Resources

The reality of the 21st century and our children growing up in it demands that we broaden our perspective on education and make space within our busy classrooms to grow the whole child – heart and mind.

Heart Matters recognizes that no matter how much time a child spends at school, the caregivers in a child’s life have the most influence. To this end, Heart Matters links the pupil, parent, and teacher through the programme.  

The Heart Matters terminology is the foundation of our programme. Being able to use “emotion” words is essential to make sense of our lives, think through choices and connect with each other. Children need to build an emotional vocabulary before they can express themselves. This process starts with the young child in the way we talk, express and interact with them to help them say what they feel and need, and allow them to feel okay to be able to be in touch with their emotions. 

Heart Matters recognizes that no matter how much time a child spends at school, the caregivers in a child’s life have the most influence. To this end, Heart Matters links the pupil, parent, and teacher through the programme. Parenting is not about a set of strategies or checklists, it’s about to be truly in a relationship with our children.

At Heart Matters we encourage “conscious parenting “which gives parents tools to give their child an emotionally healthy childhood. We interact with parents through parent talks, parent letters, parent posters as well as through certain “parent & Me” worksheets the child and parent do together.

The Heart Matters terminology is the foundation of our programme. Being able to use “emotion” words is essential to make sense of our lives, think through choices and connect with each other. Children need to build an emotional vocabulary before they can express themselves. This process starts with the young child in the way we talk, express and interact with them to help them say what they feel and need, and allow them to feel okay to be able to be in touch with their emotions. 

In an emotionally healthy childhood, the relationship with the caregiver is steady, consistent and long-term, the child needs to trust that you will be there tomorrow and the day after. That you will do what you say you going to do. The caregiver is not overly ambitious on the child’s behalf. There is no particular script the child has to follow in order to be loved. The child learns that things which break can be fixed. You can fall over and start again. A voice of resilience, originally external from you becomes the way the child learns to speak to themselves. In an emotionally healthy childhood plenty goes wrong. The caregiver does not see it as their role to remove every frustration. Through bearable disappointment the child is prompted to create their own internal world in which they can dream, hatch fresh plans and build up their own resources. The child receives an abundance of love.