Colorful Emotions for Children Attending Kindergarden
The year 2024 was declared the Year of Universal Inclusion in Lithuania. Inclusion in education is a continuous value-based process aimed at ensuring the best opportunities for all children. In an effort to better prepare for inclusive education, Panevėžys kindergarten “Rūta”, together with partners from Latvia, is participating in the project Colorful Emotions.
The project’s goal is to help kindergartens in Lithuania and Latvia implement the concept of inclusive education more quickly and smoothly by developing educators’ skills and fostering cooperation to enhance their competencies necessary for working with children with special needs.
The first phase of the project began with training focused on teachers’ psychological resilience to stress. The educators of kindergarten “Rūta” invited colleagues from Visaginas kindergarten “Auksinis gaidelis” to a session with psychologist-psychotherapist, Mindfulness teacher, and lecturer Lina Bagdonavičienė. The lecturer conducted two training workshops: “Burnout Prevention. Creating a Healthy Psychological Microclimate” and “Developing Psychological Resilience Skills. Emotions and Emotion Regulation Practices. Mindfulness Skill Development.” Participants learned relaxation techniques, mindfulness practices, completed “Communication Needs” worksheets, and engaged in a “Role” game practice. These trainings helped educators better understand their mental health and apply techniques that assist in managing stress more effectively.
Throughout the duration of the project, a psychologist works at the kindergarten, providing mental health consultations and guidance to children, their parents, and the entire community—helping to create a supportive learning environment.
The participating early childhood education institutions selected two methods each to help children with special needs (and others) build self-confidence, feel safer, and better understand their abilities. Our kindergarten chose Art Therapy and Interactive Sand Therapy.
The positive effects of art therapy on personal growth, self-awareness, development, and even the treatment of the causes and consequences of somatic illnesses have been scientifically proven across the world. From April to June 2024, special training was held at the kindergarten to provide educators with knowledge about applicable materials and equipment, as well as scientifically proven effective methodologies and therapies used in the education of children with special needs (e.g., hyperactivity, movement and behavior disorders, autism). The training was conducted by art therapist Vaida Virbalaitė-Šablevičienė.
Sand therapy is a unique and highly effective psychotherapy method that encourages self-exploration and inner awareness, allowing children to express feelings and experiences. Psychologists recommend sand therapy for those struggling with aggression, anxiety, excessive shyness, or emotional sensitivity. Playing with sand is calming and relaxing, reducing stress. This method is also used to prevent social anxiety and ease communication challenges.
Using project funds, kindergarten “Rūta” acquired an interactive sand table “Imsand”. This tool combines the benefits of traditional sand therapy with enhancements from virtual reality. It is a multi-format educational, learning, and therapeutic tool based on the principles of neurodiversity, psychological well-being, and language inclusion.
By creating a virtual world in the sandbox, a child can find solutions to real-life problems in a playful way, helping to reduce stress and anxiety.
The project continues in 2025. Participants will visit institutions in Latvia and Lithuania to become familiar with their educational methods for working with children with special needs. Starting in March 2025, we will begin teaching our partners what we have learned—applying new methods in working with exceptional children.
Project “Colorful Emotions” Coordinator,
Director of Kindergarten “Rūta”,
Regina Mikalauskienė
