The Pre-Primary Program
Pre-primary: Social Emotional Development
Social Emotional Development is how children gain skills to understand their emotions/feelings and learn how to get along with others. Social Emotional Development begins very early in a child’s life. Time and practice in the early years sets each child on a successful path in school and life. These skills include turn- taking, negotiating, problem- solving, sharing, and empathy for others.
Play is the natural way to support children with managing emotions and building relationships. Play provides opportunities for children to learn as they discover, create, improvise, and imagine. In play, children also experiment with the world, discover how things work, and learn to interact with others.
Here’s some games and activities that you can try at home to support your child’s learning and development.
Read or tell bedtime stories – There's something magical about this end-of-the-day routine that makes it a great time to talk about feelings and reflect on the day. Ask your child to share thoughts and feelings by asking questions like “How did that make you feel?”
Sensory play – Playing with water, sand, or other sensory materials can be very soothing for children. At Pre-primary we love playdough and goop. Ask your child’s ECE for their favorite playdough recipe or try mixing cornstarch with a little water to make goop – children can experiment with the amounts and are fascinated by this concoction that is both a solid and a liquid.
Routines - Young children feel more secure with routines. Even though activities may change throughout the day, keeping the day’s pattern predictable helps children be prepared. Talking to children about what you are doing now and what will happen next is very reassuring.
Play games - Games like Hopscotch and Red Light, Green Light offer built in opportunities to learn to take turns, cooperate, handle frustration, practice self-control and communicate.
Think aloud - When a child hears your thinking process it helps them understand how to cope with frustration and solve problems: “Uh oh, I’m out of eggs and need one for my recipe. I know, I can ask our neighbor if she has an egg I can borrow.”
Do a job together – Instead of asking your child to do a chore on their own, do it with them. Together you can set the table or wash the dishes. They will enjoy this time with you, will be learning new skills, and it will help them feel a sense of family belonging. It’s also great practice for teamwork.
Role play – Puppets or stuffed animals are a great way to introduce children to feeling words like happy, sad, and angry. Children will sometimes talk to their puppets or stuffies about their feelings, which can help when talking about harder topics. Making puppets with children is easy - just add eyes to a spare sock or draw a paper face and tape a stick to the back.
Mindfulness – Little children have big emotions. When they get overwhelmed, try this activity:
Name 5 things you can see in the room
Name 4 things you can feel.
Name 3 things you can hear right now.
Name 2 things you can smell right now.
Name 1 good thing about yourself.
Choice – Give the opportunity to make choices throughout the day. “Do you want to wear the red shirt or the yellow one?” “Do you want to play in the yard or go for walk?” This helps them practice decision-making.
Learning in French
The learning opportunities that are presented here are both in English and French. All students are encouraged to complete the activities in their language of instruction. Teachers can be contacted for further support and suggestions.
Additionally, there are many ways students can reinforce cultural identity and continue to develop French language at home. Some examples include: singing songs they’ve learned in school, watching Netflix, tv, movies or YouTube (with French closed captions if desired), listening to music, the radio or podcasts, as well as having conversations with others at home or phone calls with classmates.