About the We Are Wild series
The We Are Wild series includes We are Wild Ones and We are Wild Too! The first book explores the basic early emotions of fear, anger, happiness and sadness. The second book introduces the later developing feelings of frustration, pride, disappointment, and gratefulness. The books are structured to provide a safe, playful way to think about and talk about emotions through fun, relateable characters like Scared Shark, Happy Hippo, Disappointed Dog and Proud Peacock. Each story introduces the emotion, provides a context for why it occurs and provides simple strategies and healthy expressions.
WHY do we need to teach kids about emotions?
Research suggests that by 18 months of age most children experience a full range of emotions including self-conscious emotions of shame and pride. Helping children learn about their feelings and build positive self-concepts can help shape the way they relate to themselves and others for years to come. Explicitly teaching emotional awareness has many long-term benefits. By building a greater understanding and vocabulary for emotions we help children,
Be more flexible when things are out of control
Build greater resilience for difficult times and experience less stress
Develop the skills to recognize and talk about feelings
Express feelings through words rather than actions
Develop coping strategies, increase self-control and reduce conflict
Better understand their internal experiences to better understand others
Demonstrate empathy, kindness and compassion for self and others
Improve confidence, independence and problem-solving skills
Experience better mental & physical health, academic achievement and social connections
Putting it all together
Children are visual learners who identify with memorable characters that have relatable experiences. Our stories tie early emotional learning concepts to fun characters creating a relatable story with which kids can self-identify. Creating a memorable, personalized, fun experience increases engagement, memory and learning. Happy brains learn better!
The characters and discussion prompts allow kids to talk about emotions without fear of judgment in a fun, playful, exploratory way. We can then go on to help them problem-solve and talk about possible responses. These are things that are very hard for a child (or adult!) to learn in real-time when dealing with strong emotions. We don’t absorb new information, solve problems or connect with others well when we are afraid, stressed or angry.
Putting it into practice
Caregivers and parents are supported with evidence-based strategies and ideas for fun activities in the strategy page section related to each emotion. Six strategy ideas are provided for each emotion. These are:
In the moment, for ideas to use when strong emotions are present
Look Inward, for mindful ways to build self-awareness of emotions and feelings
Look Outward, to encourage observational learning by directing attention to others
Get Moving, for movement activities that help to regulate and increase awareness
Teach it, for ideas to explicitly teach children about emotions
Make a Plan, to support kids in problem-solving and creating their own solutions