Home › learning › early-childhood › Early Childhood: Social and Emotional Development

Early Childhood: Social and Emotional Development

Children develop their sense of self as they interact with others in a variety of ways. Beginning with parallel play, children increasingly seek to be part of social interactions and express their enjoyment of friendships. Children begin to understand that they belong to and are part of a family but also of a school community. Through teacher interaction, guidance and encouragement, children become confident of their capabilities and accomplishments, while developing the ability to cope with familiar and unfamiliar situations. Children are encouraged to persist with tasks, experience success and demonstrate that they can cope with their less successful attempts. Children develop socially as they participate, cooperate, listen and observe adults and peers modeling acceptable social skills and problem solving strategies. Children learn to share, take turns, negotiate and resolve conflict at different stages of development. The Early Childhood program facilitates the development of responsibility and of respect for themselves, others and property.

Children will develop self-help skills to facilitate their independence, effectively communicate their needs, and become successful life-long learners. They are given daily opportunities to make choices in their activities, to practice taking care of their physical needs and personal belongings, and to interact in a variety of social settings (e.g. one-on-one, small group, whole class).