Eleanor the Alligator, the beloved Yellow Room stuffie, has become even more important to the children now that she will start going home with them. To help the children gain a concrete understanding of the project, Eleanor started the book with her typical weekends in the West Village.

The Water Zombies were delighted and this helped them think of activities they want to do with her, like swimming in a pool, meeting cousins, building castles, and riding scooters. We can’t wait to see the book fill up with all of these memories!

We have also used Eleanor in our ongoing kindness curriculum. This week, we introduced I statements and a structure for the children to use when defusing conflicts:

I feel…when…

I need…

I told the children that Eleanor and I were walking on Bleecker Street to get coffee and something happened:

Nicole: We were walking and Eleanor got too excited and she pushed me.

Children: [gasps]

Nicole: So I said to her, Eleanor. I feel sad when you push me. I need a hug.

[At this point, several children got up to give me a hug!]

A few groups of children took turns pretending to have a conflict and using the I feel…when…I need… structure. By giving them this script, we are giving children the language to express their emotions and helping them focus on finding the emotions rather than the words. They can concentrate on labeling their emotions. The “when” will help them provide specific feedback to another child rather than vague “you’re being mean” that is more difficult to adequately address. The “I need” also helps them find a solution, thinking about what they need to move on from the conflict.

We also modeled a positive example of using this language. I said, I feel happy when Kristina makes a beautiful snack. I need to say thank you to her!

We will continue to reinforce these I statements, empowering the children to label their emotions and find resolutions. Eleanor will serve as a reminder that we can make a bad choice (pushing Nicole) but can make amends (giving a hug)!