In this blog, we will respond to common challenges (exclusion, “terrible” threes, and sharing) that teachers and families are facing with children at school and at home to show you how to apply these ECSEL strategies on your own. Your Challenges as Caregivers and Educators In the last blog, we went over teaching practices from ECSEL educators. We’d like to apply […]
As all early childhood educators and families know, children have a lot of big feelings that oftentimes come with even bigger behaviors. What all early childhood educators and families may not know is how to navigate these challenges. We asked parents, caregivers, and educators like you to share what you are experiencing with children in your classrooms and at […]
Welcome back! In our first installment on the power of Reflective Practice, we explored the importance of self-reflection and emotional awareness for ourselves as educators, and how Reflective Practice can be utilized within any education community to benefit everyone: teachers, supervisors, and mentors, families, and of course, children. Now, let’s take a look at an […]
Reflective Practice ensures that all members working in the educational community get the opportunity to communicate their self-reflections about how their work, their role, their actions, and their words impact others—and how they, in turn, are impacted by their work. ~ Dr. Donna Housman, Founder & CEO of Housman Institute In an article for Edutopia, […]
Welcome back to the final chapter in our 4-part series about helping children to unpack the emotional backpacks they carry with them each and every day. Throughout this series, we have chronicled the story of our friend Annie, who — as we do with all of the children in our classroom — we have helped […]
Welcome back to the third of our 4-part series focusing on how we can help young children in the process of unpacking their backpacks that are overflowing with emotions, both big and small. Last time, you followed along with us as we supported Annie on her journey towards identifying and understanding her big feelings in […]
Welcome back to the second of our 4-part series focusing on helping young children unpack their backpacks that are overflowing with emotions, both big and little, and how we can help in the process. Last time, we talked about how helping children to identify their feelings can lessen the weight of the emotional backpacks they […]
Welcome to our 4-part series focused on helping young children unpack those heavy backpacks toppling over with big and little emotions, and how we can help ourselves in the process. In this first part, you will learn why it is important to help kids identify emotions, and recognize the physiological signs related to emotions, and […]
It’s a month into the new school year and children are still adjusting to their new classroom, new teachers, and new routines. A child, Chloe, arrives at school already in the midst of a tantrum. Chloe’s mom looks frustrated and is raising her voice. What do you do? While this situation is all too common […]
It’s the night before the first day of school. Your child is feeling so excited about their new classroom, making new friends, and meeting their teachers for the first time. They have been asking all the big questions: Will I like my teacher? What will my classroom look like? Will I make friends? They even […]
Making new friends is so important- it can be rewarding and exciting, but it can also be scary, prickly, and intimidating. Friendship looks different for everyone – it doesn’t always mean liking the same things, having the same interests in common, or participating in the same kinds of play all the time. Young children, especially, […]
As co-teachers at a begin to ECSEL school, we have experienced countless moments where ECSEL language, tools, and techniques are so vital to shaping children’s emotional learning and overall character development. One of our favorite tools to use in our classroom is Our Emotions Board. When should I use Our Emotions Board? Whether it be a transitional tool in […]
