Tagged with 'social emotional learning'

Your soon-to-be-Kindergartener was built for summer! There’s so much to do, see, and explore, both inside and outdoors. If you’re looking for some fresh, fun ideas to help keep your rising Kindergartner engaged and learning for the rest of the summer, have we got the activities for you! Read on for three days’ worth of developmental, educational, and social-emotional activities – plus some bonus activities, just for fun. And don’t miss our summer minicamp activity ideas for three- and four-year-olds

Kick off your first day of camp with some fine motor fun! Threading is an age-appropriate challenge for four-year-olds, resulting in a colorful creation they can wear or display. Set out some pipe cleaners and pony beads and thread a bracelet, create a beaded pattern for your preschooler to follow, or stick some spaghetti sticks into a ball of molding dough and thread penne noodles to make Stegosaurus. Find more threading ideas here.

Download this free, printable worksheet, grab some counters, and practice numbers and counting with your kiddo! Count the letters in their name (writing it out on a sheet of paper might help), their age, the number of siblings they have, and more!

You may have seen the pretty, painted rocks people are leaving around neighborhoods across the country as a symbol of kindness. You can do the same! Take a walk and find some medium-sized rocks with nice flat or rounded surfaces. Clean them off and pop them in the oven at 350 for 15 minutes – you can use the time to talk about things that make your kids happy as inspiration for what they might draw. Let the rocks cool just a bit, then use crayons to draw their ideas! When the rocks are dry, use a Sharpie to write caring messages like “Kindness”, “Love”, or “Joy”. Then place them in your neighbors’ gardens to brighten up their days! Find other kindness activities here.

End your first day of minicamp with another cool-down activity – making a snowstorm in a bottle! Gather a glass or see-through plastic jar, vegetable oil, white paint, glitter, and an Alka-Seltzer tab, and follow these instructions to make it snow inside!

Using the proper pencil grip is the key to legible writing. Help your kiddo practice this summer by providing a sheet of properly formed capital letters to trace using a variety of differently sized crayons, markers, and pencils. Around age five, kids should be able to manipulate a writing utensil with three fingers rather than move their wrists or arms. Learn more about proper pencil grasps here.

Brush up on those math skills with a scavenger hunt around the house! Print this list of things to look for and set off to find everyday math items, including number words, items of certain sizes and shapes, pairs of things, and more!

Playing school is a wonderful way to build your child’s creativity and imagination. It also allows your soon-to-be-scholar to mentally prepare for going to school and build the confidence they’ll need to thrive there. Set up some school-ish materials, like a chalkboard or easel, books, paper and crayons, and stickers, and follow your little one’s lead. Will they read to their stuffed animals? Teach you letters and numbers?  Draw a picture? 

Nothing is nicer after a day of summer minicamp than a delicious popsicle! Follow our favorite recipe for fruit and veggie pops, working together to squeeze the lime, drop the ingredients into the blender, stir the elements, and insert the popsicle handles. Talk about the foods as you work with them – what color are they? What is their texture like? What letter does that food start with? How might it taste?

Stretchy, sticky, and squishy, you probably know that slime is awesome. But did you know that slime also helps builds fine motor skills? Measuring, pouring, mixing, stirring, squeezing, smashing, rolling, and twisting are all great ways to strengthen hand muscles and build fine motor skills! Start your last day of minicamp off with some slime, using our favorite recipe.

Practice letter identification, letter sounds, and word building with this simple stamp-and-learn activity! Set out some molding dough (or make your own – another fun minicamp activity!), tools like plastic rolling pins, cutters, kid-safe scissors, and letter blocks or magnets. Then show your child how to flatten the dough and stamp a letter into it. Say the letter name as they stamp, make its sound, and say a word that starts with that letter. See if your child can find the letters in their name and stamp them all in a row. 

