Power Up Moodsters! Preschool Curriculum Teaches Emotion Awareness and Vocabulary Skills

Our four year-old son and I perform this routine at least once daily- "Why are you crying/ laughing/ smiling/ quiet?" His response, "Because, I am." You just have to love our little Captain Obvious. Fortunately, as his mom and based upon my experience in preschool as educator and administrator in Early Childhood Education, and as a homeshool mom, I already had a pretty accurate answer to my question.

As The Moodsters Brand Ambassador, I have been sponsored by The Moodsters Team with promotional items and informational content to facilitate this advertorial.

Asking these seemingly basic questions of my son, I am initiating a conversation in which he realizes that his feelings are sometimes caused by situations and events happening in the world around him. The teachable moment was prime time for "Busy" to Meet The Moodsters.  The Moodsters are the title characters of an extensively researched line of educational toys and books designed to teach children the fundamentals of understanding their feelings and the feelings of others, as well. 

The Moodsters are five cuddly and clever little detectives- Happy Yellow Coz, Loving Pink Lolly, Sad Blue Snorf, Angry Red Razzy and Afraid Green Quigly, that will come to the rescue to help their friends, Zach and Zoey, understand feelings. Educational studies and scientific research support greater emotional intelligence (EQ) provides a greater foundation for the development of a child’s social competence, academic success, and physical and psychological abilities. Our EQ is defined as our ability to identify and manage ours own emotions, as well as the emotions of others. (Keep reading for an exclusive reader giveaway!)

The Moodsters are useful to establish the foundations for communication between parents and preschoolers based upon an educational curriculum developed by Marc Brackett, Ph.D. of Yale University. The innovative early childhood curriculum is based on the RULER Method, (Recognize, Understand, Label, Express, and Regulate) being applied to understanding emotions, appropriate for preschool children aged 3 and up. Author Denise Daniels states, "That was our platform, and we evolved from that to the toys, which we developed with Kids Preferred, one of world’s leading toy companies." 

Award-winning child development and parenting expert Denise Daniels, Founder of Jelly Jam Entertainment, has partnered with Kids Preferred to launch The Moodsters, a new line of toys and books designed to teach young children the fundamentals of feelings. “Denise Daniels is a talented parenting and child development expert who has created a delightful new brand to assist children with their emotional well-being, said Laura Perks, Vice President of Marketing, Kids Preferred, LLC. “We are thrilled to be working with The Moodsters and bringing them to families around the country.” This groundbreaking preschool property, will launch exclusively in Target stores nationwide and on Target.com beginning September, 2015. 

In a recent conversation, Denise discussed her career working with children, the development of The Moodsters, and how learning emotional intelligence, EQ skills can help children throughout their entire lives.

“Around the age of two, children start rapidly developing a vocabulary for their feelings,” said Denise Daniels. “It is important to teach children emotional intelligence (EQ) skills at an early age, so they have the necessary tools to manage the emotional ups and downs of everyday life."

In line with Daniels, Marc Brackett, Ph.D. commented, “Research shows that children who learn emotional intelligence skills have less anxiety and depression; have fewer attention, learning, and behavior problems; are better problem-solvers; display greater social and leadership skills; and perform better academically."

The Moodsters initial product launch will feature three 8x8 full-color, 32-page storybook for children ages 3 and up, in Target stores nationwide.

Moodster Meter™ and Storybook- an electronic “feelings thermometer” with character voices helps little ones learn a vocabulary for their feelings so they can express their emotions. “Meet The Moodsters”storybook. When seven year old Zach’s magic trick goes wrong, he has to deal with a big mess—and some big feelings! The Moodsters will need to use their best detective skills to help Zach understand how he feels and get his good mood back. Grab your detective hats and get ready to help The Moodsters solve the case! 

Feelings Flashlight™ and Storybook- an electronic flashlight that features The Moodsters character images with voice affirmations and fun play activities so kids can explore their feelings, helping them to process and understand their emotions. “The Scary Sleepover” storybook to complement the Feelings Flashlight with a story to take the “scary” out of bedtime. The night of the treehouse sleepover is finally here, but the backyard is full of spooky noises and dark shadows. The Moodsters help their friend, Zach, face his fears – and save the sleepover!

Moodster Mirror™ and Storybook- an electronic mirror with character voices to help kids recognize their feelings and non-verbal cues, which is a key EQ skill. “A Time to Be Kind” storybook. Zach and his best friend, Sam, love to ride their bikes together. But when something terrible happens to Sam’s bike, Zach has a tough decision to make. With a little help from The Moodsters, Zach, learns how kindness can make things right in this heartwarming story that explores the true meaning of friendship. 

Every parent has a thermometer for taking a child’s temperature—now every house should have a Moodster Meter for taking a child’s emotional temperature! Young children don’t always have the vocabulary to describe their emotions, so the Moodster Meter provides a safe, fun, interactive way for kids to show how they’re feeling inside.

They just push the Power Up button to align with the character and emotion that represents what they feel: Snorf (sad), Lolly (loving), Quigly (afraid), Razzy (angry), or Coz (happy). By putting the tools for expression right in their hands, the Moodster Meter makes it so much easier for young kids to talk about what’s going on inside.

The Moodster Meter will be available at Target and Target.com in September, 2015.

For more information please go to www.themoodsters.com or www.denisedanielsparenting.com.

Denise Daniels is a Peabody award-winning broadcast journalist, parenting and child development expert and author who specializes in the social and emotional development of children. Her books have reached more than 15 million parents and children offering practical, simple and essential advice on how to deal with grief, loss and family transitions, as well as the everyday challenges of growing up. Denise hosted her own daily parenting show, Parents Helper, on NBC’s cable network and has appeared on numerous TV shows including Oprah, The View and served as a regular contributor on TODAY. For more information, please go to www.denisedanielsparenting.com and follow Denise on Twitter-@DeniseDanielsEQ and Facebook-https://www.facebook.com/DeniseDanielsParenting

About Jelly Jam Entertainment-

Jelly Jam Entertainment is an independent developer and licensor of entertainment and educational content for preschoolers. Under the direction of Peabody award-winning child development expert, Denise Daniels, Jelly Jam Entertainment is the creator of The Moodsters, a first-of-its-kind property designed to help preschoolers develop their emotional intelligence. 

I am affiliated as The Moodsters Brand Ambassador, I have been sponsored by The Moodsters Team with promotional items and informational content to facilitate this advertorial. As the owner of this blog, niecyisms and nestlings, I am compensated to provide my opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. This blog may contain affiliate links. Even though, as the writer/owner of this blog receiving compensation for posts or advertisements, I will always give my honest opinions, findings, beliefs or experiences on those topics or products. This blog abides by word of mouth marketing standards. I believe in the honesty of relationship, opinion and identity. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely my own. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider or party in question.