Supporting Social-Emotional Learning at Home: Activities and Tools
Social-emotional learning (SEL) equips children with essential social skills and self-regulation strategies to manage emotions, build relationships, and make thoughtful decisions.
Recent research shows a strong link between SEL and academic success, with high school and middle school students improving academic performance by 13 percentile points after starting an SEL program. Studies also show that these programs reduce emotional stress, foster healthy self-perceptions, and teach students to maintain positive relationships with peers.
The best part? These skills aren’t limited to the classroom. Research shows that family members can accelerate a student’s social-emotional development by reinforcing and modeling the same SEL skills and competencies that are taught in the classroom. When parents and caregivers nurture SEL at home with emotional learning activities, they help children enhance communication, empathy, and self-awareness.
This post will guide you through effective at-home tips and emotional learning activities.
The Five Core Competencies of SEL
1. Self-Awareness
Self-awareness empowers children to understand themselves and feel more confident. It builds the emotional foundation they need to thrive both socially and academically.
At home, you can nurture this skill by encouraging children to express their inner world. They can use tools like journaling their thoughts or even creating mood boards that reflect their feelings or goals.
These emotional learning exercises provide a safe space for them to explore who they are, express emotions freely, and grow in their self-awareness key steps toward a more emotionally intelligent future.
2. Self-Management
Learning to manage emotions and behaviors is a vital life skill for all ages. However, mastering this at a young age can make children better equipped to stay calm, focus better, and build resilience.
One place to start is by having children set personal goals. Begin with small tasks that build toward bigger achievements. You can also encourage them to use time management tools like the Pomodoro Technique that can help them learn to manage tasks.
Moreover, mindfulness exercises, like deep breathing or meditation, teach children to stay calm and manage emotions in stressful moments. Check out mindfulmazing, Smiling Mind, or Cosmic Kids! in our resource library to guide you and your child through breathing and meditation exercises. You can also encourage positive self-talk and self-compassion, both of which are good for emotional regulation.
3. Social Awareness
Social awareness is the ability to understand and appreciate the perspectives of others. Socially aware children better navigate interactions with peers, build stronger friendships, and resolve conflicts with empathy.
To help your child develop social awareness, there are several social and emotional development activities that can be both fun and educational.
For one, you could try role-playing various social situations, like practicing introductions or resolving a disagreement. Talking about characters’ emotions and actions in books or movies is another way to teach them how others might feel or react in specific situations. Apps like Peppy Pals and Inner Explorer HOME provide kids of all ages opportunities to practice and strengthen their social awareness and empathy.
Overall, familiarizing children with these types of scenarios can help them practice empathy and understanding.
4. Relationship Skills
Strong social-emotional skills can help children communicate effectively, cooperate with others, and resolve conflicts in a positive way. These abilities are the foundation for building lasting friendships and strong family bonds.
At home, you can enhance these skills through fun social-emotional learning activities like cooperative games that require teamwork and problem-solving, or family projects that encourage collaboration and shared responsibility. Need inspiration? This guide from Playworks provides tons of ideas for fun games that also get kids to practice their communication and relationship skills.
You can also use tools like conversation cards or emotion charts to guide discussions on handling conflicts and fostering empathy.
5. Responsible Decision-Making
Responsible decision-making teaches children to weigh the consequences of their actions and make thoughtful, informed choices. This skill requires critical thinking and helps children solve problems independently and effectively.
Nurture responsible decision-making at home by having scenario-based discussions where children explore outcomes for different choices. Practice using pros and cons charts for everyday decisions to help them think critically and evaluate different choices.
These social emotional learning activities build decision-making skills and teach children to weigh their options before taking action.
Tools and Resources to Support SEL at Home
Digital Tools
Online tools like apps and websites are great ways to make social-emotional learning more accessible and enjoyable for kids.
Several apps and websites are designed to help children develop their SEL skills in a hands-on way. One popular tool is the How We Feel app (inspired by Yale’s acclaimed Mood Meter), which helps children identify their emotions and track their moods over time.
Another great resource is GoNoodle, which offers fun social emotional learning activities through movement and mindfulness videos.
Books and Reading Material
- The Invisible Boy (affiliate link) by Trudy Ludwig (this YouTube video is a read aloud of this classic favorite)
- How Full is Your Bucket? (affiliate link) by Tom Rath and Mary Reckmeyer
- Have You Filled a Bucket Today? (affiliate link) by Carol McCloud
- The Color Monster (affiliate link) by Anna Llenas
- My Mouth Is a Volcano! (affiliate link) by Julia Cook
Games and Toys
There are many games that promote teamwork, emotional expression, and problem-solving skills.
One example is the board game The Ungame, which encourages children to open up and share feelings. Additionally, cooperative games like Outfoxed! are great for building teamwork and problem-solving skills.
For emotional expression, try Feelings Flashcards, which help children and students identify and talk about different emotions.
Creating an SEL-Friendly Home Environment
Want to create a home that encourages social-emotional learning strategies and growth? Start by making SEL part of your everyday routine. Creating an SEL-friendly, learning-rich environment starts with making emotional expression a daily habit.
As a parent or caregiver, you can lead by example. Encourage your child to openly share their feelings. Then, after children or students talk, show them that their feelings matter by actively listening and validating their experiences. By modeling empathy and practicing active listening, you demonstrate SEL skills for your child to learn.
Plus, incorporating social emotional learning curriculum at home with a predictable routine creates a sense of security, which helps children feel comfortable and ready to learn.
Challenges and Tips for Integrating SEL in Your Home
Families may face challenges like busy schedules or resistance from children when introducing SEL activities.
Time constraints are also common, but even a few minutes a day can make a difference. Try weaving SEL activities into daily routines, like talking about feelings at dinner or practicing mindfulness before bed.
If your child resists certain activities, you may want to make them more engaging or give them more choices.
For example, let them choose between journaling or creating a mood board, depending on which one they resonate with.
Interests can change with age, so flexibility is key to maintaining interest in social and emotional learning activities for elementary and high school students alike.
Moving Forward with SEL at Home
Social and emotional learning activities for high school and elementary school students can make a world of difference. In particular, nurturing social emotional learning at home offers long-term benefits for your child’s emotional development and well-being.
However, be patient and persistent as your child grows in these areas. These skills take time to build but they are absolutely worth it in the long run.
For further reading and resources, explore Ed2Grow’s resource library. We offer curated tools to help you continue supporting your child’s SEL journey.
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