Visualizing Invisible Forces: Using the Hundred Languages to Navigate the Concept of 'Scary'

Insights from Young Preschoolers: Navigating a Year of Turbulence

Introduction to the Classroom Experience

• Faith Hanning and Kirsten Simpleman introduce themselves as mentor teachers in a preschool class for children aged two and a half to three and a half. They aim to share insights gathered from the children during the 2020-2021 school year.

The Impact of External Events on Children

• A favorite story among the children, "The Way I Feel" by Janan Kane, reflects their emotional experiences, particularly fear related to darkness and storms. This highlights how literature can resonate with children's feelings during turbulent times.

• The year has been marked by significant global events such as COVID-19, wildfires, political unrest, and violence, which have affected both adults and children alike. Teachers strive to shield young ones from these harsh realities while acknowledging their impact.

Processing Fear Through Play

• The Cow Wood fire in October became a pivotal event that influenced classroom dynamics; families requested air filters due to smoke rather than COVID concerns, illustrating how intertwined fears can be. Children were aware of evacuations affecting their peers.

• Children's play began reflecting their understanding of these events; they engaged in firefighter role-play as a means of processing fear associated with fires while establishing safety through imaginative scenarios.

Understanding Emotions Through Relationships

• Carlina Rinaldi's concept emphasizes that children express understanding through various forms of communication beyond verbal language; this includes play and art as tools for exploring complex emotions like fear.

• By creating opportunities for dramatic play around fire scenarios, educators facilitated children's ability to confront fears safely while fostering relationships with those concepts through shared narratives.

Exploring Other Fears: Spiders

• As part of expanding their understanding of fear, children also encountered spiders in nature; this led them to question why spiders behave the way they do—showing both fascination and apprehension towards them.

• Engaging with spiders through drawing allowed children like Teagan to articulate thoughts about spiders' roles in nature—shifting perceptions from viewing them solely as scary creatures to recognizing their survival instincts and ecological importance.

This structured approach captures key themes discussed throughout the transcript while providing timestamps for easy reference back to specific moments within the content.

Understanding Children's Emotional Processing Through Play

The Role of Dramatic Play in Addressing Fears

• Providing children with space to process their fears through various forms of expression enhances their understanding, leading them to articulate reasons for overcoming those fears and ask questions about lingering uncertainties.

• Dramatic play serves as a vital medium for children to explore strong emotions; they embody characters like spiders, using body language and scripts to investigate what makes them anxious.

• Children physically navigate webs they create, integrating themes of protection and heroism into their play narratives, exemplified by Callie's imaginative scenario involving being stuck in a "spider shark web."

• This type of play allows children to explore vulnerability safely while engaging peers, fostering problem-solving skills and agency as they confront their fears together.

Exploring Scenarios and Literature's Impact

• Children creatively address threats in their play scenarios, such as imagining sharks around tires used as boats. Brock devises a fishing system that promotes collaboration among peers.

• The importance of literature is highlighted; stories can help children process scary elements in the world. A curated library includes tales like "The Three Little Pigs" that resonate with children's experiences.

• Olivia illustrates her understanding through drawing, depicting a monster's illness linked to empathy—showing how storytelling aids emotional processing.

Developing Empathy Through Representation

• Children's narratives often reflect perspectives from both heroes and monsters; Abby’s drawing shows a monster scaring a whale, emphasizing the emotional states involved rather than labeling characters as purely evil.

• By identifying feelings within characters (e.g., Charlotte’s ogre), children develop empathy—a crucial skill for understanding diverse viewpoints.

Radical Empathy: A Framework for Understanding Others

• Radical empathy encourages individuals to consider others' perspectives deeply without compromising personal beliefs. This concept is essential for navigating disagreements respectfully.

• Dylan Marin emphasizes that empathizing does not equate to endorsing differing views but acknowledges shared humanity across divergent backgrounds.

