Emotional Growth and Development at Aspire Truganina
The journey of emotional development begins at birth and continues to rapidly develop in response to a child’s experiences and influences of their environment. The main features of emotional development include identifying and understanding one’s own emotions and feelings, being able to identify different emotions in others, regulating behaviour, developing empathy for others and building and maintaining relationships.
Below we discuss emotional development in early learning and how Aspire Truganina lays the groundwork for children to comprehend and recognise their emotions.
As children grow, they learn how complete tasks on their own, build their sense of self and navigate their world independently. Completing tasks independently promotes self-esteem, and identity to provide a sense of achievement and success. Providing children with opportunities to make decisions and choices, attempt tasks by themselves and take on responsibilities contributes to the development of their sense of self and identity as a valued part of their community.
How does Aspire Truganina encourage independence?
One way we encourage independence at our Aspire Truganina centre is through providing time for outdoor play, where children in all our rooms get the opportunity to play in the sandpit, use the playground, explore different leaves and flowers, and more. Giving children choices around how they navigate outdoor environments encourages them to take responsibility and explore their surroundings according to their preferences.
Our Kindergarten children at Aspire Truganina also love participating in cooking, which is another activity that encourages independence and promotes self-confidence. By using ‘adult’ tools and utensils to mix and measure, the children feel a sense of achievement and responsibility that they are completing ‘grown up’ work.
Self-regulation in children is described as “the ability to manage your energy states, emotions, behaviours and attention, such as maintaining good relationships, learning and maintaining wellbeing.”
Evidence shows that effective self-regulation in early years provides a foundation for children to develop and grow with positive dispositions and skills for learning. Children need the guidance and support of trusted adults who understand their needs and help them develop alternative strategies to regulate their emotions.
How does Aspire Truganina support self-regulation?
To help support children’s self-regulation, Aspire Truganina runs frequent yoga sessions for their different age groups. Yoga is a great way to get moving, practice balance and coordination, but also help’s support children’s self-regulation and emotion resilience. Yoga promotes a sense of calm and relaxation which encourages children to manage their emotions in a positive and helpful way.
These are only a few of the activities we run at Aspire Truganina that can support your child’s emotional development. To secure a spot in 2024 at Aspire Truganina, contact us on 1800 978 429 or book a tour of the centre here.
