The early years are when children are the most “mold-able”. This is the prime time to help them develop important emotional skills that will bring them to success far beyond their academics, but in life in general.
Here are 15 emotional skills activities for preschoolers to help teach how to keep our big emotions in check!
Social Emotional Learning Activities for Preschool
Like you, each of my kids are completely different.
My oldest is excitable. My daughter is fierce. My second oldest son is so very tender while my toddler son is tough (unless it’s naptime), and the baby is just plain happy. And like you, some of my kids are more like me than their dad and visa versa.
My oldest, while he is always wanting to take things to the next level, he is also so very kind. When the family has a tender moment he is the one to get teary-eyed. When a friend struggles with their problems he is the one to reassure them, pick them up, and help them back on track. It is wonderful to see him display such empathy, but there are times when these emotions that lay so close to the surface.
A couple weeks ago my husband was completing a fitness routine and vocalized to me that his knees were aching again. Knowing that Dad’s knees have been hurting for some time, my son immediately swelled up in tears when he overheard our conversation. We tried to reassure him that exercise will strengthen Dad’s muscles, and that really he’s doing OK, but to no avail, my son was completely overcome with emotion.
His emotion quickly turned to rebellion when we attempted to give him ways to cope with his feelings. “If you’re feeling sorry for Daddy, why don’t you join in with him real quick and give him some motivation for the last 3 minutes of his workout? That would really help him feel better.” He grew more and more withdrawn and turned inward.
I finally took him in my arms. “How can I help you right now?”
“I’m just feeling really emotional, Mom,” he said to me.
This was a positive step. It’s good to have emotions and it’s even better when kids can recognize they are feeling something other than happiness.
We all experience positive and negative emotions on a daily basis. The important part is to deal with them the right way.
- Identify your feelings.
- Understand why they are the.
- Move forward, always aiming for a more positive outlook.
These are hard lessons for a child to learn (not to mention this is difficult even as an adult). Sometimes they have to be taught in the moment, with love and understanding from a parent or teacher…but today.
Try our kindness preschool lesson plans and helping others preschool lesson plans, too! These activities can also help preschoolers learn how to regulate their emotions. We even have friendship lesson plans for preschoolers, too!
I’ve collected 15 ways to help your preschooler develop emotional skills.
FAQs About Teaching Social Emotional Skills to Preschoolers
Social-emotional skills are an important part of a young child’s development as they lay the foundation for school and life in the future. They aid in the development of literacy, numeracy and other cognitive skills.
The five social emotional learning skills are self-awareness, understanding your emotions and how they influence your behavior; self-management, learning how to regulate your emotions and behaviors: responsible decision-making, making good choices; social awareness, the ability to empathize with others; and relationship skills, the ability to make friends.
Some common emotional skills that develop during the preschool years include showing appropriate affection, expressing awareness of their feelings and the feelings of others, self-control of behaviors and emotions, increasing attention span, developing healthy friendships and using words to express their emotions.
15 Feelings and Emotions Activities for Preschoolers
15 Ways to Help Your Preschooler Develop Emotional Skills
Here are 15 social emotional skills activities for preschoolers. Among these are some great activities to explore our emotions and plan to deal with them forthrightly!
Development Skills for Preschoolers
The early years are the time to build a strong foundation in all developmental areas. Meeting specific milestones in all five domains of development and learning helps preschoolers establish behaviors and skills that will make them successful.
Teaching Kids Emotional Intelligence
Here are some easy ways to teach kids emotional intelligence from home or in the classroom. From free play, to family play and classroom play, learn how to add simple activities to your routine to teachyour little one about managing their emotions.
Body Tracing Affirmation Exercise
This body tracing therapy activity provides positive reinforcement and also allows kids the chance to practice encouraging others and see themselves more positively.
Printable Identifying Emotions Game
This game can be a wonderful emotion game for groups of kids or to play one on one with your child. Not only do kids get to math emotions, but they also practice identifying them as well.
The Incredible Benefits of Dramatic Play
Dramatic play is so beneficial for toddlers and preschoolers. Through dramatic play kids will learn self-regulation, language skills, conflict resolution, math and literacy skills.
Learning About Feelings: An Easy to Create Learning Center for Kids
Here’s a simple center you can set up at home or in the classroom to help children explore emotions and learn about feelings! It includes a mirror, picture books, and small, kid-friendly journals!
Make an Epic Set of Inside Out Discovery Bottles!
Emotions are a tough topic for kids to tackle. These Emotions Discovery Bottles, which is a fun DIY Toy or craft inspired by Disney's Inside Out is a fun way to teach your little ones about feelings.
Play Ideas
Play is an elusive concept, and it’s an essential part of life, not just childhood. Educators and psychologists alike describe play as a means for organizing information and learning. Through all various types of play, pretend or dramatic, free or guided play, learning is constantly happening.
The Most Important Life Skill to Teach Children: Self-Regulation
Self-regulation is the ability to monitor and manage your energy states, emotions, thoughts, and behaviors. Here are seven science-backed ways to teach your child the all-important life skill of self-regulation with a free printable!
Exploring Shadows to Ease Fear in Young Children
If your child finds themselves afraid of the shadows in the night, dark and scary things you can use shadow puppets to explore those fears and work through them.
Not "Just" a Preschool Teacher
There is a stigma attached to being a preschool teacher, but there is no “just’ about it. It’s time to give preschool teachers the true credit they deserve.
Kind Words Sensory Lesson Friendship Activity
This sensory lesson includes a kindness activity for kids that is short and sweet, and makes teaching kindness a beautiful thing! Learning to use kind words with our friends is one friendship lesson that I think we can never cover enough.
Books about Emotions That Help Kids Understand Their Feelings
Children’s books about feelings and emotions are an essential self-regulation tool–and a must-have in any home or school library–because parents, teachers, and caregivers can use them to help toddlers, preschoolers, and kids of all ages understand their feelings.
Teach Children To Have a Strong "Inner Voice" with song "Wonderful You"
Parents and teachers, as the role models children emulate, have a responsibility to ensure that the next generation knows not only how to help themselves feel good, but also how to help others feel good. That’s where “Wonderful You” can help out, as a song, mantra and strong “inner voice”.
One Simple Trick to Stop Tattling
Is tattling an all too common occurrence in your preschool or in your home? I have one, very simple trick that will put a stop to tattling!
I’m Sarah, an educator turned stay-at-home-mama of five! I’m the owner and creator of Stay At Home Educator, a website about intentional teaching and purposeful learning in the early childhood years. I’ve taught a range of levels, from preschool to college and a little bit of everything in between. Right now my focus is teaching my children and running a preschool from my home. Credentials include: Bachelors in Art, Masters in Curriculum and Instruction.
[…] is your responsibility to teach them the appropriate methods of controlling and expressing their feelings. They won’t figure this out on their […]