The forces of physics are all around us, and summer is a great time to see them in action. Floating in the pool, rolling a ball, and dropping an ice cream cone (oh NO!) are perfect examples of buoyancy, motion, and gravity. These simple activities will demonstrate some of the most fundamental properties of physics in a fun way – and you can follow up your lesson by making a simple machine (instructions included).

Print this free career worksheet, cut out the word cards and images, and match them up! Talk about each job, the responsibilities of each job, the qualities each requires, and which one interests your child the most (and the least).

Summer marches on, and many families are ready for some fresh new activity ideas to keep their kids engaged and learning. To help liven things up – and prepare your four-year-old to start preschool in the fall – we’re sharing three days’ worth of unplugged developmental, educational, and social-emotional learning activities designed specifically for preschoolers (click for minicamps for three- and five-year-olds, too). Check out these fun ideas, starting with:

Kick off your first day of camp with some fine motor fun! Threading is an age-appropriate challenge for four-year-olds, resulting in a colorful creation they can wear or display. Set out some pipe cleaners and pony beads and thread a bracelet, create a beaded pattern for your preschooler to follow, or stick some spaghetti sticks into a ball of molding dough and thread penne noodles to make Stegosaurus. Find more threading ideas here.

Shift from motor skills to a letter learning deep dive with this fun underwater activity (also great for bathtime!). Fill a bin with bubbly water, add a plastic scooper or cup, tongs, plastic tweezers, a whisk, and a clean dish scrubber, then drop in some plastic letters or letter magnets. Say the name of each letter as your child extracts it, make its sound, and say a few words that start with that sound. Find step-by-step instructions here.

Solid social-emotional skills are a must for preschool. This free, downloadable, matching worksheet will help your little one learn to recognize emotions, from silly to sad to calm and nervous. Then talk about the feelings that go with each face, whether your child has ever felt that feeling, and what they might do to help a friend who’s feeling the same.

If your camper can’t get enough animals, they’ll love this fun-on-the-farm activity! Set out a few plastic bowls filled with animal “food” (think oats, dry pasta, chickpeas, and nuts), then let your little one use a spoon to fill cupcake liner “troughs.” Place the troughs on a play tray and your plastic farm animal figurines, and watch the pretend play unfold!

Nothing says summer quite like apple pie! Kick off day two of minicamp with a sensory stimulating activity bin full of oats, play apples (or red, green, and yellow pom poms), scoopers, sifters, tongs, cups, and spoons, and let your little learner loose. Sorting and matching by color and size is a key foundational math skill, and manipulating the tools in the bin builds fine motor skills. Find more ways to play here.

This hands-on habitat activity lets kids learn about different animals and their various environments! Start by asking your child to choose a favorite animal figure. Talk about where that animal might live, what they might eat, and what you’ll need to create the perfect habitat. Take a walk around the house, out back, and to the park to collect these items, then build your habitats using a shoebox or Tupperware container, dirt, sand, rice, pebbles, bark, twigs, beads, marbles, etc.

Playing school is a wonderful way to build your child’s creativity and imagination. It also allows your soon-to-be-scholar to mentally prepare for going to school and build the confidence they’ll need to thrive there. Set up some school-ish materials, like a chalkboard or easel, books, paper and crayons, and stickers, and follow your little one’s lead. Will they read to their stuffed animals? Teach you letters and numbers?  Draw a picture? 

Nothing is nicer after a day of summer minicamp than a delicious popsicle! Follow our favorite recipe for fruit and veggie pops, working together to squeeze the lime, drop the ingredients into the blender, stir the elements, and insert the popsicle handles. Talk about the foods as you work with them – what color are they? What is their texture like? What letter does that food start with? How might it taste?

Day three of your minicamp will be fantastic, thanks to our printable preschool worksheets! Build hand strength, graphomotor skills, hand-eye coordination, and more with a pack of free, fantastical preschool printables, including color by numbers unicorn, a mystery maze, and a coloring sheet. Then practice cutting with kid-safe scissors to create pretend play unicorn and dragon masks.

