Preschool can be an emotional time. As children take their first steps into the world of learning, they also begin experiencing emotions on an interpersonal level. It’s important for children to learn how to process these new feelings in a healthy way, which is why many schools now take a social emotional approach to education.

Also known as SEL, social emotional learning focuses on building self-awareness and relationship skills to help students make better decisions. According to Edutopia:

School is one of the primary places where students learn social and emotional skills. An effective SEL program should incorporate four elements represented by the acronym SAFE (Durlak et al., 2010, 2011):

  1. Sequenced: connected and coordinated sets of activities to foster skills development
  2. Active: active forms of learning to help students master new skills
  3. Focused: emphasis on developing personal and social skills
  4. Explicit: targeting specific social and emotional skills

In many ways, emotions are a language of their own. Just like learning Spanish (or another language), recognizing the patterns of feelings and thoughts we experience can help us better understand the world around us.

So, what are the benefits of Social Emotional Education? When children are taught how to handle emotions at an early age, they are better able to process more complex emotions later in life. Studies have also shown SEL can help reinforce positive mindsets, reduce risky behavior, and improve classroom performance. When children learn about the world through an emotional lens, they learn how to persevere while building lasting relationships, which leads to greater likelihood of success in many aspects of life. As Edutopia puts it (in the same article linked above):

SEL not only improves achievement by an average of 11 percentile points, but it also increases prosocial behaviors (such as kindness, sharing, and empathy), improves student attitudes toward school, and reduces depression and stress among students.

Our staff regularly participates in training sessions to help children process emotions in a healthy, loving environment. Most recently, the staff took part in a session entitled “Positive Psychology,” hosted by MJ Shaar. Ms. Shaar’s work helps professionals be effective, feel confident, and maximize their impact in the classroom. Her training filled up the staff’s hearts with a lot of energy (and plenty of dancing too!).

At Spanish for fun!, we know that positive emotions toward learning are the key to a great education. If you’re looking for a preschool that prioritizes the emotional health of your child, look no further. We take pride in offering a curriculum that emphasizes the emotional health of every child. Get in touch with us today to schedule a tour of any of our four campuses, two are located in Raleigh, one is in Cary and the other is in Wake Forest. Call 919-881-1160 or complete the contact form on our website. We look forward to showing you why your child will thrive with us.