Social/Emotional Activities & Resources
The information and links below are meant for our Pine Road Families to help their children expand on their
social and emotional health and wellness.
Cooperative Games & Activities
Cooperative activities provide children opportunities to practice pro-social skills (like taking turns and using kind words and actions), as well as self-regulation, communication and problem solving skills. They're also a great way to have fun and spend quality time together!
Some fun and traditional games that don't require any materials and help children practice and build their self-regulation skills include:
Red light, Green light
Simon Says
Freeze Tag or Freeze Dance
Hide and Seek
Musical Chairs
Some fun board/boxed games that help children practice and build their self-regulation skills, communication skills, and cooperative play:
Self-Regulation & Coping Activities
Self-regulation refers to a person's ability to manage behavior and cope with emotions in ways that are healthy and relative to the situation. You can learn about and practice self-regulation is many ways: mindfulness, yoga, games, and more. See below for some practical ideas and resources.
Mindfulness: Experts in childhood development, from pediatricians to counselors to educators, are encouraging children to engage in mindfulness because the benefits are so widespread. Mindfulness activities can improve not only self-regulation skills, but they can increase self-esteem and concentration and decrease anxiety. Here are some sites that can get you started on your mindfulness journey:
25 Mindfulness Activities for Children and Teens by positivepsychology.com
5 Fun Mindfulness Activities from biglifejournal.com
Family Meditation from headspace.com (you can sign up for a FREE two week trial.
Peace Out Scripts: 10 Guided Meditations to read to kids
Breathe for Change: 3 simple wellness practices to bring calm and compassion to this unsettling time
Yoga:
Cosmic Kids Yoga is a fun AND healthy way for kids to be spending their screen time. You can access free videos on their website or YouTube channel. They also have an app but there is a subscription fee; HOWEVER, you can get a two week FREE trial!
These Yoga activities, by Occupational Therapist Lisa Marnell from Kids Master Skills (kidsmasterskills.com), are great ways to help your children stretch their bodies and minds.
Brain Breaks:
These Brain Breaks activities, by Occupational Therapist Lisa Marnell from Kids Master Skills (kidsmasterskills.com), are great ways to help your children stretch their bodies and minds.
These GoNoodle videos are a great way to break up your day and get moving. Most of your children are already familiar with GoNoodle so ask them to share some of their favorites with you! The videos are typically three to four minutes long.
Scavenger Hunts are a great way to get moving, practice skills, AND have fun. You can create your own or start with some that we found HERE.
Here are some ideas for how to use games for social emotional learning:
Make sure everyone playing the game is aware of and has agreed to play by all of the same rules BEFORE you start playing.
Consider challenging yourselves by playing the same game by one set of rules one day and then playing with some new/different rules another day.
Consistently enforce the rules that were agreed upon for this game on this day.
Model healthy coping strategies when the game goes in disappointing or unexpected directions.
Provide frequent positive feedback during game play regarding rule-following, sportsmanship, problem solving, and bouncing back from disappointing or upsetting outcomes.
Books
We love reading books with our students to help them connect with the characters in the stories and learn valuable life skills and lessons. Below are links to some of our favorite stories that you can listen to.
Read Aloud Books:
We're All Wonders by R.J. Palacio
Be Kind by Pat Zietlow Miller
Kindness is Cooler, Mrs. Ruler by Margery Cuyler
The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister
The Little Engine that Could by Watty Piper
The Wonderful Things You Will Be by Emily Winfield Martin
It's Okay to Make Mistakes by Todd Parr
The Feelings Book by Todd Parr
My Many Colored Days by Dr. Seuss
Career Exploration Ideas
One is never too young to explore the possibilities of the future!
These career exploration surveys and videos are meant for you and your child to explore the many careers in our community and world. Please note that the career videos provide a transcript underneath the video for you to preview before deciding if it is age appropriate for your child to watch.
Career Videos by Careeronestop.org
Career Videos about Government Careers By USA.gov
Career Clusters Activity by Educationplanner.org
Skills Search By ONETonline.org
Motor, Sensory, Self-Help Skills & More!
There are so many fun ways for children to practice the "real life" skills needed to help their independence really grow! Thank you to Mrs. Hill, LMTD's Occupational Therapist Extraordinaire, for gathering and sharing these resources!
Links to exciting and educational livestreams, virtual tours, and web-based games!
Check out these links to explore various museums, zoos, and more.
Cape May County Zoo: Click HERE for access to Cape May County Zoo's Virtual Zoo School.
Elmwood Park Zoo: Click HERE for access to Zoo School Live and Animal Cams
San Diego Zoo: Click HERE to explore the live cams for their elephants, penguins, pandas, and more!
Discovery Education: Click HERE for access to Discovery's Virtual Field Trips
Smithsonian Museum of Natural History: Click HERE to to virtual tours of the museums current exhibits
PBS Kids: Click HERE for access to games that tap into your child(ren)'s love of robotics, fashion, music, and more.