The project aimed to achieve three main objectives focused on children, educators, and parents. First, we wanted to support children in learning to identify, express, and manage their emotions. The goal was to help children better understand their feelings, cope with emotional challenges, and handle conflicts in a calm and constructive way. Through age-appropriate activities, we aimed to strengthen children’s communication, cooperation, and relationship-building skills. Second, we aimed to strengthen educators’ competences in emotional literacy education. The project focused on providing teachers with practical tools, methods, and confidence to work with emotions in daily educational practice. By participating in trainings, international exchanges, reflective journaling, and collaborative activities, educators were expected to improve their ability to support children’s emotional well-being in inclusive and diverse learning environments. Third, the project aimed to support parents by increasing their knowledge and skills in responding to their children’s emotional needs. We wanted to offer parents practical guidance and accessible resources to help them better understand their children’s emotions and support emotional development.
We applied for the project Exploring the Forest of Emotions because we identified a strong need to support children’s emotional well-being in early childhood and primary education. Educators often observed that children have difficulties identifying, expressing, and managing their emotions, which can lead to conflicts and challenges in communication. Parents also reported feeling unsure how to respond to their children’s strong emotions in everyday situations. At the same time, educators expressed a need for practical tools and clear methods for teaching emotional literacy. In Estonia, this need is linked to the transition to Estonian-language education, which can be emotionally challenging for children from non-Estonian-speaking families. In Slovenia and Cyprus, schools face similar challenges related to cultural diversity, migration, language barriers, and inclusion. The project was designed to address these needs by supporting children, educators, and parents. It aimed to strengthen emotional literacy, create safe and inclusive learning environments, and provide practical resources for daily educational practice.