Thinking silently in the woods: listening to children speaking about emotion

The emotional side of the mind, which expresses itself through emotions, sentiments and moods, plays an important role in human existence because it conditions our own way of being in the world. On this premise, a qualitative research with children was undertaken in order to facilitate the expression of the emotions. The participants were children of four- to five-years-old attending a kindergarten school and six- to seven-year-old children attending a primary school. From the data it emerged that young children are capable of recognizing the emotions in other subjects, revealing themselves capable of empathy. The findings of the research support the notion that young children are competent thinkers and communicators about issues which require deep reflection