Specifically: What emotions do these kids know? Can they identify when they are feeling a specific emotion? Do they know what complex emotions, such as anxiety and frustration feel are? Interestingly, after Inside Out 2 came out, I noticed that my students’ understanding of emotions skyrocketed! That movie has been a great tool in my work. After we have a grasp on emotions, we teach the kids some strategies to enable them to manage their emotions. Examples of these strategies are breathing techniques, anger management and identification of support resources and networks.
We then transition into life-skills. The importance of having strong habilidades para la vida in mental health and general well-being cannot be overstated. Being able to communicate assertively, to form healthy relationships and demonstrate non-violent conflict resolutions is something that most people must actively learn. But if we don’t have positive examples and environments in which to learn life skills such as these, we may never be able to. And, being able to form healthy relationships, to avoid peer pressure, to make good decisions and to have high self-esteem are vital in growing into a happy, healthy and well-adjusted person. We don’t take for granted that these niños, niñas, y adolescentes have had the opportunity to learn these things, which is why we take the time to teach them.
My favorite branch of this project is our work among soccer teams with Futbol Para la Vida, or GrassRoots Soccer Methodology. This methodology focuses on harnessing the love and passion youth have for soccer in order to teach important topics.
