned to the signs of children’s needs and distress before it builds, so that co-regulation support or comfort can be offered before a child becomes overwhelmed whenever possible.

Balance your response to children experiencing big emotions with the knowledge that it is okay for them to be upset without the pressure to be calm quickly.

Name and affirm children’s emotions and offer co-regulation support and comfort in ways that are most appropriate for the child. You might ask how you can support them, “You seem very sad. Would you like a cuddle?”

Look for authentic opportunities to model different strategies and to calm yourself, such as taking deep breaths or going for a walk around the playground, so that children see and experience those strategies in action repeatedly over time.

Support mokopuna to recognise their own needs and energy levels and then act on these before becoming overwhelmed (e.g., “I can see you have lots of energy. Do you want to go outside and run around?”)

Consider what resources, equipment and spaces are available to mokopuna for expending energy. For example, space and equipment for big movement, and equipment that requires the use of muscles and strength to operate, can help expend energy to calm the body.

Review and implement consistent, calming and responsive routines that support children’s ability to regulate their emotions across the day.

Encourage mokopuna to integrate multiple forms of expression through different media. Talk with mokopuna about ways that different creative media help people to express emotions and wairua.

Be aware of children’s increasing capacities for sustained play and engagement, and ensure they have the time and space they need to express themselves.

Support mokopuna to make their expressions of emotions and wairua visible (or audible) by listening, asking questions, providing feedback, engaging in discussions and taking pictures for documentation and reflection.

Expand conversations with mokopuna about the meanings in karakia, whakataukī, waiata, pūrākau and other te ao Māori forms of expression.

Provide regular and repeated opportunities for participation, inviting children to support each other and providing support and feedback to affirm contributions.

Encourage mokopuna to identify their connections to te taiao and the worlds around them, such as connections to whakapapa, marae, maunga, awa and whenua.

Broaden opportunities to experience and observe spiritual connectedness, such as being in and exploring te taiao or participating in familiar spiritual practices and rituals and learning about rituals from a range of cultures.

Listen and be engaged with mokopuna in these experiences and support them to share their ideas and feelings in different ways, such as through words, movement, and other mediums of expression.

Ask children about experiences that are important to them or their families.

Expand the vocabulary you use to include an increasingly sophisticated range of emotions, such as using synonyms for emotion words (e.g., happy – pleased, glad, joyful, thrilled, cheerful, blissful).

Revisit children’s preferred emotion resources such as books, stories or waiata. Help mokopuna create their own resources that incorporate emotion words they know and use.

Discuss with children how we can have different feelings at once, such as being excited and nervous about the same thing; or how people might show one feeling (smiling or laughing) but experience another (feeling nervous).

Name and affirm emotions mokopuna appear to be feeling. When children’s emotions are heightened reassure, stay engaged and provide children with time and space.

Sensitively support children’s responses about their feelings. Provide time for children to process an answer, or scaffold a response with suggestions and prompts, knowing that sometimes it will not be easy or possible for them to answer.

Talk with mokopuna about ways they have expressed how they are feeling, providing feedback that affirms and supports their growing capacities to understand and express their emotions.

Look for opportunities to expand on conversations with mokopuna about feelings and share ideas about how emotions might feel in the body and how they can be expressed and recognised.

When and as appropriate, talk with children about your own emotions using increasingly sophisticated emotion words and describe what these feelings mean.

Discuss with mokopuna about different ways to help people who are feeling different emotions and may be overwhelmed or upset. Encourage children to support each other in a variety of ways and provide affirming feedback when mokopuna do seek help or help each other.

Acknowledge when you see a child is upset or hurt. Support and offer help (co-regulation) if they are overwhelmed or close to becoming overwhelmed.

As mokopuna grow in their capacities to regulate their emotions, be ready to offer support or comfort while also providing space and time to experience their emotions and practice strategies to manage their own feelings. Provide positive feedback to children when you see they have used a strategy to calm themselves when experiencing heightened emotions.

