Social and Emotional Development

                                                                                 ACTIVITIES FOR EDUCATORS                                                     

Toddler Activities-

           -This is a great time to have toddlers' parallel play. Setup a tub or basin with water or bean or rice and put two children at each one. Let them play together. 

           -Put cool whip straight on the table and have toddlers put their hands in it, sharing the available cool whip in front of them. It easily cleans up with soap and water or Clorox wipes. 

Early Childhood Activities-

           -Foster turn taking with a group of 4 children. Each child gets a mat with the numbers 1-6 (12) printed on it. Have one child roll a die/dice and all the children cover that number on their mat with a token. The child then passes the dice to the next child to roll until all of the numbers have been covered. 

          -Encourage Sharing-Create a playdough area with plastic cookie cutters and rollers and mats. Use two different colors of playdough and encourage the children to share the utensils. (2 children at this lab)

Middle Childhood Activities-

          -Have children work in small groups to fill out a current topic worksheet, where they need to refer back to the material for answers. This will encourage teamwork and relationship building.

          -Pair children up to do a research project. Let them decide who will be responsible for the writing, visual aids and the presentation to the class. Fostering trust and relationship skills. 

                                                                                          SELF-REGULATION

         According to Anderman and Anderman self-regulation is the "process of setting goals for oneself and engaging in behaviors and cognitive processes that lead to goal attaining" (663) Examples of self-regulation would be a child choosing to go to the calm down corner instead of hitting a student when they become frustrated or angry. Using self-talk is also an example of self-regulation. Keeping your impulses and emotions under control both fall under self-regulation. 

          As a teacher you can model self-regulation when you are frustrated by taking belly breaths when you are frustrated or overwhelmed or are pretending to be. You can create a calm down corner or area with a soft rug and pillows and books about emotions. You can provide cards with facial expressions on them for children to see which ones they relate to. You can provide fidgets or allow students to stand at their desks to do their work. They may be able to regulate better if they are able to move a little while working. 

                                                                                       PARENT RESOURCES 

           According to Slater, self-regulation means, "becoming aware of one's brain-body responses to stressors in everyday life and applying personalized strategies to return to a state of composure or calm" (2021). This begins happening in infancy as caregivers establish a relationship with their baby. As the baby cries, because it is hungry, and the caregiver provides food, the baby calms and a trusting relationship/bond is formed called an attachment. When this attachment is created the baby is now later in life able to form other attachments called friendships and is able to adjust to change easier than a baby who does not form that initial attachment. 

          For toddlers, it is important to practice skills such as turn taking and playing together. Your toddler will most likely play beside you and not with you. This is called parallel play and is a natural part of development. It is also important that you model good self-regulation skills, when you become upset, take a deep breath or count to ten. If your child sees you explode in anger, they will model your behavior. 

           Early childhood parents, your children are watching you for answers. They need you to teach them the appropriate way to handle situations where they have big feelings like anger or sadness or when they are scared. The self-regulation skills they learn now will be with them for the rest of their lives. These skills are the foundation that they will continue to build on. You can teach them to name their feelings and to take deep breaths when they are upset. You can provide a break area for them, if they need some place to go to calm down. You can set up play dates with peers to give them the opportunity to learn how to take turns and to share. You can help them set goals like zipping their own coat or dressing themselves. They are at an age where they are wanting to gain independence from you to fulfill their needs. Give them tasks that they are able to do successfully to build self-esteem and promote good mental health. They will have struggles but with patient, caring adults who can remind them, to have calm bodies and to use deep breaths, when big emotions come, they will build on that success and become more self-regulated children. 

            Middle childhood can be a struggle for some children. Children grades kindergarten through around 2nd grade are more focused on traits they can see when looking for friends. They are beginning to notice that people are different, some are tall, some are short, some have black hair, some have blond hair, some have brown skin, some have tan skin. Some may also begin to say things like "I can climb that mountain" even though they have never been to the mountains, or "I could do that snowboarding trick" even though they have never been snowboarding.  Children need you to help build their self-esteem at this age. Encourage them to do something where you know they will succeed. And then praise them for this specific accomplishment. (Anderson, 2024) 

 

                                                                                                     

                                                                                                           REFERENCES

 

                                Anderson, E.M., Anderson, L.H. & Ormrod, J.E. (2024) Educational Psychology Developing Learners. Person 

 

                                Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential (n.d.). Social & Emotional Developmental 

 

                Milestones for Toddlers (1-3 Years). (n.d.) Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential, www.michigan.gov

 

                                 Loalada, Stephanie. (n.d.) Lumen Lifespan Development. Emotional & Social Development in Middle Childhood.

 

                www.courses.lumenlearning.com

 

                                  Slater, A., (2021). Self-Regulation in the early & later years: Understanding it and helping educators

                 

                to teach it. Educating Young Children: Learning & Teaching in the Early Childhood Years, 27(3), 22-25.

 

                                  Social Skills Children. (n.d.) Cognitive and Social Skills to Expect from 3-5 years. Act Resources. www.apa.org