The school year is ending and summer fun is about to begin! Set aside some time for social emotional activities and help kids enter the next school year with more confidence.

Did you know that developing social emotional skills can encourage healthy relationships with peers and help littles feel good about themselves? It can also increase academic performance and reduce behavior issues!

Using our SoftZone Emotion Cube, you can encourage kids to have a daily “feelings check in.” Have them share the emoji that displays how they feel. Ask kids to “read” each other’s emotions by looking at the eyes and mouth for clues. Practice making faces in the mirror. Social emotional cubes, cards, and posters are excellent teaching tools to introduce children to identifying feelings and emotions.

Think of all the social emotional skills that come from activities that children love! Kids can learn to regulate emotions and read others’ feelings when playing together. Here are a few kid approved activities to help strengthen social emotional skills.

• Puppet show
• Social Emotional Cubes
• Role Play/Dress Up
• Story time
• Board games
• Show and tell
• Group projects

Tailor these activities to help kids build friendships, learn cooperation, and relate to others!

Stephanie Standley M. Ed. is a mom, educator, writer, and outdoor enthusiast. She received her undergraduate degrees in Sociology and Psychology as well as a Master of Education-Literacy from the University of San Diego. Stephanie has 12+ years of classroom experience as a teacher and currently supports students in Special Education. She is inspired to use evidence-based practices to educate children in creative and engaging ways.