Wee People Big Feelings Practical Guide for Practitioners: a Practical Guide for the Early Years workforce

Throughout 2021-22, Starcatchers worked with Scots Corner Early Learning and Childcare Centre in Midlothian to explore how a creative play approach could benefit children aged 2-5 years old, helping them develop their emotional literacy and encouraging children to express their feelings.

Many of the children attending Scots Corner have a parent in the armed forces. The Ministry of Defence had resources for forces families and educators to help older children process the emotional challenges of deployment, but there was a lack of resources for early years. The Wee People Big Feelings project was created to help bridge that gap.

During the project, artist-in-residence, Skye Reynolds, and Scots Corner staff, developed play sessions investigating the intersections between creative big movement play and emotional regulation. Supported by Strathclyde University Early Childhood Education Hub, important learning was identified around the value of safe, engaging and creative rough and tumble play and the positive experiences this offered very young children in expressing their emotions.Emotional literacy is not built in a time of crisis it needs to be supported and nurtured over time.