How to Teach Social-Emotional Learning at Home

Knowledge is indeed power, but academic achievement is only one aspect of a successful education. Children must also learn social-emotional skills to develop healthy identities, manage emotions, set goals, express empathy, build relationships, and make decisions. Teaching and practicing these techniques is called "social-emotional learning" (SEL).

SEL has many benefits for students, ranging from improved school performance to healthier friendships. Plus, down the road, those with strong social and emotional competence are more likely to graduate high school and attain a college degree.

Social-emotional learning is so important that it has its own day: International SEL Day, which takes place on the second Friday in March. It celebrates the value of SEL for students worldwide with a different theme each year, like "Building Bonds, Reimagining Community," and "Uplifting Hearts, Connecting Minds."

Many schools have some form of SEL in their curriculum, but it's also easy to practice social-emotional learning activities at home. Keep reading to learn more about the benefits of SEL and how to model the lessons in day-to-day life.

5 Key Skills of Social-Emotional Learning

If you're asking yourself, "what is social-emotional learning?" it might help to understand the five main areas of practice. They're defined by the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), a leader in SEL instruction.

1. Self-awareness

Self-awareness involves cultivating a greater understanding of your emotions, goals, beliefs, strengths, and weaknesses. Recognizing the link between thoughts and actions can help you make decisions with greater insight.

2. Self-management

Once you understand your emotions and actions, it's key to regulate them through self-management. You'll reach your goals faster by practicing impulse control and evaluating your performance in certain situations.

3. Responsible decision-making

Those with responsible decision-making skills think about their own goals, social factors, and self-understanding when making constructive choices. This fosters an understanding of cause and effect and the consequences of actions.

4. Social awareness

Social awareness helps children build and maintain healthy relationships. This skill involves understanding and empathizing with others—including those of different races, genders, cultures, ages, and religions.

5. Relationship skills

Also important for relationship establishment, this SEL skill teaches kids how to act regarding social norms. Communication, cooperation, listening, managing conflict, and understanding emotions are key components.

The Benefits of Social-Emotional Learning

Teaching social-emotional learning has many benefits for children. According to a 2011 meta-analysis on the impact of SEL, benefits include:

• Improved academic performance
• Improved classroom behavior
• Increased ability to manage stress and depression
• Improved self-image
• Better attitude about others and school

Further, in a retrospective study published in the July 2015 issue of the American Journal of Public Health involving 753 kindergarteners in the early 1990s, researchers looked at the relationship between kindergarten social competence and future wellness.

Teachers rated the social competence skills of students in their classroom on factors like cooperation, helpfulness, empathy, and problem-solving. Afterward, researchers followed these children for 20 years to evaluate education, employment, public assistance, crime, mental health, and substance use.

According to the results, prosocial kindergarten skills were significantly or uniquely predictive of the following outcomes:

• Double the likelihood of attaining a college degree in early adulthood
• 54% greater chance of earning a high school diploma
• 46% greater chance of having a full-time job when they're 25

Decreased social competency scores, on the other hand, were associated with higher chances of arrest, binge drinking, marijuana usage, and needing public housing.

Social-Emotional Learning Activities

SEL doesn't have to be confined to the classroom! These at-home activities can hone your child's social and emotional skills, helping them thrive in many aspects of life.

Consume media with empathy

Turn your child's TV time into an SEL lesson about recognizing social cues and emotions. Stop the show whenever something emotional happens, and ask your child how they think the character feels. For example, are they happy, frustrated, embarrassed, frightened, excited, or hopeful? You can also try this activity while listening to songs, reading books, or watching movies.

Make schedules and to-do lists

Does your kid need help managing their time and making responsible decisions—like completing homework or chores on time? Help them make an organized to-do list, daily schedule, or "vision board" that spells out their dreams for the future. In doing so, they'll gain experience with goal setting and decision-making.

Relieve stress

Sometimes life gets stressful—even for little kids. Help your child recognize when they're feeling drained or upset (self-awareness) and teach them to manage their emotions through mindfulness activities, exercise, or music (self-management). Even adults can benefit from this social-emotional learning activity!

Journal for self-discovery

At regular intervals (say, once per week), encourage your child to list specific things that bring them joy—for example, walking the family dog, playing board games with siblings, and eating their favorite dinner. They'll practice self-awareness (understanding what they like) and self-management (understanding how they react to things they enjoy).

Draw emotions

What does it look like to be happy or sad? How about surprised or worried? Have your child express common emotions through drawings or paintings. In creating the images, they'll reflect upon their thoughts and feelings about themselves and others. Your kid may also associate the feelings with different colors (for example, red means angry).

Perform random acts of kindness

Throughout the day, have your child look for ways to help others. Maybe it's holding open the door, complimenting a friend's new shirt, saying "thank you," or inviting someone new to play. Through this social-emotional learning activity, they'll build social awareness and relationship skills.

Write letters

Bring back the art of letter writing! When your child writes to relatives or friends, they hone their relationship skills by reflecting on social connections.

Listen to a podcast

Loss, loneliness, and grief are difficult emotions to manage. However, you can help kids process these feelings with Emotion Motion, a podcast launched in September 2020 by SEL experts at Move This World. It involves an interactive component, so kids will enjoy reflecting on and managing their emotions.

Volunteer or donate

Children with superior social-emotional competence can empathize with people of different economic and social statuses. Hone this skill by volunteering or donating to an important cause.

Play games

As it turns out, family game night counts as social-emotional learning! While playing games, children must cooperate with others, take turns, handle frustration, solve problems, and more. They'll also see how others react to winning or losing.