Little Hearts, Big Emotions: Teaching Emotional Regulation Through Play

At The Bubble Bus, we believe that learning to manage emotions is just as important as learning to read or count. Emotional intelligence—understanding and managing one’s feelings—is a skill that begins in early childhood and continues to grow over time. Through play, gentle guidance, and meaningful connection, children can learn to navigate big feelings in a healthy and constructive way.

What Do the Experts Say?

Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence, argues that social and emotional skills are often more important than IQ for long-term success. He stresses the importance of teaching children how to recognise, understand, and manage their emotions from a young age.

Dr Marc Brackett, director of the Yale Centre for Emotional Intelligence, developed the RULER approach—recognising, understanding, labelling, expressing, and regulating emotions. He believes emotional literacy helps children build better relationships, make thoughtful decisions, and cope with challenges.

Loris Malaguzzi, founder of the Reggio Emilia approach, highlighted the importance of listening to children’s emotions as a key part of their learning journey. He encouraged adults to create environments where children feel safe to express their feelings through words, actions, and creative play.

Supporting Emotional Intelligence at Home

Helping children understand their emotions doesn’t require complicated tools—just consistent opportunities to explore and reflect. Here are five simple ways to support emotional regulation at home:

Name the feeling: When your child is upset, help them identify their emotion: “It sounds like you’re feeling frustrated.” This helps them build a vocabulary for their feelings.

Use stories and characters: Read books with strong emotional themes and talk about how the characters might be feeling. Ask questions like, “Why do you think she was sad?”

Create a calm-down space: Designate a quiet, cosy spot with soft cushions or sensory items where your child can go when they feel overwhelmed.

Use visual tools: Emotion cards or mood charts can help younger children express how they’re feeling when words are too difficult to find.

Play games with emotional themes: Try role-play, charades, or storytelling games that invite children to act out different emotions and responses.
These everyday strategies create a safe and open space for children to explore their feelings without judgment.

At The Bubble Bus

Emotional intelligence is a core thread running through everything we do. We understand that emotions are part of every learning moment, and we embrace them with patience, empathy, and creativity.

Here’s how we encourage emotional growth through our programmes:

• We begin each day with an emotions chart, where children can point to or select how they are feeling. This routine helps build emotional awareness and creates space for conversation.

• We use songs and music as a gentle way to reflect and respond to emotions, whether it's an upbeat tune to energise or a soft melody to soothe.

• During group time, children participate in role-playing and storytelling, allowing them to explore common social and emotional themes, such as turn-taking, frustration, and kindness.

• We integrate brain gym activities that use coordinated movement to help regulate the nervous system and improve focus and self-control.

• In moments of overwhelm, we guide children to a calm corner - a cosy space with soft materials, sensory tools, and breathing visuals - where they can choose to sit quietly or talk through their feelings.

At The Bubble Bus, we know that little hearts hold big emotions—and we’re here to help children make sense of them, one playful step at a time.