One of the delightful things about working with children is that they wear their feelings,  well, usually.  Now, like us, their feelings are hidden under  masks.     How many feeling words can you name in a minute?    How many feeling words do your students know and use?

“Mood” is the music word for feelings.    Many songs for children are upbeat  —funny or emphasizing the positive or about seeking good ideals.   It’s helpful to also include at least a few songs that express some of the unsettling feelings that come into our lives.   Singing about the angst of life, is a way of acknowledging it exists.   Naming feelings is a step along the way to making good choices about what to do with anger, or frustration or sadness.

This mixed up year of 2020, provide fine arts opportunities in class to sing, dance, paint and read/tell stories about  the wide gambit of feelings that we are all having.       Wallowing in the angst may not be helpful, but neither is pretending it isn’t here.