Sandi Phoenix is the founding company director and Principal Facilitator at Phoenix Support. Her framework, The Phoenix Cups, has revolutionised how staff not only work with children’s behaviour, but how teams view each other’s behaviour.
Sandi’s coaching and consultancy style comes from a strengths-based perspective. She is highly regarded nationwide as a speaker, coach, mentor, Professional Development Facilitator and author for the education and care sector.
In this session, Sandi discusses the latest neuroscience research on emotions and how it can inform early childhood education. Sandi explains her insights such as:
- How the brain actively constructs emotions using sensory cues and prediction rather than passively receiving preset emotions
- This means teaching emotions requires providing children the words and language to categorise their experiences with more specificity or “granularity” (Feldman Barrett)
- Sandi argues children first need a construct for basic human needs, so they can then associate different emotions with met or unmet needs.
- A children’s book her team created depicting animal characters representing five core needs – connection, safety, freedom, mastery, and fun. The book conveys these concepts to young children using accessible language and storytelling.
- Teaching emotions requires building children’s vocabulary and language to categorise emotional experiences with more specificity
Sandi also encourages making children aware of both their needs and a diverse vocabulary of emotion words through discussions, storytelling, play, and art. She stresses the importance of children accessing the natural world so their sensory systems can fully develop to support emotional processing and regulation.
Tune in now to hear Sandi explain the science behind emotions in Early Childhood and get a sneak peek at her new children’s book introducing core emotional needs! Don’t miss these fantastic insights on nurturing children’s emotional development.
Links:
Barrett, L. F. (2017). How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Barrett, L. F. (2020). Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Phoenix, S., & Phoenix, C. (2019). The Phoenix cups: A Cup Filling Story . Wellington Point: Phoenix Support Publishing.
https://www.phoenix-support.com.au/admin-phoenix-support-com-au
https://www.phoenix-support.com.au/phoenix-cups
https://phoenixcups.com.au/quiz
Find more details about the Childcare and Education Expo in London – 1st and 2nd of March 2024 – here:
https://childcare-london-2024.reg.buzz/kathy-brodie
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