Healing-Centered Engagement in Early Childhood Education

• Recognizing trauma requires shifting focus from victimhood ("what happened to you") to empowerment ("what's right with you"), promoting agency among children exposed to trauma.

• Materials like clay are provided alongside storybooks, allowing children creative freedom in representation while addressing fears—like Tegan’s choice to give her ogre no sharp teeth reflects control over fearsome aspects.

• Practical solutions emerge during discussions on safety; responses include running or hiding when faced with danger—demonstrating children's navigation through uncertainty at this developmental stage.

This structured approach highlights key insights into how dramatic play facilitates emotional processing among young children while fostering empathy and resilience.

Navigating Quarantine: Children's Emotional Responses

Impact of Quarantine on Children

• The majority of the class was placed on quarantine, leaving only four children and one teacher at school for two weeks, leading to widespread anxiety among students both at school and home.

• Olivia expressed her feelings through a drawing, stating she feels scared when alone at school, while Eli shared he feels safe there; this highlights differing emotional responses to the same environment.

• Brock's older sister Yana illustrated how quarantine works, emphasizing the separation between family members and the necessity of masks for those outside the home.

Exploring Emotions Through Dialogue

• A discussion about happiness led Dahlia and Dylan to express their emotions physically; this conversation sparked interest in how emotions manifest in our bodies.

• The children were invited to map their emotions using butcher paper tracings, allowing them to articulate physical sensations associated with their feelings.

Radical Healing and Empowerment

• The educators emphasized engaging in discussions around difficult topics as a form of radical healing, which involves acknowledging oppression while envisioning possibilities for freedom.

• Radical healing is defined as existing within a dialectic that balances resistance against oppression with aspirations for wellness; this duality is crucial for understanding fear and joy.

Play as a Reflection of Hope

• During playtime games like "the floor is lava," children connected themes of danger with community conversations about vaccines, illustrating their understanding of hope amidst fear.

• The educators recognized children's ability to hold complex perspectives during storytelling sessions where heroes and villains are typically defined.

Counter Storytelling in Education

• Inspired by critical race theory, counter storytelling was introduced as a method to share experiences often overlooked or marginalized in traditional narratives.

• This approach encourages children to analyze power dynamics within stories they encounter, fostering critical thinking about societal structures related to race and oppression.

Engaging with Different Perspectives

• Discussions around characters like Jack from "Jack and the Beanstalk" prompted reflections on empathy towards traditionally villainous figures; children considered alternative viewpoints regarding conflict resolution.

• Instead of perpetuating conflict between characters like Jack and the ogre, children proposed collaborative solutions such as building a community garden—demonstrating their capacity for collectivism.

Exploring Radical Empathy and Healing Through Children's Play

The Role of Storytelling in Emotional Development

• The authors of counter perspective stories aimed to explore narratives that support children's frameworks for radical empathy and healing, suggesting these concepts can be applied broadly in their lives.

• After reading "The Billy Goat Gruff," children engaged in dramatic play, illustrating community support as they took turns crossing a bridge, demonstrating the integration of story themes into their interactions.

Understanding Emotions Through Play

• A discussion arose about the feelings associated with being a goat or a troll during play. Children expressed that if they sought access from the troll, it was fair for the troll to help them while also establishing rules for respectful interaction.

• Rules included not throwing rocks or sand at each other, emphasizing kindness. This exchange highlighted how embracing fear is part of healing and reflects broader themes of hope in human existence.

The Concept of Radical Hope

• Freyr noted that hopelessness can immobilize individuals, making it difficult to envision change. In contrast, radical hope is portrayed as an act of courage amidst oppression and devastation.

• Radical hope empowers individuals to imagine possibilities beyond current struggles, serving as fuel for collective action toward justice and improvement.

Lessons from Children’s Perspectives

• Observing children has reinforced the message that they possess insights about hope and resilience. Their emotional expressions through various forms highlight enduring truths that persist beyond challenging times like a pandemic.