Pre School Social Emotional Development
After completing an activity please fill out the Activity Completion Log.
Coping skills game for deep breathing:
Have your child and yourself lay down on the floor and tell the child you are going to be a super hero that has super breathing power so strong that they can use their breath to keep objects from hitting their body. Pretend you need their help because the ceiling and the walls are moving towards you and you need their super breathing to keep you from getting hurt. Breathe in for 5 seconds/out for 6 seconds. Do this with your child and pretend it did not work at times and they need to keep breathing to help you keep safe and narrate when your child successfully kept you safe by deep breathing.
Ball of Emotion. Have your child get a ball and give it to you. Go over basic emotions such as happy, sad, mad, and then (later get into more complex emotions such as embarrassed, jealous, and frustrated). Parent has the ball and before throwing it to your child, say ,” I feel happy when I get to eat ice cream” and then pass the ball to your child and have your child say I feel sad when nobody listens to me and then have your child throw the ball to you . You can use different ways to get the ball to each other such as kick it lightly.
Musical statues- Have children listen to music and when you stop the music they make a statue of their choice. This encourages listening skills and allows them creativity by dancing and moving in their own way.
Treasure Chest
Spend time with your child decorating a special box or container. Ask him/her to fill it with things that make him/her happy, such as a sticker with a unicorn, a small lego figure, a rock or shell, etc. When your child gets angry or frustrated encourage him/her to take out the special treasure chest and look through the items in a quiet place. Make the preparation and decoration into a fun activity. This tool gives your child a comfort zone to escape and calm down when angry or upset. Change the items in the treasure chest over time.
Learning Empathy
Spend some time watching a show or movie. At any given time, pause and discuss how the characters are feeling. You might ask: “How are they feeling?” and “How would you feel if that happened to you?” Use this conversation to build on considering how others feel, discussing social cues, and caring about their emotions.