Colours

Oftentimes we know little about the children we work with.

We don’t hear about their upbringings. Their difficult experiences which impacted them. And continue to show up in subconsciously each day.

I was facilitating a workshop to older school age children.

For one activity, each child receives five (5) different coloured skittles.

Each colour represents an emotion. They’re invited to choose a colour and share a time when they felt that emotion.

Children can share as much as they want. Or choose not to. Either way, they get to enjoy the skittles.

As soon as we began, one child chose the blue skittle. It represented sadness.

He explained that he was sad when his father passed away.

One by one, the children shared a sad moment. It turns out this group lived many traumatic experiences.

As I sat in silence. I held space for them.

As uncomfortable as these moments can be, they allow for vulnerability to be welcomed.

I ended this activity after 30 minutes.

The summer camp educators were surprised about what they discovered. They mistakenly believed their “misbehaviour” was a product of disrespect and their parent’s lack of discipline.

But when we zoom out to see the bigger picture, we realize that these children are doing the best they can.

As educators, we get to soothe their emotions as they come instead of pushing them back down.

Because as we know, as soon as we let go, it pops back up.

This was great reminder for me to continue to be intentional of what I say when I see a child’s challenging behaviour.

I don’t know the story behind their colours.

But I can choose to acknowledge and validate how they feel. This approach works for all colours.

With all my love,

Alex