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by Mind Body Align (Author), Art Mawhinney (Illustrator)
"Someone's tone of voice is only part of the picture, and sometimes you need to see someone's face to really understand the emotions they're feeling."
When Tia the butterfly's friend Dwight tells her he doesn't want to play soccer with her, she doesn't know what to do! Is he mad at her? Does he not want to be friends anymore? She seeks out her friend Tree for advice, telling him it was really the tone of Dwight's voice that made him seem mad. Tree asks her to consider what Dwight looked like when he responded: Was he stiff? Was his facial expression angry? Tree reminds Tia that body language and facial expressions are just as important as tone of voice when you're talking to someone. Tia finds Dwight and decides to ask him why he didn't want to play her. She's relieved when he says he was just focused on making his stew. Whew!
It's easy to have a misunderstanding with a friend if you don't pay attention! Body language and facial expressions are important parts of conversations, and they can be easy to miss if you don't know what to look for. Using Tree's advice, you can avoid getting upset with your friends like Tia did and focus on having fun with them instead! Using discussion questions and Tree's advice for Tia, Tia Tunes In will teach children how to look for cues in conversation that will help their friendships thrive, continuing this thought-provoking series on mindfulness.
