Happy Columbus Day! It’s been over 500 years now since
Christopher Columbus landed on American shores, “discovering”
the New World and laying the groundwork for another October
school holiday. Whichever side of the story you’re celebrating
today, we wish you lots of happy family playtime! In the spirit
of discovery, this week’s blog posts will focus on exploring
emotions. We’ll look at some crafty and cool ways to open new
lines of communication between parent and child, and talk about
play-based fun that develops emotional awareness. Why is this
important? By practicing the art of understanding and
communicating feelings, kids become more adept at moderating
those feelings—in other words, learning to stay calm, bounce
back, and talk through problems in a productive way. And who
wouldn’t cross an ocean for that? Ready to get started? Keep
these top tips in mind as you play together this week: Don’t
wait for “sad” (or “silly” or “scared”) to happen: Use the low-
stress environment of playtime to talk about what