Practice letter identification, letter sounds, and word building with this simple stamp-and-learn activity! Set out some molding dough (or make your own – another fun minicamp activity!), tools like plastic rolling pins, cutters, kid-safe scissors, and letter blocks or magnets. Then show your child how to flatten the dough and stamp a letter into it. Say the letter name as they stamp, make its sound, and say a word that starts with that letter. See if your child can find the letters in their name and stamp them all in a row. 

Knowing other people’s feelings and doing what you can to help are two hugely important SEL skills. Put your playdough letter practice to good use by thinking of a friend or family member who might enjoy receiving a picture or letter from your child in the mail, then make one! Help your little one write a simple message, draw or paint an image to go with it, address an envelope, insert their work, and let your sweetie apply the stamp. Walk the letter to the mailbox, and off it goes! Find other ways to practice everyday kindness here.

Are you tired of the summer heat? Make your rain cloud out of shaving cream and food coloring! Drop food coloring, one color at a time, onto a clear glass of water topped with shaving cream until the cream “cloud” becomes saturated enough to rain – just like real clouds! Then watch as a rainbow of colors is released from the bottom of the cloud into the water. Find step-by-step instructions for making your rainbow cloud here.

With summer vacation well underway, many parents are looking for fresh new ideas for summer fun and for ways to keep their kids’ brains engaged. We’re sharing three days’ worth of unplugged developmental, educational, and social-emotional learning activities designed specifically for three-year-olds (click for minicamps for four- and five-year-olds). So, turn off the screens and shake up your summer routine, starting with:

Start your day with some fine motor fun! Build fine motor skills, hand strength, and hand-eye coordination with a batch of swampy brown Oobleck and plastic toys you have around the house. Toddlers use animal figurines, toy cars, and other shaped toys to make imprints in the Oobleck, then use their hands to smooth the Oobleck out and make another print with another toy. Find the Oobleck recipe and instructions for our Swampy Jungle Footprints activity, here. 

Shift from motor skills to a letter learning deep dive with this fun underwater activity (also great for bathtime!). Fill a bin with bubbly water, add a plastic scooper or cup, tongs, plastic tweezers, a whisk, and a clean dish scrubber, then drop in some plastic letters or letter magnets. Say the name of each letter as your child extracts it, make its sound, and say a few words that start with that sound. Find step-by-step instructions here.

A calm down corner is the perfect place for little ones to process big feelings and your kiddo can help you get yours set up! Choose a quiet, low-traffic spot, then let your child choose a favorite pillow, blanket, books, and stuffed animals. Select some soft, soothing music – together – and you’re all set for the next time they need a quite minute to gather themselves. Learn more about calm down corners, here.

Once the day has heated up, head outside for some water play! Water play builds motor skills, coordination, and balance, encourages new vocabulary, and introduces simple science and even a bit of math – and it’s so simple! Find ten fun water play activities here, from trike wash and sponge toss to color labs and science experiments.

Kick off the day with fun physical activities designed to build your toddler’s gross motor skills! Head outside and challenge your child to a game of hopscotch, catch, freeze tag, or follow the leader. Use painter's tape to make a balance beam and see if your little one can walk the line. When it gets too hot for outside play, go wild inside, replicating the way different animals move (find inspiration on YouTube first!) and see who can stand still on one leg the longest or frog hop the highest. Find details about ten balance and coordination activities here.

Slip some science into your toddler’s summer with this multi-activity butterfly lesson! Click here for step-by-step instructions to make your caterpillar and butterfly puzzles, then add a sensory-stimulating step by filling each section with dry beans, rice, and noodles. Add a library book about butterflies and use proper vocabulary to describe their amazing transformation.

