HEART-TO-HEART CONNECTING WITH SUPERKID POWER
“I love you, Grandma Boom!” The preK boy and I had direct eye contact. We also were connecting heart-to-heart with heart slinky toys to have a visual/tactile experience along with the warmth we felt in our hearts. This 3D approach made in-depth connecting with each other REAL. I provided every child in several settings these heart slinkies to serve as a focusing agent for heart-to-heart connection by giving compliments to one another while also having direct eye contact. Children partnered up using their heart slinkies and said positive things to each other (I like you. I have fun with you. You are my friend. I love you. I liked when you shared with me.) We talked about the warmth we felt in our hearts. Smiles began spreading over their faces.
Feeling connected is said to be one of the factors missing in many children
entering the school system. That information led me to create this experiential heart-to-heart lesson. The first step was to bring awareness to our hearts. We placed our hands over the heart area and felt our hearts beating slowly. We then ran in place which made our hearts beat faster. We all felt that with our hands and then took two slow, deep belly button breaths to slow our hearts down. We could feel the difference. I showered the children with compliments and encouragement that SUPERKIDS know how to calm themselves and slow their own hearts. They learned for themselves as they experienced it.
When children do not feel connected to others, they do not know how to create quality connecting time. By teaching them to have direct eye contact and feel a good feeling in their hearts, they begin to have more choices in what they think, say and do because they know for themselves what feels better inside. This lesson established a foundation for initiating Quality Connecting with others.
According to Aha!ParentingBlog, children who feel connected to parents have an easier time cooperating. Pacer.org indicates a child's state of wellness and feeling connected is often associated with the family's state of wellness or dysfunction. By teaching children to understand Quality Connecting for themselves, they can be empowered to feel connected in their lives with others, be it peers, neighbors, family or relatives.
While young children may not be able to express their feelings verbally, creative play and artwork allows them to do so in a way they can relate to as stated at headtohealth.gov. Understanding what we do to disconnect from others by saying bad things to hurt them can be colored as seen in the photo, as well as what it takes to have a happy heart and help others to do the same. Decorating a happy heart with happy stickers implants an image to relate to as children create their own versions of what that looks and feels like.
Children do not know how to tell us how their hearts are feeling if they are not
introduced to paying attention to the sensations in the heart area. Awareness leads to increased healthy choices. In my classes I teach children to KNOW how to Quality Connect through awareness of how the heart FEELS when there is good connection and when there is not.
The children's artwork demonstrates what they absorb from the lesson. It is the best testimonial and feedback when they color the difference between Quality Connecting and being disconnected. They know what an unhappy heart looks and feels like as well as a happy one in the artistic expressions. Drumming the difference and singing the Connecting song I wrote serve to reinforce the points of
power for children to feel like SUPERKIDS with their newfound skills.
Experience imprints with whole body and 3D learning. In my SUPERKID POWER GUIDEBOOK, all 52 lessons provide internal awareness techniques for easier learning, absorption and integration of the skills. All children deserve to learn about their internal resources, one of them being their heart health, to feel their own SUPERKID POWER. A free video and downloads can be found at www.superkidpower.org to help children begin learning about their inner world with self regulation.
Taking time to Quality Connect with children gives them a sense of worth and solidity. As Nike says, “Just do it.”
https://www.ahaparenting.com/blog/10_habits_to_stay_connected_to_your_child
https://www.pacer.org/cmh/learning-center/does-my-child-have-an-emotional-or-behavioral-disorder.asp
https://headtohealth.gov.au/meaningful-life/connectedness/children
Superkid Power Guidebook, Janai Mestrovich, M.S. Aka Grandma Boom; Amazon
www.superkidpower.org
www.grandmaboom.com
