Social Emotional Development
Social emotional development includes the child's experience, expression, and management of emotions and the ability to establish positive and rewarding relationships with others
Develop confidence and positive self-awareness
- Demonstrate knowledge of personal information
- Recognize self as a unique individual and becomes aware of the uniqueness of others
- Demonstrate confidence in his/her range of abilities and expresses pride in accomplishments
- Develop personal perferences
Develop curiosity, initiative, self-direction, and persistence
- Show interest in new concepts & new experiences
- Initiate interaction with others
- Demonstrate self-direction in use of materials
- Develop independence during activities, routines, and play
- Sustain attention to a task or activity appropriate for age
Express beginning geographic thinking
- Identify common features in the home & school environment
- Create representations of home, school, or community
- Develop awareness of the community, city, & state
- Recognize characteristics of other regions & cultures
Increase the capacity for self-control
- Help to establish classroom rules and routines
- Follow rules & routines within the learing environment
- Use classroom materials purposefully and respectfully
- Manage transitions and adapts to changes in routine
- Express feelings through appropriate gestures, actions, and language
Develop interpersonal & social skills for relating with other members of the learning community
- Interact appropriately with peers and familiar adults
- Begin to recognize the needs and rights of others
- Show empathy and understanding to others
- Participate successfully as a member of a group
- Participate in resolving conflicts and disagreements with others
Ways to support instruction at home
- Make an "I Can" can with your child. Cover a clean can with paper and decorate it. Each week, write a new skill on a strip of paper ("I can hop on one foot," I can feed the dog," etc.) and place it in the can.
- Look through photos with your child often. Point out how she has grown and changed over time.
- Allow for independent "time alone." Talk with your child after about what they did.
- Give your child some choices throughout the day. "Should we get our the LEGOS or the play dough now?" "Would you like noodle soup or tomato soup for lunch?"
- Remind you child that every place has its own rules. Practice being quiet in the library and waiting at the bank or store.
- Take turns speaking or listening. During dinner let each person take a turn "in the spotlight" to share something about the day.
- When reading, talk about how the book characters feel. Point our their facial expressions, actions, and words. Say "Show me how you look when your're disappointed," or "How do people look if they're excited?"
- TALK to your child! Ask them questions about their day and encourage them to use complete sentences rather than single words or short phrases.
- Remind your child to use their manners. Saying thank you, please, and excuse me will take them far!
- Encourage table manners too! Discuss why they are important. (And encourage trying new foods too!)
- Lastly, HAVE fun with your child! Show them how interested you are in their school work and how proud you are when they do their best.