Exploring sensory bins can be a calming and soothing activity for many kids and learning to self-soothe is a key social emotional skill! Set up an extra-special sensory experience by following these instructions to create a colorful sensory bin using baking soda, vinegar, food coloring, and an eyedropper and watch as your little one explores the texture of the mixture, creates colored sections, and mixes new colors together.

Exploring sensory bins can be a calming and soothing activity for many kids and learning to self-soothe is a key social emotional skill! Set up an extra-special sensory experience by following these instructions to create a colorful sensory bin using baking soda, vinegar, food coloring, and an eyedropper and watch as your little one explores the texture of the mixture, creates colored sections, and mixes new colors together.

Exploring sensory bins can be a calming and soothing activity for many kids and learning to self-soothe is a key social emotional skill! Set up an extra-special sensory experience by following these instructions to create a colorful sensory bin using baking soda, vinegar, food coloring, and an eyedropper and watch as your little one explores the texture of the mixture, creates colored sections, and mixes new colors together.

Sorting objects by shape, size, or color is a key early math skill. You can help your kiddo practice their sorting skills at home with four DIY worksheets and a set of counters (or colorful pompoms, buttons, blocks, etc., if you don’t have counters). Follow these instructions to create sorting houses, color lines, stepping stones, and other sorting worksheets.

Sorting objects by shape, size, or color is a key early math skill. You can help your kiddo practice their sorting skills at home with four DIY worksheets and a set of counters (or colorful pompoms, buttons, blocks, etc., if you don’t have counters). Follow these instructions to create sorting houses, color lines, stepping stones, and other sorting worksheets.

Are you tired of the summer heat? Make your rain cloud out of shaving cream and food coloring! Drop food coloring, one color at a time, onto a clear glass of water topped with shaving cream until the cream “cloud” becomes saturated enough to rain – just like real clouds! Then watch as a rainbow of colors is released from the bottom of the cloud into the water. Find step-by-step instructions for making your rainbow cloud here.

We’ve all been there, in line at the library or grocery store, or maybe at home, before naptime or bedtime… you see the telltale signs of a toddler meltdown, and then – WHAM – your kiddo is out of control. Depending on the child, this might look like crying, screaming, hitting, body stiffening, running away, or whatever creative outlet your child’s body instinctually chooses. Although a normal part of child development, toddler tantrums are upsetting for everyone involved. Understanding why they happen, what to do when a tantrum hits, and how to prevent the next one can help both child, and parent navigate these tricky times.

Let’s start with the why. Tantrums usually begin around age one and last through the twos and threes, years coinciding with a lack of verbal communication skills. This means your little one is experiencing big emotions but doesn’t have the cognitive skills to identify exactly what they are and wouldn’t have the communications skills to tell you, anyway. Your child could be feeling overwhelmed by feelings of hunger, fatigue, pain, distress, fear, or overstimulation, with no way to express themselves. How frustrating that must feel! This frustration builds and builds until it bursts out in the form of a tantrum. 

What should you do when your toddler throws a tantrum? Stay calm! Take a deep breath (or three), then intervene with a soft, calm voice and slow, gentle movements. Acknowledge their feelings – you can see that they are angry, sad, frightened, etc. Reassure them that you are there and stay physically close until your child has calmed down. This is not the time to reason with your little one, talk the scenario through, or teach a lesson. Resist getting angry or upset – remember, your child is not in control of their emotions in these moments, and they’re not throwing a tantrum to upset you. As hard as it is, this is one of those times when they need your steady, loving hand most.

Okay, so you made it through the last tantrum. What can you do to prevent the next one? Helping your child identify their feelings and communicate them more appropriately is the foundation for healthy social, emotional behavior. When you see your child become upset, intervene immediately, helping them identify and label their feelings, then offer a few solutions. Don’t discount the power of distraction, either. “I can see you feel angry that your brother is playing with the blocks. Would you like to help me with this special puzzle?” Positive reinforcement is also key – praising and rewarding good behavior each time you see it. “I love the way you shared your blocks with your brother! Can I give you a hug?” 

