Before children can develop character from the core, they need to learn about their own emotions and experience self-regulation success. The Let’s Learn About Emotions with KIWI program brings social-emotional learning together with the development of self-regulation of eight basic emotions. These very specific skills lay a firm foundation for future character development and the acquisition of social-emotional academic skills.
The research behind the Let’s Learn about Emotions with Kiwi started with the need for a program that would help young children to recognize, name, and understand emotions in learning self-regulation skills and building self-awareness and awareness of others. This program is based on the work of Dr. Robert Plutchik's Psychoevolutionary Theory of Basic Emotions. His theory suggests that there are 8 basic emotions with which every human is wired through his or her DNA. From these 8 basic emotions, many "shades" of these emotions have been identified.
The most recent research from Duke Center for Child & Family Policy, as well as CASEL, supports the origins of this program. Let's Learn about Emotions with Kiwi is also supported by Galileo Domains for ages 3-5. The lesson plan activities generate planned social-emotional learning activities that also allow teachers opportunities to observe social-emotional learning skills development in the classroom.
There are plenty of developmentally appropriate online resources to complement the Learning About Emotions with Kiwi program. These resources will help you keep self-regulation skills associated with the lovable Kiwi in your children’s minds throughout the day while they practice common academic skills such as reading readiness, number sense, colors, shapes, sizes, and much more.
Self-Regulation at Home
Self-regulation begins at home and Learning About Emotions with Kiwi provides parents with plenty of resources in the form of cards with parenting tips and ideas for each emotion. Additional activities for parents and children to engage in learning emotional self-regulation are included at the back of every book. The more parents reinforce skills learned at school, the greater the ability for most children to use self-regulation skills independently.
Professional Development Opportunities
Professional development for Learning About Emotions with Kiwi is available on site or online. Contact Cloud9World to schedule on-site professional learning. Online professional learning is available on demand and allows educators to work independently as the course modules are completed. In both kinds of training, teachers will examine each part of the Learning About Emotions with Kiwi component and how they purposefully contribute to the development of self-regulation, social emotional, and academic learning. Teachers will also engage in setting up the Kiwi Calm Corner and utilize the kit for the greatest benefit of their children. Please contact Cloud9World for log in information.