Social Emotional Skills- A Foundation for Success in School

As Kindergarten Registration approaches in the spring, many parents of 4 year olds begin to wonder if their child is ready for Kindergarten and many early education teachers begin to place a stronger emphasis on Kindergarten readiness activities. Parents, educators, and early childhood experts all agree on the importance of preparing children for Kindergarten, but there are many misconceptions about what skills are most important. Often adults spend too much time on the ABC’s and 1,2,3’s and not enough time providing opportunities to strengthen the social and emotional skills that are necessary for school success. These important social emotional skills begin developing at birth. Social-emotional well-being is closely tied to academic learning. Children who have unmet emotional needs will have a more difficult time learning.

Based on the wealth of research and the experiences of Kindergarten teachers, more value needs to be placed on social emotional readiness.

According to Kindergarten teachers, children are socially and emotionally ready for school when they can:

• communicate their needs, wants, and thoughts
• follow directions
• follow class rules
• take turns, share, cooperate
• play with other children
• be sensitive to other children’s feelings

Children who are socially competent and emotionally secure are better able to participate fully in learning experiences at school. Children who lack these skills are at a higher risk for behavioral, emotional, academic, and social problems.

Children need stable interactions and nurturing environments to acquire social emotional skills. Some ways to support the development of these skills are to provide:

• dependable relationships,
• consistent schedules and routines
• clear rules and limits with consistent, logical consequences
• positive reinforcement.

Children also need help learning how to identify and express feelings in appropriate ways, and how to understand the feelings of other people.

Parents, teachers, and specialists all agree that being ready for school is a key factor to school success. Nurturing children and meeting their Five Critical Emotional Needs will not only help them be successful in school but also help them to succeed in life.

For more information on strengthening social-emotional skills, refer to the "social-emotional" tag on our blog index at your right.