Ways to Support Social-Emotional Learning in Preschoolers

Have you ever heard of developing your child’s social and emotional skill? Do you think it is essential to develop this in your little kids? Well here is what you need to know. Social-emotional learning is basically recognizing our emotions, having some control over them, having empathy for others, handling conflict well, and making good choices about personal and social behavior. These skills are critical to every child’s success, be it in school or in life.

Believe it or not, these things need to be taught and the best time to begin is early! Right when they are preschool and kindergarten! And who is a better teacher to your child than YOU? Here are some specific steps you can take to nurture an emotionally intelligent child, and additional resources you can use to learn more about social and emotional learning.

Create an Affectionate-Friendly Environment:

Children love to feel like they are the most special and important, so make sure you provide them with love and affection. Don’t always let your child be independent. Holding your children makes them feel safe and contained. Comforting, singing, and talking to your children also provide an important emotional holding environment. It promotes a feeling of safety and security within your young child. As children receive love and affection from their elders, parents and relatives, they are also silently learning important aspects of how they can express their love and affection to others.

Encourage and Respect Differences:

Every child has a certain belief, values, and traditions. These are often largely influenced by the culture of the family and their larger community. It influences every aspect of parenting: feeding, sleeping, and toileting routines; discipline; communication and more. When you display an appreciation and respect for your own culture as well as the cultures of others, you are teaching your child acceptance of differences and lets them appreciate what is unique in another.

Understand Each Child is Unique:

Not all children are good at everything. Every child has his or her own unique talents and abilities. Whether in academics, athletics, extra-curricular activities or arts and crafts, resist the urge to compare your child to friends or siblings. This will lower their self-esteem. Instead, honor your child's accomplishments and provide support and encouragement and in the meantime also encourage them to concentrate on what they may be falling back on.

Encourage the Expression of Feelings:

Children are not sure how exactly to express their emotions. They may also express it without thought. Teachers and parents can encourage a child’s emotional expressions by responding constructively to them. Punishing or dismissing a child’s emotions does not give the child the opportunity to learn how to respond constructively to those emotions. Respond to a child’s emotions by validating her feelings. For example, ask your child, “What’s wrong?”  rather than saying, “Stop crying.”

Provide Support Occasionally:

You can support your child’s social and emotional skills through scaffolding. It’s built upon what children already know, such as the names of basic emotions, so that they can learn new skills, like how to identify when a playmate is sad or happy. You can guide a child to notice the feelings of another and also suggest possible solutions. For example, “Rose is crying, maybe she feels sad that no one is playing with her, why don’t you go and share your toys with her. I’m pretty sure she will be happy.”

Nurture Your Own Social and Emotional Wellness:

This is the most important aspect. To provide the best for your children, you must first attend to your own needs. You need to ensure that you are nurturing and respecting yourself. Parenting is rewarding, yet so demanding. So before you are about to react a particular way towards your child make sure that you are doing it right and in a calm manner. Children are observing and absorbing lessons about emotions throughout the day, even when those lessons are unintentional. So make sure you are doing it all right yourself.

Written by Fathima Khaja

Motivation – The key to Better Learning

One of the most difficult traits of being a teacher is learning how to understand and motivate your students to learn. If there is one thing we know all about children, it’s that they have a very short attention span. That being said, if kids are not motivated well enough and made to believe that leaning is fun and enjoyable, even the best teacher, lessons, books, and activities in the world won't get them excited about learning.

Students who are not motivated will not learn efficiently. They won’t retain information and they won’t be willing to participate in class activities and discussions. Motivation, both intrinsic and extrinsic, is a key factor in the success of students. Be it preschool, primary/high school or college – teachers can play a crucial role in providing encouragement and motivation to their students. Every child is different. A child may lack enthusiasm for a variety of reasons. Either they have no interest in the particular subject or they don’t find the teaching methods engaging or they may be distracted by various other external factors.

Everyone struggles to be motivated at some point. When you see your students in that place, try some of these fun ways to engage and enliven your class. Even some of the most experienced teachers sometimes lack the skills to keep get all their kids on track, so whether you're a new teacher or an experienced one, try using these methods to motivate your students and encourage them better. Here are few ways you can get the excited about learning.

Praise Students Whenever You Can:

Good job, excellent, great work, looks amazing – kids always love to hear positive words especially from their teacher. To them, the teacher is a know-it-all person and when he/she utters a word of praise, it encourages them and makes them feel like they have accomplished something great. It is an exciting feeling to be appreciated. So recognize some good work in your class and appreciate them loud and clear. Occasionally, organize awards in your classroom and see the difference it has on kids.

Spread Enthusiasm Like a Bug:

Be well prepared for your class. Do not just talk to your student through the class. Show your enthusiasm in the subject and use appropriate activities and materials to support your teaching. Adding fun activities can help students who struggle to stay engaged and make the classroom a much friendlier place for all students. The simple act of explaining what they’re learning out loud will help them understand and remember it better.

Create Leadership Classroom Jobs:

Students love to hold a leadership position or a special task they are in-charge of, in class. They like to feel they are the chosen one. Have classroom jobs like class monitor; update the daily calendar, cleaning the boards, group activity leader and a lot more to encourage them to reach for it. Use a specific criterion of your choosing, and communicate it to them. This motivates them to work harder in order to grab the classroom job. Also give them the opportunity to pick the job of their choice for a week.

Engage students and encourage participation:

It is important to remember every students name in class. Make sure you interact with them by calling out to them. While citing examples, use names from among students as this helps in seeking the attention of the entire class. Maintain eye contact with your students regularly. It helps them feel like they are acknowledged for being around. Rather than restricting yourself to the front of the class, move around quite frequently and ask questions to inspire students to come forth with ideas and feedback. 

What are some of the ways that you motivate your students? Share it with us in the comments section below!

Written by Fathima Khaja

Golden Simple Thoughts #10

"While we try to teach our Children all about life, our Children teach us what life is all about." - Angel Schwindt

Isn't it better we listen to our children more often than we do now! That is to listen between the words they speak, and try and understand the thoughts behind their action or non-action! 

Golden Simple Thoughts #9

"You can find magic wherever you look. Sit back and relax, all you need

is a BOOK." - Dr. Seuss

If you have children, you must read to them. Creating the reading habit in your kids is the best way to ensure they’ll be readers when they grow up … and it will help them to be knowledgeable and successful in life as well.

Golden Simple Thoughts #8

"We worry about what a child will become tomorrow, yet we forget that he is someone today." ~ Stacia Tauscher

As Oogway says in Kungfu Panda, "There is a saying: yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the "present." Let our children enjoy the gift everyday!  

Golden Simple Thoughts #7

"Being a full-time mother is one of the highest salaried jobs... since the payment is pure love." - Mildred B. Vermont

For every mother, her kid is always special. Whether kids do anything special for her or not, mothers always shower them with all their love. 

Golden Simple Thoughts #6

"Books are a uniquely portable magic." By Stephen King

How true!! Buy as much magic as possible... you child will only love to lap them up. Visit a book fair or a nearby book shop or an online book store... and bring home the magic.