Posted August 2019
The children at KU Merewether Preschool have been learning strategies to better manage their emotions.
The children were visited by Lynn Jenkins, an author and clinical psychologist, and Kirrili Lonergan, an illustrator and art therapist, who created the ‘Lessons of a LAC’ (Little Anxious Creature) series of books the children have been reading.
The books look at anxiety and were created to help young children learn more about anxious thoughts and feelings and how to manage those feelings.
“The children were so excited to meet Lynn and Kirrili as we had been reading their books in preschool and learning about feelings, emotional resilience and mental health,” said KU Merewether Director, Nicole Vesperman.
“Lynn and Kirrili read stories to us, performed a puppet show with characters from their books, and we spoke about how our thoughts connect to our feelings and how our bodies change with our feelings.”
“Through the visit the children revealed how capable they were of understanding more complex emotions such as feeling anxious, brave, worried and calm, and they learnt simple strategies to manage their emotions, such as through mindfulness by breathing and counting, and thinking about how we can be good friends.”
“It’s never too early to start learning about these concepts, and to provide young children with more awareness around mental health and emotional wellbeing can provide them with skills for life,” said Nicole.
KU Merewether provides quality early childhood education for children aged 3 - 5 years and is currently taking enrolments. For more information, contact the Director, Nicole Vesperman on 4963 1590.