It takes lots of time and practice for kids to learn to regulate and express their emotions, so tantrums aren’t going to disappear overnight. But with consistent responses, social, emotional growth, and lots of love, you’ll both see better behavior soon!

You may have heard of social-emotional learning or SEL. But what IS it, exactly? SEL skills help people recognize and identify emotions – both their own and other people’s – and are the foundation for the decisions they make for themselves and in relationships. Experts break SEL into five areas: self-awareness, self-management, responsible decision-making, relationship skills, and social awareness. Strength in these areas translates into an emotionally healthy child with a positive outlook, better behavior, and better grades who makes smart choices and has more friends. Sounds great, right? 

While many schools incorporate social-emotional learning into their curricula, parents can support SEL learning at home. Even very young children can absorb the ideas behind SEL and begin to incorporate them into their everyday routines. Below are five concepts that support SEL learning and easy ways to introduce them at any age:

1. Gratitude - Being thankful for the good things in their lives, no matter how small, helps kids learn how to focus on the positive and introduces self-reflection. You can model this behavior to your toddler by commenting on the things that make you happy, from a snowflake on your nose to a hug from a loved one. Talk about how it made you feel and how grateful you are for that moment. Ask preschoolers to share the things that make them happy – encourage depth in their answers with prompts like what food you love to eat, who is a favorite friend, what can your body do that’s amazing? Kindergarteners can draw a picture each night to accompany their gratitude routine, and older kids might like to journal their ideas.

2. Peace - Little kids have big feelings. Learning to calm themselves when they’re feeling scared, angry, or frustrated is a key SEL skill. Pay attention to the things that soothe your sweetie and have them easily accessible when things start to go south. Maybe your little one gets lost in picture books, finds quiet music soothing, or feels calmer when squeezing dough or squishing slime. Many parents swear by the glitter jar – a water-tight jar full of water and glitter. Give it a shake and share that your child’s thoughts might be flying all over, like the glitter. Encourage them to take a deep breath and watch as the glitter – and their thoughts – settles. Whatever the method, understanding that there are tools to calm their feelings and knowing where to find them and how to use them are social-emotional skills that will serve your child well as they grow.

3. Thoughtfulness - Thinking of others is a great way to build social awareness. Thank or compliment a favorite friend or family member in front of your young child and then share with them how much you appreciate that person and that you wanted to make sure they knew. Ask your older child who makes them happy and encourage them to reach out with a picture, a letter (you can write the words for them), or a phone call. You also might ask who your child thinks might feel happy to hear from them and do the same.

4. Awareness - Identifying their own emotions and recognizing them in others is a key SEL skill. You can help little ones learn about feelings simply by naming them. “You look upset!” or “That boy on the swing looks so happy!” or “The girl who lost her balloon is crying. She must feel very sad.” Point out characters expressing different emotions in books and on TV. Ask your older child to look around and guess how they think people are feeling based on their faces and body language. Play a game of charades and see if your kids can guess how you’re feeling based on your movements and facial expressions. Act out different scenarios with your kids – a child who gets a new puppy, for example, or a child who lost a favorite stuffie.

5. Resolution - Problem-solving skills are a biggy! You might be inclined to take the easy way out when you’re playing with your kiddo, but don’t. If you want more time with a toy, explain to them that you’d like one more turn, and then you will pass it over. If you want to play with the toy they’re using, ask if they could take one more turn and then share it with you. If they want your toy, offer something similar. Modeling possible solutions to common problems lays the foundation for future problem-solving. You will likely still need to intervene when it comes time to play with others. Still, your child will be used to hearing and accommodating reasonable solutions and will eventually be able to suggest them on their own.

There are so many ways to teach positive social-emotional health, and they all begin with you! Model good behavior, talk about your feelings and actions, and support your child as they grow into healthy, well-adjusted people!

