Joan Snow Pre-K Center
Parent Training and Support
SOCIAL-AWARENESS
At-Home Activities
How to Teach social-awareness skills to young children?
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Social-awareness is a component of the SEL (Social-Emotional Learning) curriculum.
In a nutshell, social-awareness is the ability to recognize somebody's else emotions (empathy),
develop respect, tolerance, acceptance, and appreciation for diversity.
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Social-awareness is a set of skills that needs to be taught.
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Main Goals:
- Model and teach how empathy looks like
- Model and teach culture appreciation and acceptance
Encourage the use of words to express needs and wants
- Model and teach respect for all (Golden Rule)
- Model and teach tolerance and kindness toward others
- Model and teach social skills: Magical Words (Please, Thank you...)
- Create opportunities for your child to engage with others and practice the new skills
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CHILDREN LEARN THE BEST THROUGH PLAY.
SO, LET'S PLAY.
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To learn more about social-awareness click here.
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VISUAL ARTS AT HOME
Collage Project - Together
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Objective: Learn how to do something together with another person. Learn how to behave socially with others, acknowledging that other people's feelings, needs, and wants. Learn how to share materials, take turns and be kind.
Materials: magazines, paper, scissors, glue, markers
Duration of the Activity: 15 minutes
Instructions: Tell your child that you will be doing an activity together and it will be fun.
"Today, we will make a collage together. We may have to share some materials like glue and markers. We will take turns when we are using them. We are going to have a lot of fun."
Accommodations:
For some children, you can modify this activity by giving a simple direct instruction like "Point at a picture that you like on the magazine" or go more in-depth and ask your child to help you to glue the picture on the paper. You know your child. Adapt it accordingly.
This activity can be done more than once. You will be able to see the progress in fine motor skills and self-perception, and how your child can interact with you and respect your turn to use materials and drawing time. Do not forget to keep this collage to monitor progress. Share it with the teacher.
Encourage the use of words. Communication is key.
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Talk: Use the time during or after the activity to give feedback on how good you both are drawing together and how big your child looks like when sharing the supplies and taking turns. It will reinforce this good behavior. Encourage the use of polite words such as please and thank you and the use of words to express needs and wants.
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MINDFULNESS AT HOME
Using Breathing to Calm Down
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Objective: To teach ways to calm down when things do not go the way we want to
Materials: internet
Duration of the Activity: 5 min
Instructions: Show the video, practice together, and talk about it
Use this time to show how we breathe in, count until 5, and breath out.
Talk: Use this time to talk about ways to calm down if something or someone made you mad. Talk about
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Other breathing techniques: Play pretend blowing bubbles, flowers, or candles.
Inhale count until 5 and exhale pretending you are blowing out a candle.
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MUSIC AND MOVEMENT AT HOME
Be a Super Hero - Friendship Song
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Objective: This music is fun to dance to and talk about kindness and respect to friends.
Materials: internet, space to dance
Duration of the activity: 3 min
Instructions: Click the video
Talk: Use this time to teach your child how important is to respect others, respect their opinions and their desires as well.
Other music: Action Songs for kids | The Singing Walrus
READ ALOUD AT HOME
Book: Books about Social-Awareness
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Objective: These books show diverse and multicultural children with similarities and differences between them all over the world.
Materials: internet
Duration of the activity: 10 minutes (5 min video plus 5 min to talk)
Instructions: Click on the image below to get access to the video read-aloud.
Talk: You can talk with your child that there are different people and that is ok. It is an opportunity to model and show how we can show acceptance, tolerance, and respect. You can also ask your child to share something that is similar and different from a friend from another country.
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Book: Stand In My Shoes by Bob Sornson - Youtube
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Objective: This book introduces empathy in a way that kids can understand.
Materials: internet
Duration of the activity: 7 minutes video plus 3 min talking about the video (10 min total)
Instructions: Click on the image below to get access to the video read-aloud.
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Talk: Use this time to talk with your child about the importance of paying attention to people's feelings.
- Ask your child his/her favorite part of the book (draw it down)
- Ask if your child liked the end of the story
- Ask if your child ever felt that way...
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Accommodations:
For children with communication limitations: talk in simple words about the importance of taking into consideration people's feelings (empathy).
You can try to act like you are sad and show your child that he/she can ask you how you are feeling. After that, you can say " Thank you for asking."
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Additional Resources:
Cultures around the World - Video, Mixed - Read-Aloud
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SEL GAMES AT HOME
Role Play - Scenarios
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Objective: Increase awareness of people around us with different cultures, races, genders, types of clothes, food, music... ) and introduce the concept of acceptance, respect, and tolerance.
Materials: (optional) clothes, food, or music from different cultures
Duration of the activity: 15 -30 mins
Instructions:
1) Try to make a dish from another country. Play pretend. Pretend you are in that country of origin of the food.
2) Play pretend with your child. Try to think about different ways to the way they live, talk, music, rituals...
3) Look online or books and magazines for pictures to show to your child the culture of that country.
Accommodations:
For children with language limitations: Use this time to model and teach differences. Make it short and sweet.
Always try to encourage the use of words.
Talk: Teach your child how people are different and emphasize the importance of respecting all regardless of how different they are from us.
Use this time to teach respect for all, acceptance, and tolerance.
