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How to use Kimochis?

CONNECT with your kids by recognizing feelings and learning to anticipate situations that can trigger emotional - or Ki-motional- reactions.

COMMUNICATE using a calm tone of voice and relaxed body language to help your child know what to say and do when feelings arise. 

CREATE a comfortable environment for Ki-motional conversation and play. 

PRACTICE communicating feelings with your family and friends. Help children catch themselves during emotional moments by giving a secret “try that again” signal such as a knowing look, head nod, wink, or gentle “uh-oh” sound. 

Take A Kimochis Moment (TKM)

Our natural brain and body reactions can be one major challenge to using the Keys to Kimochis® Communication during emotional moments. “Our bodies all have a general alarm mechanism. This mechanism is used to mobilize your body so that it can effectively cope with emergency situations. According to Dr. John Gottman, it is called Diffuse Physiological Arousal (DPA for short). In situations that are perceived as “dangerous” or “threatening”, DPA turns off the part of your brain that are logical and rational and triggers your “fight” or “flight” mechanism. In this state, we only hear and see signals of danger, nothing else. It’s harder to problem-solve or think logically and we are more likely to attack or be verbally defensive. Empathy and creativity fly out the window, along with our positive communication skills. 

When you feel yourself beginning to lose control, Take a Kimochis Moment (TKM) to cool down and regain your composure. You and your kids will thank you for it. 

Kimochis & Girls Sport Works

A BIG KIMOCHIS thank you to Girls Sport Works for allowing us to repost this blog. 

Student holding Kimochi, a stuffed toy cloud

Fanny from Colegio Santoni proudly shows off our new friend Kimochis

It is tradition, that at the end of each class we present La Coneja Colaboradora, or Collaborative Bunny in English, to the girl or girls who most exemplified the characteristics of a Chica Dinámica. Every girl knows that the Coneja Colaboradora is given to the girl who plays with the most enthusiasm, participates the entire class, collaborates with her teammates, and demonstrates leadership. Receiving the Coneja Colaboradora is an honor and each girl truly enjoys the opportunity to embrace the Coneja Colaboradora.
students hands all touching the collaborative bunny

Our Santoni girls, with our Collaborative Bunny, put their hands in for the end of class cheer

We recently introduced a new friend to our classes, Kimochis La Nube, or Kimochis The Cloud. Kimochi hails from Japan and is a long way away from home here in Cusco, Peru. Kimochis is a counseling tool whose face can be manually changed from happy to sad. At the end of class once a week we pass Kimochis around the circle, giving each girl a chance to share why she is happy and/or why she is sad. We try to encourage the girls to go beyond just talking about what happened during the day’s sports class and to share about their lives at home, at school, etc.
3 students with kimochi

Sometimes Kimochi is happy…..

3 students playing to look sad with Kimochi

and sometimes he is sad.

Kimochis has been a huge hit and the girls always ask about him, the new friend of La Coneja Colaboradora. We also offer soft and cuddley Kimochis to comfort our girls if they get hurt or are just having a bad day–he always calms and brings a smile!
student holding Kimochi, shares her feelings

Naomi from Colegio Los Nogales shares her feelings with the group

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 8th, 2011 at 8:52 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. FOR MORE INFORMATION about Girls Sport Works & how you can support their efforts visit: www.girlssportworks.org. 

911 Kimochis

Having a challenging moment? Take a Kimochis Moment to cool down and then use the Kimochis Bowl of Feelings to NAME or tell everyone what you are feeling. “Mom is feeling frustrated.” Then go on to describe and OWN what you are doing and saying that makes you unhappy. “Mommy is screaming because she feels frustrated and that is not okay.” The number one regret that most parents express about their parenting is they wish they did not yell. Share how taking the time to cool down and be on your own helped you both understand and share what you were feeling. 

Someone is Feeling Something

1. Ask your child to stand outside the room while each parent chooses a feeling and hides it behind their back. 

2. Invite your child back into the room to read their parent’s body language and guess which feeling they have hidden behind their back. 

3. After your child guesses, it’s now the parents turn to leave the room and keep the game going. 

Kimochis Feeling Poster (18x24 inches)

Perfect for home or classroom, this 18x24 inch full color poster is a fun way to build a child’s emotional vocabulary. Feelings included:
Happy • Sad • Mad • Brave • Embarrassed • Friendly • Sorry • Disappointed • Frustrated • Silly • Hopeful • Left Out • Excited • Jealous • Curious • Cranky • Sensitive • Proud • Insecure • Grateful • Loved • Guilty • Uncomfortable • Shy • Hurt • Surprised • Scared • Kind

Identify and express how you are feeling! (Poster can even be laminated and used with dry erase markers.)