Helping Children Navigate Big Emotions

With May beginning, many of us in the childcare field can feel it: the shift. The air is warmer, the routines are changing, and the energy in the room is different. For supervisors and educators across the GTHA, the transition from winter to spring, and eventually into summer, brings more than a change in temperature. It brings big feelings. It is important to remember that children need help navigating them.

In many Ontario centres, CWELCC has layered on administrative and compliance expectations, leaving little time to pause and reflect on the emotional pulse of the classroom. But this seasonal transition is when children most need our support the most.

Why the Emotions Spike

Spring means more stimulation: brighter days, more outdoor time, and shifts in daily routines. These changes can bring joy and freedom, but for some children, they also bring dysregulation. A child who was calm in March may now struggle with transitions, express more defiance, or seem more emotional without a clear reason.

What You Can Do

1. Name it

Helping a child put words to what they are feeling (“It feels different today, doesn’t it? Sometimes new things can make us feel wiggly inside”) can be powerful.

Idea to Action: Create a “Feelings Weather Chart” where children can point to how they feel each morning. Naming their emotions gives children a sense of control, even when their world feels a bit unpredictable.

2. Stick to familiar routines

Keep consistent elements in your daily flow. Snack time, song circles, and welcome routines offer safety.

Idea to Action: Refresh your circle time routine with spring-themed songs like “The Green Grass Grows All Around,” “Little Seed,” or “Rain, Rain, Go Away”. Use hand movements or props like scarves to anchor the experience. Familiar structure + new seasonal joy = safe, engaging transitions.

3. Use nature as a co-regulator

Spring in Ontario offers natural grounding tools: wind, textures, green space. A mindful walk or sensory-based outdoor play can shift a child’s emotional state.

Idea to Action: Introduce a “noticing walk” outside once a week. Have children name what’s different each time – buds, bird sounds, puddles. This mindfulness helps ground big emotions in sensory experience.

4. Protect your energy, too

The emotional load this season affects everyone, not just the children. Whether you are managing staffing gaps, supporting transitions, or simply trying to stay present, know that your work matters deeply.

Idea to Action: Build a five-minute breather into the daily schedule: one block where an educator can rotate off the floor. Use that moment to regroup, stretch, or simply exhale. Even short pauses can prevent burnout from compounding.

This season is a reminder: change is constant, but so is the care and commitment you bring every day. Through every hard moment, every tired sigh, and every laugh on the playground; you are doing something incredible.