Kids in the Kitchen talk feelings

Photo By Sgt. Tabitha Bartley | Alex, 5, molds his play dough during the Kids in the Kitchen on Monday at the McHugh Woods Community Center. The Exceptional Family Member Program and Families Over Coming Under Stress combined their efforts to teach the children how to make homemade play dough.  

QUANTICO, VA, UNITED STATES

12.10.2012

Story by Lance Cpl. Tabitha Bartley 

Marine Corps Base Quantico

MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Va. – Eighteen children, ages five to 12, showed off their burrito-making skills and talked about their feelings during the Kids in the Kitchen at McHugh Woods Community Center on Monday. Kids in the Kitchen was coordinated by Exceptional Family Member Program and Families Over Coming Under Stress.

Before making their burrito, the children learned about the feeling thermometer and what feelings make them uncomfortable.

“If you were in the green and your body was feeling good, how might you be feeling?” asked Debra Rezendes, family resiliency trainer, FOCUS.

“Happy! Calm!” shouted the children at the table.

“What if we were at the top of the feeling thermometer in the red?” asked Rezendes.

The children hesitated, and searched around the table and their parents for an answer.

“Maybe nervous,” whispered Zabrina, 7.

“You are exactly right,” said Rezendes. “Like when you have to speak in front of a larger group of people.”

The children were instructed to make a face with their burrito ingredients showing one of the emotions in the red.

“Now that we have our faces, what are some of the things we can do to feel better?” Rezendes asked.

“Talk about it,” said Zabrina.

“That’s exactly right,” exclaimed Rezendes. “We need to talk about it. So, before anyone can eat their burrito, I want you to turn to your parent and talk about what face you made, how you feel and what they can do to help.”

The children told their parents about their burrito faces and then dug in, but that wasn’t the end of the evening. After all the burrito faces were in their tummies, the children got to make homemade play dough to take with them.

“When you use food and colors to talk about their emotions, it really helps them to understand,” said Chris Bastian, training education outreach specialist, EFMP. “Play dough always makes me happy, so it’s a good way to end the class in the green zone.”

Visit [e-mail] for EFMP information and events, and www.focusproject.org/military-sites/mcb-quantico for FOCUS events.

• Date Taken: 12.10.2012
• Date Posted: 12.11.2012 09:38
• Story ID: 99075
• Location: QUANTICO, VA, US