During the next two weeks we are looking at understanding how other people might be feeling as our Positive Behaviour for Learning focus.

For the first 2 weeks of this term we looked closely at naming emotions and being able to pick which zone we, ourselves, are in at any one time. 

Teaching ngākau aroha and understanding others’ emotions in our learning spaces will include discussions, especially during reading time, around how different characters might be feeling. 

We will also be looking at body language, and how there might be clues to how a person is feeling, with the way they are holding their body. 

Being able to read peoples’ feelings will encourage the ability to show empathy/ngākau aroha and pro-social responses to others.

A child who shows empathy is able to understand and appreciate the thoughts, feelings, and experiences of someone else.

• Feeling and showing empathy is a skill that kids learn over time.

• Some kids need extra help in developing this skill.

• You can teach your child to show empathy in situations throughout the day.

Ways to help your child to understand empathy:

• Being sensitive to what your child is feeling shows your child what empathy can look like
• Playing games to practice reading nonverbal cues can help your child tune in to how others are feeling.
• Teaching empathy can be a long process, so be prepared to teach this skill over and over again.