This past winter I had the privilege of piloting my EQ program in a North Jersey preschool. The pilot was a great success and we are getting ready for our 2nd year. Teachers loved it, the children became Creators of Joy (CJs). They could recite CJs 7 voices and how they made them feel, for ex. happy, good, kind. I loved visiting every two weeks and the picture you see is our Rainbow Rootie day when we all looked silly! When I visited, I demonstrated the different aspects of the theme they were teaching for that week. I learned as much as they did.
Research tells us that the emotional brain is growing the fastest from birth to six. This certainly was evident for the younger children ( 3 year olds) were able to focus on CJ and how the voices felt more easily than the older children. What a surprise! They had less academics (left brain stimulation) and were more open to the messages and feelings and using CJ in their play. So the earlier we start, the better!
The teachers wanted to spend more time doing CJ and all the fun activities in the curriculum. The activities all included history, science and inter-relational opportunities. However, the trend in preschool is academics and yet the staff felt that they needed more time for these important skills. There will be more time allotted this coming year.
Research is showing us that children who have more play and social and emotional learning instead of the current trend in academics actually pull ahead by the time they reach 4th grade. Play teaches those important skills of sharing, compromise, critical thinking to name a few.
Please share this with parents and teachers for it is time to re-look at how our young children are being raised and taught.
