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Focusing on social-emotional development in Early Childhood classrooms
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Strengthening social and emotional skills now helps to foster positive relationships in the future
As a child, I lead a very magical lifestyle. I was a little firecracker with wild blonde curls, fiery green eyes, and a cheesy grin that could melt the heart of even the coldest of people. My mother, a preschool teacher at the time, raised my brother and I in a way that encouraged creativity and self expression. While leading us towards the path of academic growth, she focused on social-emotional development. As most early educators know, this early social-emotional development could be considered the yellow brick road towards the academic Emerald City. Much like in my life, each child will encounter their fair share of "flying monkeys" and "wicked witches", but with solid social-emotional skills and positive guidance, they will excel in their education and personal lives.
Though we all may understand its importance, it is feared that in some modern day classrooms, social-emotional growth has taken the backseat to stereotypical academic progress. In many classrooms, the alphabet is the main curriculum focus. While it is agreed that letters, numbers, shapes, and sizes are important, one could find themselves asking: Where is the creativity? Why have flash cards and dittos become so important? And when did it become OK to “test” our five year olds' level of knowledge prior to Kindergarten entrance?
Who knows what the answers to those questions may be. Most quality educators would say this: There is no fun in tests, dittos, and flashcards. There is no creativity in simple memorization. And there is certainly NO reason our Pre-Kindergartners should be treated like they are on a pass/fail basis. Come on folks, let's get real. These aren’t 18 year old young adults going into college. They are tiny, amazing little beings who have only been on this great Earth for approximately 60 months. As shapers of young minds, we need to make a change. The most important thing Educators can do is focus on bringing the magic back into learning and focus on students social and emotional growth. The time is now. Put down your flashcards and pick up your magic wands. I challenge you all to become “Glenda the good witch” for these children as they make their way towards that “oh, so important” academic Emerald City.
Listed below are a few articles listing ways to encourage social - emotional development
http://www.education.com/reference/article/Ref_Social_Emotional/
http://http://preschool.suite101.com/article.cfm/how_children_learn_through_play
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