This picture seemed so appropriate for this topic. This month's "Play to Learn. Learn to Play." class (check out the classes page for info!) will be on social and emotional development and will include the book Glad Monster, Sad Monster. Above is Brady's monster impression!
This area can seem like a tricky thing to teach because feelings are so abstract. But there are some concrete activities that can help children develop their emotional intelligence. It's a broad topic and there are many ways to approach it. There will definitely be more posts with thoughts about developing these extremely important skills.
Here is a sneak peek of what we'll cover in class:
1. Language you can use with your children to develop positive social/emotional skills.
2. Tips for diffusing anger and redirection.
3. Games and materials that foster social/emotional development and how to make the most of them.
Books with characters dealing with different emotions are one of my favorite ways to teach these important skills. We'll talk more about Glad Monster, Sad Monster (mentioned above) and more in class but here is a list of my top 5 (it was hard to pick just 5) books about feelings:
1. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst
2. When Sophie Gets Angry, Really, Really, Angry by Molly Bang
3. The Learning to Get Along series by Cheri J. Meiners
4. The Way I Feel by Janan Cain
5. Happy Hippo, Angry Duck by Sandra Boynton
Learning about emotions doesn't need to happen in the moment while the emotion is experienced. There are lots of ways to make it fun. One of my favorite blogs, No Time for Flash Cards, has some great ideas here with games for older children to help develop awareness of emotions and how to handle them in themselves and with others.
I received a great training as a teacher from Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning (a mouthful, I know) (CSEFEL). They also has great resources for families here.
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