Celebrating the magic and mastery of toddlerhood at SDN Surry Hills

They say toddlerhood is a trying time – trying for the children, testing out all their new skills, and trying for their parents as they cope with the mess that comes from all the trying. And the mess isn’t only the stuff, the playthings and food and furniture. Feelings can be big and messy and take up a lot of space too.

As toddlers grow from infancy into beings with incredible new physical, thinking, and social skills, they begin to discover themselves. Their development demands that they experiment with their impact on the people, places, and things around them.  

When things don’t go to plan, it can be overwhelming for a toddler who wants to do so much but doesn’t yet have the emotional maturity to self-soothe when they can’t follow through. This is why so much time is spent in SDN Toddler Programs talking and learning about feelings.

At SDN Surry Hills, Senior Educator Farzana and her toddler room colleague Alyssa are skilled and patient, supporting toddlers to master new skills, and their families to navigate the mystery and magic of the two’s.

Both Farzana and Alyssa have had training in the Circle of Security, a parenting program grounded in the principle that secure attachments benefit children’s wellbeing and learning. This professional learning is highly valued at SDN, and infant and toddler educators are encouraged to bring the program’s principles to their work.

Exploring emotions helps educators develop bonds with the toddlers so they feel safe to participate in day-to-day learning. It also gives toddlers skills to interact with one another positively and constructively, and to learn about their own and other people’s boundaries. This benefits everyone and is an important stepping stone to more complex social relationships and learning in preschool.

Farzana shares, “When the children start in the room, their sense of belonging and sense of security is in our mind’s first. And sometimes there’s things happening like pushing and hitting and crying. So, we know we have to do something about feelings.”  

The group has been reading the book The Colour Monster, by Anna Llenas. Inspired by the popular Zones of Regulation concept (Leah Kuypers) where feelings are organised into colour groups, The Colour Monster is a wonderful, colourful story about a monster whose feelings are all ‘mixed up'.

This playful analogy is great for toddlers because it’s so visual. When feelings are hidden inside people’s minds and bodies, they are difficult to understand!

The visuals of The Colour Monster, along with other stories about feelings, helps toddlers to be able to read a feeling. Language and social-emotional development are interrelated - giving children words to label feelings and describe emotional experiences helps them to make sense of them, and in time better control them. Farzana offers, “When you give them language, you give them understanding.” 

A skilled Key Word Signer, Farzana uses signs when labeling feelings during story time and when talking about social problems that inevitably arise within a group of two-year-olds.

She and Alyssa talk about feelings all the time—at group, during pack-away, and in routines – and are a source of comfort when children need an adult to take the lead. They discuss sadness when the blue playdough comes out and have ‘feelings jars’ just like in the book so children can practice reflecting and identifying how they feel in the moment.  

This trying time called toddlerhood is amazing, and Farzana has high expectations.  

“They’re really young, but at the end of the day, I want them to become competent citizens of the country and of the world.” 

They won’t stop learning about feelings at SDN Surry Hills. With some beginning concepts now embedded, the team can extend the rituals and a shared language that celebrates magic and mastery – what it means to be two.