Social and Emotional

Kindergarten Readiness: Social/Emotional Skills a 4th R

Along with Reading, Writing and ‘rithmetic there is a new R: social and emotional skills. For young children, social and emotional skills are a big part of kindergarten readiness that has been overshadowed by academics. In the words of writer Mike McKay, “…the brain can’t learn, the mind can’t engage and the person can’t reach full potential without…reasonable functioning.”

importance of social and emotional skills in young childrenNow, when it comes to little kids “reasonable” is sort of wishful thinking. Nevertheless, we can support children as they learn some basic social skills that will help them at daycare, preschool, kindergarten and beyond. Some basic social and emotional skills appropriate for young kids are sharing, taking turns, and learning to wait.

Although it doesn’t seem like it at first, being able to wait is a skill. Did you know that waiting needs self-regulation and impulse control? At any age and stage, both kids and grownups have to be able to wait. Being able to wait is so important that children who can cope with waiting when they are young, have higher test scores at graduation. In case you want to know, the term for this is “Strategic Allocation of Attention”. For some kids it might be easier than for others, but all of them can develop some strategies and skills so they can handle the challenge of waiting.

One strategy that helps for waiting is to talk about it and have fun. Are there some cookies in the oven and a child waiting until they are done? Ask the cookies if they are ready yet. In a different voice, be the cookies that answer “Nope, we’re not ready yet. We need to cook some more so we’ll be yummy in your tummy.” Some other activities that help waiting are singing songs, telling stories, having a basket of special books or toys to play with, or playing I Spy. We need to let kids know that we see them waiting. We all like to have our efforts acknowledged no matter our age.

The day will likely have some times when kids need to wait. For a play-of-the-day, can you and your child turn that waiting into something fun?

Hand Signs for Please and Thank you

While we all want the best for our children, we don’t always know how to support their best learning. Did you know that social skills are an important part of learning, early development, and kindergarten readiness? Surprisingly, social skills have more impact on later success than academic ones. Feeling anxious can interfere with learning, and feeling comfortable and confident can make it easier.

early social skills-please hand signSome early social skills for young children are learning to share, to take turns, to wait, and to use polite words. Besides the words for please and thank you, the gestures are easy to learn and fun to use.

To make the gesture for please, open your right hand flat and put in on your chest, just below your chin. Move the hand over to the left, down, and back up in a circle. Do this a few times and that’s please, right in the area where the bib was keeping the shirt clean. (see the picture on the right)

early social skills - thank you hand signThank you is another fun gesture. The right hand touches the chin, and then moves back and down just a little way. This looks almost like blowing a kiss without the kiss part, or a quick wave. This gesture keeps clothes a lot cleaner, instead making sure that whatever was on the hand is now also on the face. (see the picture on the left)

The little boy in this please and thank you song video doesn’t have the pronunciation of the words, but he certainly has the message. These two little words can indeed help kids out in life. After all, saying thank you and being grateful is so important that we have a holiday to remind us! That message sometimes gets lost as the turkey and pumpkin pie take center stage. But to use the words of another song, the Hokey Pokey, isn’t that what it’s all about?

Kindergarten Readiness and Early Social Skills: Sharing

The closer we get to the holidays, the longer grow the to-do lists. Could you use an idea to support your child’s early learning and kindergarten readiness that fits in especially well at this time of year?
This might sound like the exact opposite that you would expect to hear from a teacher, but it’s important to help young children learn social skills. Surprisingly, social skills have more impact on later success than academic ones. Feeling anxious can interfere with learning, and feeling comfortable and confident can make it easier.

helping kids learn to shareAn early social skill for kids, is learning to share. There are actually quite a few parts to sharing with someone else. Sharing can be for just a little while or it can be for much longer. Wee little ones will hold something out to another person, but haven’t yet figured out the letting go part. Like other skills, sharing takes time to learn and gets easier with practice.

Instead of being the broken record that tells kids something over and over, we can use stories. For instance, at the table, you can be the voice of the bowl: “There is lots of food in this bowl, for everyone to share. Each person needs to take some and leave some. That way everybody gets a share. Good thing I am such a big bowl and hold so much.” The toys can share space in the toybox and move over to make room. Stuffies can have a pretend tea and share with other stuffies.

Helping kids share can also be done as they play. There will likely be lots of opportunities in a day to practice sharing. What are some other ways to support learning to share?

Connecting to Emotions Key for Kindergarten Readiness

Parents and caregivers often ask what is most important for kindergarten readiness and are surprised when I answer “Social and emotional skills.” They are expecting an answer about academics but children learn best when they are comfortable and confident. How can kids be eager to participate and learn when they are worried and anxious? The … Continue reading Connecting to Emotions Key for Kindergarten Readiness

Birthday Parties Are Part of Kindergarten Readiness Too

Children’s development, and kindergarten readiness, happens with whatever kids do. At a birthday party for a 5 year old, several other children connected their voices and sang Happy Birthday. Besides the song, there were other traditions, such as the cake, candles, games, and presents. A birthday party is an exciting event and special occasion, but … Continue reading Birthday Parties Are Part of Kindergarten Readiness Too

First Day of School In Kindergarten

The first day of school is the beginning of many different connections; kindergarten in 2013, graduation in 2026! Some children who start kindergarten this year may have been going to daycare and preschool for years, but kindergarten is still a big step. Children will be in larger groups with more children all the same age … Continue reading First Day of School In Kindergarten

Kindergarten Readiness: Community Connections

Cars and trucks and other things that go ’round, like duct tape, and a few other small toys, all connect to make a great kindergarten readiness play-of-the-day. This post is inspired by Jessie Wills Koller at www.playcreateexplore.org who has such fun, creative ideas for ways to play and thankfully shared on a FB group.  Sometimes, … Continue reading Kindergarten Readiness: Community Connections

Kindergarten Readiness: Connections and Transitions

Sometimes ideas for blog posts seem to suggest themselves; today’s play-of-the-day for some kindergarten readiness learning and fun is looking at photos of family and friends to help children with connections. After a family celebration on the weekend for a 50th wedding anniversary, we looked at some of the pictures today. Little Sister recognized a … Continue reading Kindergarten Readiness: Connections and Transitions

Pirate Fun Activities For Kids: The Real Treasure

Pirate activities can range from counting to drawing maps to simple science experiments to cooking, creating, moving, and more; they can also include ideas for social and emotional development. And kindergarten readiness is more than academic, it includes social and emotional aspects too. During the preschool years children’s brains grow faster than at any other … Continue reading Pirate Fun Activities For Kids: The Real Treasure

Pirate Fun For Kids #22: Treasure in a Bottle

Pirates likely didn’t worry about their feelings, but for kids, learning how to regulate their bodies and feelings is part of early development as well as kindergarten readiness. Even though they are very young, feelings can be deeply intense for children. Emotions can overwhelm kids and they react to something small with big actions such … Continue reading Pirate Fun For Kids #22: Treasure in a Bottle