Schools and educators do not just teach students basic facts and skills such as addition. They also provide important social and emotional lessons, especially when working with very young children. Social and emotional learning resources can help teachers achieve these learning goals. Here are some of these resources that you may want to include in your classroom.
Posters Showing Different Emotions and Responses
When working with very young children, one of the main challenges is getting students to learn how to identify and articulate their emotions. Students may just know that they are feeling overwhelmed and bad, and act up accordingly.
Visual learning aids such as posters can help with this issue. Posters with different emotions and identifying how you feel, as well as responses, can help children identify their emotions and begin to modify their responses.
Tactile and Fidget Toys
For elementary school-aged children, talking or breathing about their feelings is often not enough. Kids need an outlet for their energy and excess emotions, such as fidget toys, tactile toys, and more. Many of these social and emotional learning resources are available for educators online.
Stickers and Reward Books
One of the main motivators for young children to learn is the possibility of a reward, such as a sticker. A sticker book or chart, where children earn stickers for good social and emotional responses, and can keep track of their emotions and what they’ve learned can go a long way towards reinforcing certain behaviors.