A special day designed to celebrate friendship, love, and kindness, Valentine’s Day is the perfect way to promote social-emotional learning at home! Below are three ways to incorporate SEL into your child’s Valentine’s Day activities:

1. Think of Your Friends - Valentine’s Day is a celebration of love and kindness, not exclusion or hurt feelings, so talk to your child about WHY it’s important to give a Valentine to every child in their class. If there are some kids your child would rather not celebrate, this is also a great chance to talk about why your child feels that way, make some suggestions for resolutions, or address any problems. 
2. Think of Your Family - Spend some time talking to your child about each of your family members. Ask what your child likes best about them and see if they have any ideas for making specific members feel special. Maybe they could draw a special picture, write a letter (you can do the writing), share their particular thoughts about that person, bake a special treat, or plan an outing to do something that person enjoys.
3. Think of Others - Valentine’s Day isn’t just about love – it’s about kindness, too! Is there something kind your child could do for a neighbor, teacher, or other community members to make them happy on Valentine’s Day? Could you bake and deliver cookies to your neighbors, rake leaves from their lawn, thank the mailman who delivers your cards, or paint a heart-shaped rock for a favorite teacher?

With a little bit of extra work, you can turn Valentine’s Day into a social-emotional celebration. How will you show your love on Valentine’s Day?

Four-year-olds are so much fun! Becoming more independent by the minute, fours are generally super social and extra energetic. They’ll probably begin to push the boundaries a bit this year, though, and will likely give up on napping (sorry, Mom). They’ll also benefit from time away from parents and caregivers as they prepare to enter Kindergarten next year. Below is a list of other social-emotional, language, cognitive, and physical skills you may see emerge this year (but remember, kids progress at their speeds and may pick up these skills earlier or later!):

Social-Emotional Skills

Your baby is officially a preschooler now, learning to identify and express their emotions appropriately, with words rather than emotions. Other exciting social, emotional skills your four-year-old will likely learn this year include:

• Approaching new experiences with excitement
• Preferring playing with friends than alone (and can take turns and cooperate most of the time)
• Sharing information about things they’re interested in
• Role-playing mom or dad during pretend playtime
• Clearly expressing a thought or idea

Language Skills

Look out! With an average vocabulary of up to 1,600 words, your four-year-old has plenty to say! Fours are becoming much more communicative, using longer, clearer sentences, singing songs, playing word games, even reciting short poems! Here are some other language skills your four-year-old may acquire this year:

• Speaking fluently and enough to be understood by strangers
• Telling a story about something that happened to them
• Singing a simple song from memory… Oh, the wheels on the bus go…
• Answering questions beginning with who, what, where, when, why, how many…
• Playing simply rhyming games (cluck says the duck!)

Cognitive Skills

Fours are building the foundation for future learning, practicing shapes, letters, numbers, counting, and attempting to write and draw. By the time most kids start Kindergarten (usually around age five), they’ll:

• Know their full name and maybe their phone number
• Recognize letters, numbers, and signs
• Count 10 or more objects
• Draw a person with 4-6 body parts (head with mouth and eyes, body with arms and legs)
• Understand comparative terms like big/small, short/tall, same/different, empty/full, etc.

Physical Skills

It may feel like your four-year-old is in constant motion, running, jumping, climbing, hopping, and hiding all day long. In addition to honing their gross motor skills, this year, they’ll also be refining key fine motor movements that allow them to dress and feed themselves (hooray). Other physical skills your little one will be working on this year include:

• Buttoning and unbuttoning their clothing
• Using childsafe scissors
• Running faster and climbing higher than they did at three
• Balancing on one foot for 3 seconds
• Walking a “tightrope”
• Climbing stairs with no support

Remember that kids develop at different speeds, so don’t worry if it’s taking your little one a little longer to master any of the skills above. You can support their development by practicing these things at home, in a fun way – and you can track your child’s milestones by age with the CDC’s mobile milestone app!