Take a Tour of Our Continuum
Our Early Learning and Development Continuum includes nine domains with goals for ages birth to five. Each month these concepts are embedded in new themes and daily lesson plans. Join us as we explore the domains and show you how FunShine curricula will build skills and make learning fun!
According to the Child Mind Institute, “Social and emotional learning (SEL) is a term for the way children acquire social and emotional skills. It includes things like managing difficult emotions, making responsible decisions, handling stress, setting goals, and building healthy relationships.”
Developing healthy social/emotional skills starts with responsive relationships with family members and caregivers. Early childhood educators play an important role in supporting this skill development in the early years.
4 Ways to Incorporate Social/Emotional Skills In Your Classroom
Start the day with a check-in.
For example, you can use emotion pictures where children point to how they are feeling that morning. By doing this, it sets the tone for the day and provides the children with the opportunity to express their feelings.
Use storytime as a teachable moment.
While reading stories with social/emotional themes, you can incorporate puppets. Puppets allow children to act out the social situations in the story. It’s also a great way to teach problem-solving skills through simple examples.
Incorporate a calming corner.
Having a space designed to support children emotionally and physically helps them feel safe and comfortable, allowing them to let down their guard to process different feelings. For calming corners, ensure the space is inclusive and accessible to all children. Consider adding items such as sensory toys, soft seating options, and light calming music.
Teaching children mindfulness gives them the tools to notice their emotions and cope with challenges more effectively. Try this STOP Mindfulness Technique activity to help children take time to notice what’s going on around them.
Ages 0-3: Emotions Cards
Play is important for all aspects of toddler development, including emotional development. Through play, toddlers learn about big emotions like frustration, guilt, and sadness. Emotion flash cards are a great way to help children develop an emotional vocabulary. You can utilize the Emotions Cards included in our Buttercups kit to create an “emotions toolkit”. It is the perfect activity for children who need help expressing their emotions. Additionally, this will help teach them what emotions look and feel like.
Ages 3-5: Character Counts Stories
Each month, the Fireflies curriculum provides or references a Character Counts story from our digital library of over 35 books and counting. Character Counts stories focus on helping children develop positive character traits they can use in challenging social situations. Children learn about self-regulation by experiencing common situations through a relatable story. These stories introduce positive character traits, explore emotions and social situations, and support positive identity development. These concepts can be reviewed and reinforced during circle time activities. Each story includes Things to Talk About and Things To Do suggestions for you to expand on the book’s content and make it meaningful for children.
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