“Empathy is not a luxury for human beings; it is a necessity. We survive not because we have claws and not because we have fangs. We survive because we can communicate and collaborate.”
—Daniel Seigel
(American Psychiatrist & Author)
SPRING ‘25
Featured Skill
Each season at Rooted In Play Outdoor Learning, we focus on helping children develop one of 8 core skills they need to become curious, capable learners who can contribute to their world. This spring, our lessons will help kids develop their empathy—the special human superpower that we use to understand our emotions and see the world through other people's eyes.
taking on the perspective of honeybees and learning about how they collect nectar and pollinate.
What Is Empathy and How Do Kids learn about it?
Empathy, says author and expert Roman Krznaric, is “the art of stepping into the shoes of another person and seeing the world through their eyes.” It’s a craft that we learn and hone throughout life. It’s not sympathy or pity, but rather feeling with someone—actually understanding and feeling the emotions of another person, and responding accordingly.
Before we can start to teach something like empathy, it helps to break it down into smaller parts, then look for opportunities to support each one. There are three main types of empathy, according to psychologists Daniel Goleman and Paul Ekman:
I can sense the emotions I am feeling and recognize the emotions in other people (affective or emotional empathy).
I can take the perspective of another person to understand what they need or what motivates them, even if it’s different from me (cognitive empathy).
I can turn my sense of what other people need into action (compassionate empathy).
According to Goleman and Ekman, when all three of these components of empathy are in place, they can work together to support strong connections and relationships. But, since little kids are just getting started in laying down each of these building blocks, it can really help to focus on them one at a time. Teach affective empathy as you make faces out of nature treasures. Boost cognitive empathy as you pretend to be another creature. Use acts of kindness to boost compassionate empathy. Once you break it down and get a little guidance, it becomes easy to boost empathy!
Why Is Empathy An Important Skill?
It’s not hard to agree that a world of people who understand their own emotions and the emotions of others is a world in which we’d all prefer to live. In short, empathy is our saving superpower. It’s no surprise that our ability to connect and understand each other’s point of view leads to happiness and even better health. If our children have empathy, they can work with others to solve problems, whether confronted by a bully at school, someone who thinks differently than they do, or just coping with big feelings that hit as they navigate their world and relationships.
The good news is that humans are wired for empathy from the start! Much of empathy involves what is called the limbic system in the brain—the center for emotion, memory and arousal. This bit of brain architecture (that all mammals share) develops earlier in humans than the portion of our brain that controls conscious thought.
When we observe someone else’s experience, our brain activates to mirror what it would look like if we were actually experiencing that situation ourselves—amazing. Our brains’ ability to do this is “the basis of all empathy,” says neuroscientist V.S. Ramachandran.
expressing and labeling feelings by creating faces out of mud and nature treasures.
Rooted In Play Outdoor Learning follows the much-loved and expertly designed Tinkergarten curriculum to inspire lots of outdoor, hands-on, and playful learning.
This spring, we’ll help kids learn to recognize emotions, take another's perspective and care for each other and the planet.
Our lessons follow a steady progression and are organized into three units:
“Our Feelings” unit (lessons 1-3): we learn how to identify, express, and use body language to understand our own emotions (emotional empathy).
“Our Friends” unit (lessons 4-6): we take on others’ perspectives and use teamwork to understand how other people feel (cognitive empathy)
“Our Community” unit (lessons 7-8): we consider the needs of other creatures and our planet, while creating inclusive spaces and taking action to care for ourselves and others (compassionate empathy).
Also, Tinkergarten has produced a printable season map for each skill, to give kids and their grown-ups a way to picture the learning journey. This map is intended to help kids visualize the progression of lessons, units and experiences that weave together to make impactful learning. We’ll also get lots of inspiration from our weekly featured creatures, too!
What Can You Expect This Spring?
to learn even more info about each of the lessons this spring, check out the season Curriculum Overview!
spring Class Info & Dates
Who: The curriculum is designed for children 18 months to 8 years old, with caring adult, however, siblings and children younger or older are welcome to enroll.*
*If you have a child or children between the ages of 6M-18M, consider the new Nature Babies program!
Location & Offerings: All classes will meet at beautiful Crestwood Park in Cottonwood Heights. The full spring series will kick-off the first week of April, and meets for 8 consecutive weeks (+1 bonus or makeup class, the week following the eighth session). Classes will be offered on the following days and times*:
Wed at 10:30AM (Apr 2-May 21)
Fri at 10:30AM (Apr 4-May 23)
This class series will meet once per week for ~75 minutes and in all-weather (as per national temperature and AQI safety guidelines).
*Class dates and times are subject to change, due to uncontrollable circumstances (i.e. unsafe weather, illness, etc). Two free makeup/bonus classes for the Tinkergarten spring series will be held the week after the eighth session (May 28th and May 30th).
Monthly Class: The monthly class meets the first Sunday of each month, at 10AM (Apr-Jun), for a total of 3 sessions.
Flex Packs: Need more flexibility? Flex packs will offered this spring season, and will consist of 5 classes. Flex packs can be used as a “drop-in” style option, and you can attend any scheduled class that works for you. Flex Packs will become available once classes have met minimum enrollment requirements.
Trial Classes: Trial classes will be offered throughout the season (lessons 1-7), to give interested families a chance to try out the program and have an in-class experience. Trial classes are exclusively offered to new families, who have never attended a class before. Registration will open two weeks before the first class or once the class meets minimum enrollment requirements .
What’s Included With Enrollment:
In-Person Lessons (+1 bonus or make-up class)
Open-Ended Play Invitations
Engaging Nature-Based Activities
Music & Movement
Animal/Creature Education
Tea & Storytime
Skill Certificate
*Enrollment also includes a emailed weekly book list, kids podcast episode or music playlist suggestions, parent/caregiver resources, and hands-on activity ideas to try at home. Enrollees receive a discount code for friends to use on a trial class and early access to any upcoming classes, pop-up activities, events and more!
Cost:
Full Series: $188 (+tax) for 8 total sessions.
Flex Packs: $140 (+tax) for 5 total sessions.
Monthly Class: $70 (+tax) for 3 total sessions
*The make-up/bonus class is an additional, free class, and not included in the total cost. Sibling discounts are automatic and already included the shown pricing—no code is needed.
Save 10% on a full series class when you enroll by Friday, 2/28—enter code EARLYBIRD10 at checkout!
See You Outside!
