Emotional management is part of a school-age child’s learning.How to develop emotional intelligenceis a key issue in their education, this type of competency can be stimulated, to encourage their personal and social skills. The school is a suitable environment to practice emotional skills, it is a space they share with other children and in which they must express their emotions on a daily basis, much of what they learn in the classroom will be the basis for their future behaviors as adults. Our International school in Almeria, we insist on the importance of the emotional level from the first grades, in our classrooms we carry out all kinds of activities to reinforce their emotional abilities. The importance of emotional intelligence Before analyzing how to develop emotional intelligence, it is important to determinethe objectives that we must achieve with this type of activities. One of the main objectives is based ongetting them to know their own feelings better and to be able to identify the feelings of others.If we achieve this, the student will learn to give appropriate emotional responses in any situation. The management of negative feelingsis also an important part of learning. Frustration, sadness or anger are very common responses, but they must learn to manage them properly. Stress managementis also one of the basic objectives to be learned through these activities. School-age children can be subjected to stressful situations, which it is important that they deal with appropriately. The reinforcement of positive attitudesis also included in their emotional education. At this age, they learn not to obsess over negative thoughts and to reinforce positive emotions. Finally, it is important that they begin tobe emotionally independent; classroom activities are the best training for daily life. How to develop emotional intelligence Todevelop a child’s emotional intelligence, we must insist onfive different emotional planes. If a child learns to recognize these emotional planes, he or she will be prepared to face the challenges that the future holds. Self-awareness Self-awareness is the foundation of emotional education. A child must be aware of himself, he must know how to recognize the emotions he or she feels and the way they affect him or her. Self-awareness is the first step in building self-esteem and learning the basic concepts related to emotions. Regulation Feelings are perceived and managed individually, soit is important that they learn to regulate emotionsthat, although mostly caused by external factors, affect them personally. Motivation Motivation is one of the most important factors for their emotional development. Beyond external stimuli, it is important that they learn tolook for motivations on their ownand get excited about what surrounds them. Empathy Empathy has to do with others, it isthe ability to interpret other people’s feelings and give appropriate responses. It is at this age when we learn to put ourselves in other people’s shoes. Sociability Social skills establish emotional dialogues, that is, anexchange of feelings and emotions that we must begin to manage from childhood, through emotional learning.
