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Developing Social and Emotional Skills
Developing Social and Emotional Skills
Social and Emotional Development is the focus of early learning. The ability to recognize, regulate, and use strategies to deal with their feelings allows children to feel safe and ready to learn and engage in the classroom. Although having your child learn the alphabet or to write their name are important skills, social and emotional education should be the focus at home and at school.
Feelings... We have them!
Feelings... We have them!
All humans experience a number of emotions: anger, disappointment, shyness, sadness, joy, excitement, confusion, fear, silliness... just to name a few. It is important that we talk about these feelings and give them names. When a child is able to identify their feeling, they are better able to deal with that feeling. We also need to make sure our children know that it is OKAY to feel. Many times we look at feelings such as fear or anger in a negative light. However, these emotions are real and should not be dismissed or criticized.
Here are some ways to incorporate feelings:
-Read books about feelings
-Make faces ("Show me what scared looks like! Oh I see your face going like this-make the face yourself-")
-Ask kiddos how they feel. If they respond with the famous "I don't know" give them three options to choose from, or show them the feelings chart.
-Talk about how the characters feel in movies, tv shows, or books
-Recall times of strong feelings "remember when you felt ___ when we could't buy that toy"
-Talk about what they can do when they feel those things... i.e. when they feel sad, maybe they can ask for a big hug or perhaps they have a special chair/corner they can go to
​Developing Social and Emotional Skills at Home
​Developing Social and Emotional Skills at Home
There are many activities that can help your child develop these skills in the home:
Talking about solutions to child-related problems
Act out/ model the solutions through play
Watch videos of other children working through their problem
Sing songs and dance- Change up "If your happy and you know it" to "If you are (sad, angry, joyful, etc.) and you know it"
Write/draw about a time when they felt... sad, happy, angry, etc.
Explore and post the feelings chart at child level
Naming your child's feelings when they may be unaware: If your child is screaming because they did not get another cookie. Say: "Your body looks tense, your voice is very loud and sounds angry. Your face is scrunched up like this (make the face yourself). I know you really wanted to eat another cookie, that was disappointing."
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