If you ask me, it's never too early to teach a child about emotional intelligence. I still remember my teacher making us practice "I" statements -- as in, "When you steal my Hello Kitty pencil, I feel hurt and sad." A couple of decades later, I'm still finding this lesson crucial to calming conflict (and a lot more effective than shouting -- who'd have thought?).
So I was excited to hear about Happy Heart Kid, a company making craft kits for kids that teach kindness, empathy, gratitude, and other life essentials. I had my 3-year-old niece try out the Feelings & Faces and the Felt Flowers kits. No surprise, the activities kept her happily entertained for a solid couple of hours.
Related: Festive Roots: Very cool craft kits for kids that help them be smarter global citizens too.
And I loved how organically the lessons came across through the crafts. My niece genuinely loved drawing the faces to represent different emotions, and crafting flowers to gift to different members of her family (insert happy face). Even at her young age, she seemed to grasp the concept of feelings and kindness without too much prodding or explanation from me. But I think these craft kits are really perfect for Kindergarten-age children who are navigating the complex social world of school for the first time. The only issue I noticed had nothing at all to do with the concept; but some of the markers fell apart when we tried to use them, so I would just make sure you have some extras on hand when you get ready to craft. You can order the Feelings & Faces or Felt Flower kits -- along with many other craft kits for kids -- at Happy Heart Kid.
