During preschool, your child will laugh and play with other kids their age. While they interact with their peers, they learn important skills that prepare them for the demands of kindergarten and early education. A huge part of preschool is developing social and emotional skills that your child needs to be successful.
Social and emotional development begins as early as infancy. Once your child is of the age of walking and talking, they will need these skills to interact with others. For example, your child needs social-emotional learning to know how to share toys with their peers.
Social-emotional learning (SEL) is a process that helps you develop skills to manage emotions, set goals, and build healthy relationships. It is a vital process that everyone goes through as they are growing up, whether they are aware of it or not. Thankfully, preschool programs like New Horizons Learning Center incorporate social-emotional learning into their curriculum.
What is Social-Emotional Learning in Preschool?
Social-emotional learning is a developmental process that begins in infancy and continues throughout your life. It is crucial during ages 2 to 5, which coincides when preschool occurs.
SEL skills include:[1]
- Self-awareness
- Regulating your emotions and behaviors
- Social awareness
- Establishing and maintaining positive relationships
- Responsible decision-making skills
SEL is the process in which young people acquire the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary to develop healthy identities, manage emotions, achieve goals, show empathy, maintain relationships, and make important decisions. It shapes who you are as a person and helps you relate to the people and world around you.
In a preschool setting, SEL focuses on simple developmental skills like sharing, emotional regulation, and learning how to interact with others. Young children will learn how to have healthy social interactions with their peers and control strong emotions when they become upset.
Social-emotional learning also helps improve academic performance by giving your child the tools they need to focus on lessons and build the confidence they need to succeed.
How Does Preschool Promote Social-Emotional Learning?
SEL programs focus on building academic, social, and emotional skills. In preschool, this is done through fun and educational activities that your child can relate to. Seemingly everyday tasks can also promote SEL, like establishing routines or modeling social skills for your children to mimic.
Examples of social-emotional learning activities in preschool include:
- Identifying emotions – teachers will show children how to identify feelings in themselves and others by analyzing pictures to determine what emotions are being experienced
- Developing vocabulary – learning new words to describe social situations and emotions, like being angry, showing concern, or being grateful.
- Learning to share – teachers show children how to take turns and share with their peers.
- Encouraging friendships – teachers encourage friendships between classmates and help children develop a sense of belonging.
- Modeling social skills – teachers model important social skills through daily greetings, problem-solving, and taking turns with others.
- Art activities – children engage in art activities to learn how to express themselves, develop coordination, and enhance their development.
- Singing – teachers sing songs with students about emotions to help them learn the correct words to identify their feelings.
- Establishing routines – children develop a daily routine in preschool which promotes a sense of emotional safety and security.
SEL is an evidence-based approach to teaching kids how to develop social and emotional competence and develop supportive relationships with their peers and caregivers. It also produces positive outcomes for academic achievement throughout their lives.
What Milestones Will Your Child Meet in Preschool?
Social-emotional learning helps children learn how to navigate interactions with peers and adults. It teaches them how to regulate their emotions, attention, and behavior, and develop healthy relationships with others. Academic success is often tied with SEL.
During preschool, your child will meet these milestones of social-emotional learning:[2]
Age 3
At age three, preschool helps children meet the following milestones:
- Learning to play make-believe with dolls and stuffed animals
- Copying the behavior of friends and adults
- Noticing other children and joining them in play
- Showing affection for peers without being prompted
- Showing empathy for friends who are upset or crying
- Displaying a wide range of emotions
- Calming down within 10 minutes after you leave them at school
- Experiencing stress when routines are broken
Age 4
By age four, preschool will help your children meet the following milestones:
- Showing interest in new experiences
- Pretending to be something during play
- Make-believe play becomes more creative and complex
- Preferring to play with other children rather than being alone
- Being able to name one or two friends
- Comforting others who are sad or hurt
- Being able to share and cooperate with other children
- Discusses their interests and dislikes
- Adapts their behavior to their setting
- Avoids danger like jumping from a tall height
Age 5
By age five, SEL in preschool will help your children:
- Want to please and be like their friends
- Follow rules when playing games with their peers
- Take turns with other children without being prompted
- Enjoy singing, dancing, and acting
- Understands their gender
- Can tell the difference between make-believe and reality
- Shows independence
- Completes simple chores at home
- Can tell you their full name and age
Get Connected to a Top-Rated Preschool
If you are considering enrolling your child in preschool, you’ve come to the right place. New Horizons Preschool Learning Center is a highly rated school and community that you can trust with your little ones. We use social-emotional learning to help our students reach important milestones in development.
Contact us today for more information on our preschool programs.
References:
- The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction: Defining Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Developmental Milestone Checklist for WIC
