For Our New Normal Make Emotional Well-Being a Priority
As this tumultuous school year winds down we are all owed a deep breath! And yet we also need to reflect on what this unprecedented time has taught us and think forward to what lies ahead in our “new normal.” As we slowly emerge from one pandemic, we are in fact facing another — one […]
Emotional Intelligence from Birth: 5 Foundational Mental Health Benefits
There is a growing appreciation that emotional intelligence is more than a wish list of optimal social skills. Emotional intelligence is a set of competencies that enable you to understand and manage your own emotions and those of others—a critical prerequisite to lifelong learning, relating and relationships, and personal and professional growth. But perhaps the […]
The Building Blocks of Dramatic Play
“Dramatic Play.” For my fellow early childhood educators, these words can hold many different meanings: imagination, creativity, a clean-up disaster, playing dress-up, tearful negotiations over who gets to be the “mommy,” “Welcome to our restaurant! What would you like to eat?” and so much more. That is the beauty of dramatic play– it is a […]
Helping Children Develop Healthy Habits with Technology Use
We limit how much technology our kids use at home.” — Steve Jobs My feeling about technology in general is very Goldilocks and the Three Bears: Having too little exposure isn’t good, but too much – a few hours turns into six — is detrimental to their brain development and mental health. The temptation for […]
Helping Children Understand & Celebrate Differences from the Beginning
Children are born ready to learn and it is not only traditional skills that we need to teach from a young age, we also need to foster children’s understanding of their emotions and those of others from the very beginning.1 By reaching children in their earliest years we have the extraordinary opportunity to shape children’s […]
Building Empathy and Kindness Through Emotional Understanding
“Is that your lunch? It looks kind of weird…” “Well, if your favorite color isn’t purple then I don’t want to be your friend.” “Girls can’t play this game, only boys.” “I don’t want to play with you, I only want to play with her. She’s my best friend.” As educators, our first reaction when […]
Helping Children Say Goodbye to a Beloved Pet and Handle Their Grief
A child’s relationship with their pet is a cherished one, filled with constant companionship and lifelong memories. Pets become part of the family – a comforting presence that provides affection, protection, and reassurance in times of need. For children especially, pets bring unconditional love along with the opportunity to share all of their feelings without […]
The Power of Play: Building Young Children’s Resilience, Healthy Development and Learning
For all children, play is a child’s “work” and is essential in developing the foundation for social, emotional, and cognitive skills. A wealth of research shows that unstructured play is a fundamental necessity for children to thrive physically, emotionally, mentally and socially. The importance of play is something that I have stressed repeatedly in my […]
Teaching Kids Kindness Prepares Them for Success
November marks World Kindness Day, observed for over twenty years in many countries, including the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia, Nigeria, and the United Arab Emirates. Through the begin to ECSEL program, overseen by Housman Institute, Beginnings School has been actively promoting kindness since our inception, not only because of its societal importance but also because of […]
Integrating Emotion and Cognition through begin to ECSEL in the Age of Technology
Given the accelerating pace of change around the globe, it is no surprise that the world of schooling, and more specifically, early education, is also undergoing massive transformations. As new technologies appear on the market and trickle down into classrooms, educators must be prepared to empower today’s students to take advantage of these advancements as […]
The Importance of Causal Talk in the Emotional Experience (CTEE)
This blog discusses the reasons why Causal Talk (CT) and Causal Talk in the Emotional Experience (CTEE) is important to employ in social, emotional, and cognitive early learning. As early childhood educators, we have a duty to arm children with the skills needed to thrive—most importantly, social and emotional competencies. A powerful way to promote […]
Teaching the Building Blocks of Emotional Intelligence
The launch of the Housman Institute comes amid growing awareness of the importance of teaching the building blocks of emotional intelligence from birth. Supported through our ongoing research and teacher training, our flagship program begin to ECSEL promotes the growth in early childhood of critical developmental constructs, namely emotional competence, self-regulation, and associated pro-social skills […]