School Readiness: Social and Emotional Development

How can you help and support your child in the area of social & emotional development?  Create activities that address the following areas.

• Getting along with others
• Making and keeping friends
• Learning how to handle emotions 
• Getting excited to learn about new things
• Starting and finishing something
• Learning how to take responsibility for things.

If kids are familiar with these concepts, they should do very well in school.  Of course it's not a one and done kind of thing.  These are areas where kids will continue to learn, develop, and grow.  Some adults should probably take some kind of refresher course on these, but I digress.  There are all kinds of ideas and suggestions that you can find online if you search, but these are some that I like to do in my programs and have done with my own children.  Possibilities are truly endless if you just use your imagination.  It is also important to remember that so often children learn by modeling the adults in their lives.  Be mindful of your actions, and do not be afraid of using the not so good ones as teachable moments.  Everyone makes mistakes.  It's okay.  We learn from them and we grow!

Fun with feelings

I printed out and laminated clip art faces from Microsoft Word and attached them to craft sticks.  In storytime I like to do different things to teach kids about emotions and feelings.  One thing I like to do is hold up the different pictures and ask them to imitate the face and then tell me how it makes them feel.  We'll also make faces and play guess what I'm feeling.  Results are often hilarious, especially with silly faces and angry faces.

Dramatic play

Dramatic play is a great time to encourage social & emotional development.  Have a tea party.  It's a great time to talk about different things like manners and making friends.  Playing with baby dolls can teach kids about caring for others.

Book discussions for kids

Read a book such as The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle, When Sophie Gets Angry - Really, Really Angry by Molly Bang, or Today I Feel Silly and Other Moods by Jamie Lee Curtis and talk about them.  Ask them if they've ever felt those emotions.  What did they do?  How do you think the different characters feel?

Make a feelings book

This could be a good extension activity after playing a feelings game or a funny faces game.  Encourage the kids to make their own feelings book.  Let them illustrate and dictate the story.  It's a great time to build writing skills.  Talk to them as they create.  Explain how you feel different emotions and why.

Be a construction team

This activity is great for building cooperation and teamwork.  If several kids are playing together they can take turns being the team leader and choosing what to build.  You can use blocks, Legos, or even plastic cups.  I have bought many plastic cups from Dollar Tree that I have used over and over at my library.  We've built trees, towers, and even barricades that had to be knocked down by catapulting marshmallows at them.  I do weird things!

Design a chore chart

Work together to create a special chore chart for the family.  Ask the kids what they can do to help the family. 

Play some board games

Playing board games will help show kids that there are rules and instructions for how to do different things.  It will also help you discuss being a good winner and not a sore loser.  There are a lot of educational games out there.  Increase your learning opportunities!

READ!

I mean, the librarian is obviously going to tell you to read.  There are so many great books out there.  I could easily list hundreds, but I will try my best to narrow it down to just a few.  Some keywords that you can search include cooperation, friendship, rules, teamwork, kindness, individuality, and manners.

• Take care / Madelyn Rosenberg ; illustrated by Giuliana Gregori
• The Good Egg / Jory John and Pete Oswald.
• The Bad Seed / written by Jory John ; illustrations by Pete Oswald  
• Someone New / Anne Sibley O'Brien
• Dear Boy / by Jason Rosenthal and Paris Rosenthal ; illustrated by Holly Hatam
• Dear Girl / by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Paris Rosenthal ; illustrated by Holly Hatam
• Love the Fur You're In: Monster Wit and Wisdom : with art from 50 years of Sesame Street books
• Harrison P. Spader, Personal Space Invader / by Christianne C. Jones ; illustrated by Cale Atkinson
• Why Am I Me? / words by Paige Britt ; pictures by Sean Qualls and Selina Alko
• The Golden Acorn / by Katy Hudson
• Tomorrow I'll Be Kind / words and pictures by Jessica Hische
• I Promise / written by LeBron James ; illustrated by Nina Mata
• The Golden Rule / by Ilene Cooper ; illustrated by Gaby Swiatowska ; foreword by John Green   
• Tractor Mac : Teamwork / written and illustrated by Billy Steers     
• NanoBots / Chris Gall
• Being Edie is Hard Today/ written by Ben Brashares ; illustrated by Elizabeth Bergeland
• A Boy Like You / by Frank Murphy ; illustrated by Kayla Harre