Q, our little dusky leaf monkey is on his way to the top of his treehouse to reflect on his day after answering questions and performing fun actions to improve his EQ (emotional intelligence/emotional quotient) and start the conversation about feelings and appropriate actions. Follow the trail through his robot and space rooms, landing on colored spots corresponding to “Q” “DO” and “YOU” cards. Q cards ask kids to advise Q on what he should do in situations that they can relate to–noticing a little boy sitting alone on the playground, scoring all the points in a neighborhood basketball game, receiving a birthday present you don’t like, or forgetting to say thank you– with thoughtful questions that apply such as “Talk about when laughter is helpful and when it is hurtful,” YOU cards pose questions for kids to think about their actions and reactions, “When is it hard to tell the truth?” Our 10 year-old friend started to answer, giving examples when her mom helped clarify, “You mean when you think you might get in trouble?” “Yes!” “Or when you think it will affect your friendship.” These cards invited great conversation among parents and kids, making the situations personal. Several of the cards taught manners as part of good social skills–looking someone in the eye when talking to them, greeting adults when you meet them and saying thank you to Mom for the good meal. Our tester mom piped in, ” I love that, see, I always talk to you about that, respect, good manners.” DO cards get kids up and active which contributes to mental and emotional self-control. Any educator can tell you that! Kids loved the motor break as they lunged, crab walked, tip-toed, skipped and did crisscross jumping jacks (somehow that was way too hard for me!) Several cards direct the player to show facial expressions and talk about surprised, scared or funny. This game is thoughtfully designed with a depth and variety of questions, tasks and probes to encourage kids to build their EQ, through looking at different social situations, problem solving, applying it to themselves, and discussing the how’s and why’s of good social behavior. EQ and language skills go hand in hand, as kids process, identify, name and explain emotions and appropriate behaviors related to feelings. Every teacher should have this game in their classroom!
Available at EQtainment. Click here