When providing co-regulation support, use strategies that are familiar to a child. For example, if the child is familiar with the idea of taking a few deep breaths, it can help to remind them, saying something like, “You seem frustrated … remember taking a few deep breaths may help.”

Sensitively support children to recognise their feelings and meet their own needs (for rest, food, physical activity etc). For example, “How are you feeling? What do you want to do about that?”

When mokopuna need help to redirect their energy (but are not so overwhelmed that prompt comfort and care is more important), respond calmly and intentionally to help them use the strategies they already know well.

Use visuals as prompts to remind children of key strategies to calm themselves.

Use puppets, stories and role plays to work through pretend scenarios of someone being upset and work with children to talk about ways to calm or manage feelings.

Support mokopuna to access materials and resources that allow them to express themselves creatively. Explore with children digital or other technologies that may be useful to research, record, or support their expression.

Support children to reflect on their expressions and creations by commenting, listening, asking questions, providing feedback, engaging in discussions, and taking pictures for documentation and reflection.

Support mokopuna to engage with others’ expression of emotions and wairua through various media, for example looking at the work of artists and musicians. Engage in reflective discussion with mokopuna about what those people might be intending to express.

Partner with mokopuna for karakia, whakataukī, waiata, pūrākau and other te ao Māori forms of expression, during everyday play, experiences and routines. Provide opportunities for children to contribute and lead, including helping others to participate.

Help mokopuna engage in reflective discussions about where different waiata, whakataukī, pūrākau etc are from and what significance they have, including any feelings they might evoke.

Encourage mokopuna to share and reflect on their connections to te taiao and the worlds around them, such as connections to whakapapa, marae, maunga, awa and whenua.

Extend learning about spiritual rituals from other cultures.

Partner with children to create opportunities for them to share spiritual experiences, practices, or rituals that are important to them.

Support mokopuna think about and reflect on the different beliefs people have and the different ways people might express connectedness.

Talk with children in more depth about their feelings and use this as an opportunity to explore a wider range of emotion words.

Play fun and interactive emotion games with mokopuna such as guessing or describing how you are feeling or expressing emotion words in a range of different ways (e.g., through movement and body language, or through art).

Extend children’s thinking to grow emotion knowledge and understanding. Help mokopuna reflect on the different emotions we feel, how quickly or slowly emotions might change and that we can sometimes feel multiple emotions at once. Discuss how we may not always want to share our feelings and it is okay to decide who we want to share our feelings with.

Talk with mokopuna about their feelings and when appropriate (i.e., not if mokopuna are highly emotional) extend conversations by reflecting on what may have triggered a feeling and how it might be expressed or recognised.

Invite mokopuna to talk about their feelings with peers and as part of everyday experiences.

Find opportunities to reflect on feelings, such as reminiscing or spending time with children looking at their photos and discussing what they were doing, feeling, and why.

Sensitively share ideas with mokopuna about emotions that others appear to be feeling or have expressed. Extend discussions to foster children’s thinking about emotions by looking at photos of people, discussing what they are doing, how they might feel and why.

Provide affirmation and feedback when mokopuna help others who are overwhelmed or upset.

Ensure diverse representation in resources about emotions and use these to explore with children the diverse ways people express emotion.

Acknowledge when you see a child is upset or hurt and offer support. Remember that even when mokopuna have developed skills for regulating themselves, they may not be able to do so when overwhelmed with emotion.

Provide positive feedback to children when you see they have used a strategy to calm themselves or have supported others who were experiencing overwhelming emotions.

Consider when it might be useful to revisit times that mokopuna were very upset through reflective conversations about the experience. Keep the focus of these conversations on gaining perspective and considering ways to manage big emotions if something similar happens in the future.

Allow mokopuna space and time to practice calming techniques they are familiar with. Provide support and feedback on children’s use of different strategies they have learnt.

Find opportunities to reflect on and talk with mokopuna about how they can recognise their feelings and the strategies they use to calm themselves or expend energy.

Sensitively invite children to support each other to use strategies they have learned to calm themselves.