Children’s Work – Emotional Intelligence

Growth Mindset

9th November 2018 By andrewgraham

09/11/18

Today the children were re-capping on the importance of having a growth mindset. We talked about how our brain is like a muscle and needs exercise. Exercise for our brain includes working hard, practicing a skill, persevering at a difficult task or seeking a challenge. In other words we can get smarter by working hard!The children were very knowledgeable about this. We then had to put this into practice. The children were given an egg and told that we were going to drop it from a height. Their task was to work as a team to make something to protect the egg. The task required teamwork, perseverance, problem solving not to mention emotional management.The children did very well and most eggs were saved from being cracked.

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An Emotionally Intelligent School

5th November 2018 By andrewgraham

05/11/18

Whilst on playground duty last week I watched as some boys were throwing the rugby ball to each other. At one point one boy misplaced his pass and the ball hit another child on the head. I began to walk over to see if the boy was okay (I should point out that he was fine). The boy that had been hit by the ball was completely unaware of who did it. I watched as the boy who threw the ball walked over to the child that had been hit and admitted that he had hit him with the ball. He then asked if was okay. He had genuine concern in his face as he did this. It made me extremely proud. The boy who had misplaced the pass did not realise that I was watching. He had no reason the check the boy’s welfare other than a genuine concern for him.

We have been promoting emotional intelligence in school. Emotional intelligence includes the recognition of emotions in oneself and in others, how to manage those emotions and therefore how to show empathy. This event made me proud because it proved that what we are doing in this area is working. I can name several other instances exhibiting similar success in this area.

Emotional intelligence is important not just to live in an empathetic, tolerant environment but it is also important in the work arena. The World Economic Forum have completed a list of the top ten skills valued by employers in 2020 and beyond. Emotional intelligence is one of those ten skills. It seems that we are preparing the children well for their future careers.

Emotional Intelligence – Managing and Recognising Emotions

15th October 2018 By andrewgraham

Following on from our last emotional intelligence session, the children have today had the opportunity to put into practice some of the strategies that they have learnt for managing emotions. They have also had the opportunity to practise recognising the emotions of others. Their task was to move some balloons from one side of the room to the other without using their hands or arms. This was a difficult task and so the children had to recognise when their emotions were affecting their performance and use one of the emotional management strategies that they have previously practised. They also had to recognise when the emotions of their peers were affecting their performance.

Research has indicated that emotional intelligence is a key indicator of success in a number of areas both as a child and into adulthood. The children are learning valuable skills for future success.

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Strategies for emotional management

21st September 2018 By andrewgraham

Today the children have been learning all about managing their emotions. In their mixed age groups they talked about how emotions can sometimes get the better of you. We then discussed a range of strategies to help us to calm down in situations that make us angry or sad. We talked about “sticky hands”, “tense and relax”, “stretching” and “positive self talk” and then practised these. Finally the children made posters about their chosen strategy. Children that can self-regulate their emotions are better learners and our children certainly showed that today.

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Emotional Intelligence – Recognising Emotions

17th September 2018 By andrewgraham

17/09/18

Friday saw the return of our mixed classes focusing on elements of emotional intelligence, growth mindset, meta-cognition and thinking skills. This session was focused on emotional intelligence and in particular recognising emotions in others as well as our own emotions. After some discussion about various emotions and what they look like, the children were set the task of roleplaying various scenarios, considering the emotions involved. Finally the children made selfies of what they think their facial expression would be in various situations. Learning such skills help the children to work in teams effectively and show empathy to others.

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Teamwork

23rd March 2018 By andrewgraham

16/03/18

The children in Year 1 and Year 2 having been practising their teamwork today. First each group had a discussion about how we can work well in a team. Then the children spoke about what we need to do in school to learn and how to overcome challenges. Finally they got the chance to put this into practice in their challenge. The children had to work in a group of 4 to move the cups from a line of 6 into a pyramid formation without using their hands. Instead they had to use an elastic band with some string attached. The task required communication, perseverance and problem solving. As usual the children did a fantastic job.

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The Importance of Mistakes

23rd February 2018 By andrewgraham

23/02/18

Today the children have been learning about the importance of making mistakes. We watched a video all about the importance of mistakes for our learning. Next, the children worked in teams to play a game similar to battleships. They had to work in teams to cross the grid without landing on a “no-go area”. When they made a mistake they had to start again. All children were able to learn from their mistakes and cross the grid successfully! As you can see the children had lots of fun!

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Programming a Pro-Bot

7th February 2018 By andrewgraham

The children in year 2 have been learning how to program the Pro-Bot. Although this is similar to the Bee-Bot and Blue-Bot, it has some differences. The children have been finding out these differences; such as how far it moves when you give it certain instructions. The aim of the session was for all children to make the Pro-Bot draw a square for them. Some children even managed to make it draw a rectangle, we came up against some problems along the way and had to debug our instructions in order for the Pro-Bot to do as we wanted.

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STEM – Making Houses like the Three Little Pigs

7th February 2018 By andrewgraham

In year 1 we have been learning about some traditional tales, including the story of the Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf. We were challenged to build a house that would be able to withstand the huffing and puffing of the wolf. As Mrs Graham was not thrilled about us bringing a real wolf into school we decided to use a fan instead. The children worked in teams to construct their buildings using a variety of materials, and then tested them. Designs were changed and improved if needed, and we talked about which materials made the best houses and why.

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STEM – Building earthquake proof structures

7th February 2018 By andrewgraham

Year 2 children are learning how engineers design and construct buildings to withstand earthquake damage by building their own model structures using toothpicks, straws, lolly sticks and play dough. They experimented to see how earthquake-proof their buildings are by testing them in an earthquake simulated bowl of jelly. Earthquakes can cause walls to crack, foundations to move and even entire buildings to crumple, engineers incorporate into their structural designs techniques that withstand damage from earthquake forces, for example, cross bracing, large bases and tapered geometry. Earthquake-proof buildings are intended to bend and sway with the motion of earthquakes, or are isolated from the movement by sliders. Engineers come up with an idea, test it, and then re-engineer the structure based on its performance. Class 6 loved testing their structures.

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