If you are an educator and you see that a child is constantly alone at recess or lunch, call a meeting, come up with a plan, do something to help that child. Research supports the notion that there are strategies we can use to help a child not be alone at recess, such as more structured play time, incorporating more …
How Do Positive Role Models Affect Our Youth and Communities?
Research findings indicate that adolescents who can identify a positive role model in their lives have higher grades and self-esteem than those who can’t, particularly when the youth knows their role model on a personal level. Positive role models are also shown to decrease a youth’s potential for risky behaviors such as drug and alcohol abuse, sexual intercourse, and violence. …
3 Research-Based Programs That Improve Social-Emotional Skills in School-Aged Children
As a school psychologist, I have often heard teachers and parents express concerns about students’ abilities in the area of social skills, emotional regulation, and self-control. I am often given the task of making recommendations to support these students’ needs. Upon researching the topic, I came across three research-based programs that aim to help children improve these kinds of social-emotional …
Engaging Social Studies Curriculum Shows Promise for Improving Social Skills in Students with Emotional and Behavioral Needs
Storypath offers a structure for organizing the social studies curriculum and an instructional strategy for teaching it. The strategy is based on the belief that children learn best when they are active participants in their own learning. When students have to create, role-play, come up with ideas, problem-solve, etc., they learn the material from the inside out. The structure and …
Interactive Book Helps Kids Understand the Power of Positive Choices!
The book What Should Danny Do? contains nine stories in one. It is an interactive book that helps kids understand that their choices will shape their days, and ultimately their lives. Written in a “Choose Your Own Story” style, the book follows Danny, a Superhero-in-Training, through his day as he faces choices that kids face daily. As your child/student navigates …
4-H Clubs Offer Hands-On Learning Opportunities for Kids Across the US
What is a 4-H Club? 4-H clubs provide hands-on learning in science, healthy living, and citizenship. Kids build confidence, creativity and curiosity, along with life skills such as leadership and resiliency. 4-H stands for Head, Heart, Hands, Health. Types of 4‑H Programs 4‑H programs are available through local 4‑H clubs, 4‑H camps, and in-school or after-school programs. With support from …
How School Counselors and Teachers Can Work Together to Promote Social-Emotional Learning
School is about more than learning academics. It is also a prime environment for promoting social and emotional learning (SEL). In recent years, the Every Student Succeeds Act has called attention to this need. This act requires that states measure school success with at least one non-academic indicator, such as communication, empathy, or conflict management. In order to effectively teach children important …
An Interactive Story to Teach Kids About Restaurant Behavior
Social stories are a research-based tool used to help children prepare for real-life events. They can be used to teach someone what to expect or how to behave in a particular setting. Because no situation is the same, it may be helpful to talk to your child about how their restaurant experience might be different from the story below. For example, in this story …
12 Fun Free Games to Play with Your Little One
In this article you will find 12 fun free games to play with your child. You probably heard of most of them, but this is a quick reminder. These games allow you to bond and create memories; while helping your child practice social skills. Games are a great way to pass the time and they give your child something to do. Many …
Theatre Teacher Shares Three Techniques to Increase Empathy in Students
As a theatre teacher and teacher educator, I believe empathy is central to building a respectful, caring, and compassionate community. Scholarly work on empathy reveals that empathy must be explicitly taught and practiced. In clinical psychologist Baron-Cohen’s book, Zero Degrees of Empathy: A New Theory of Human Cruelty and Kindness (2012), he identifies two types of empathy: cognitive and affective. …
5 Great Books to Teach Young Children About Empathy
As a behavior specialist and mobile therapist, I always loved using books to teach kids about a variety of social-emotional skills such as how to understand your feelings, how to be a friend, how to accept differences, how to develop empathy, how to solve a problem, how to be a good citizen, etc. Research also supports the benefits of using …
5 Great Activities to Do with Your Social Skills Group (Adolescents/Teens)
Working in the public school system for many years, I often heard school counselors asking for advice about the kinds of activities they should do with their adolescent social skills groups. Students in the groups often had difficulty with skills such as listening, waiting their turn in conversation, staying on topic, sharing materials, understanding another person’s feelings, getting along with …
9 Practical Strategies to Decrease Impulsive Behaviors in Children
Impulsive behaviors can make everyday situations challenging for your child and the people in his/her life. Impulsive behaviors are defined as actions that occur quickly and seem to happen without thinking or considering the consequences. Children diagnosed with ADHD often engage in impulsive behaviors, but impulsive behaviors do not necessarily indicate that a person has ADHD. Below Are Some Examples …
Roots of Empathy: A Research-Based Program that Counters Bullying
What is Roots of Empathy? Roots of Empathy is a research-based program with a long-term goal to create a society of adults who are responsible/well-mannered citizens that use positive parenting methods. The overall short-term goal of the program focuses on raising levels of empathy, resulting in more respectful and caring relationships and reduced levels of bullying and aggression. Empathy is defined …
8 Fun Activities to Practice Social Skills with Your Child
This article gives several fun social skills activities that you can do with your child. While the activities are described in a one on one format between parent and child, many of them can also be used with a group of children such as siblings, students, or clients in a group therapy setting. Parents, teachers, school counselors, psychologists, and speech/language …
Top 4 Tips for Parenting an Introverted Child
Are you concerned because your child is not outgoing and doesn’t have many friends? Do you want your child to make friends and hang out with them instead of sitting alone in their room? Some parents consider this behavior to be abnormal or simply wrong. They don’t want their children to be shy or stay away from others. However, they …
5 Great Activities to Do with Your Social Skills Group
Working in the public school system for many years, I often heard guidance counselors asking for advice about the kinds of activities they should do with their social skills groups. Students in the group often had difficulty with skills such as listening, waiting their turn in conversation, staying on topic, sharing materials, understanding another person’s feelings, getting along with others, …
Help Your Child Find Their Voice (Part 1)
When September begins, families everywhere rev up for another school year. Some children view the start of a new school year as the opportunity to re-connect with old friends, participate in extra-curricular activities, and learn exciting new subjects. For some children though the dawn of a new school year is preparing to go to battle. Another year in the trenches …