Social Skills

Empathy Self- regulation Problem Solving

Empathy Definition “Understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings or thoughts of another person” Webster’s Dictionary, 1990

Why Teach Empathy? To develop prosocial behavior To develop problem solving skills Respond to the needs and feelings of others A cognitive process that can be taught

Components of Empathy Ability to determine emotional state of another person Ability to assume perspective of another person Ability to respond emotionally to another person

Empathy/Feelings Skills (as identified by Second Steps Curriculum)  Identifying feelings from physical and situational cues  Recognizing people have different feelings about same thing  Recognizing that feelings change  Predicting feelings  Understanding people have different likes and dislikes

Empathy/Feelings Skills (continued)  Differentiating intentional from unintentional acts  Applying fairness  Communicating feelings using “I” messages and using active listening  Expressing care and concern for others

General Strategies for Teaching Empathy and Feelings  Adults……  Label children's emotions  Validate children’s feelings  Praise children for labeling emotions  Model/talk about their own emotions

ALSO……….. Use visuals related to feelings in classroom Tell stories related to feelings at circle time

Program-Wide Self-Regulatory Process Children recognize their emotions/feelings Specific calming down process Problem solving process

Examples of Self-Regulatory Processes  Stop, Breathe, Think  Stop, Count, Work out Problem  How do I feel? Think Stop. Go into shell and take 3 deep breaths. Come out of your shell and problem solve.  How do I feel? Take three deep breaths. Count to five slowly. Say, “Calm down.” Talk to an adult about it.

Program Wide Self-Regulation Checklist Directions: When you return to your program we are asking that you develop a program-wide Self-Regulation process for children in your program. As you develop and implement the process for your program you can use the checklist below as a guide.

Problem-Solving Steps  Step 1: Define the problem  Step 2: Brainstorm solutions  Step 3: Decide where to start and test ideas  Step 4: Create problem-solving tools  Step 5: Test and analyze solutions

Problem Solving Strategies  Encourage children to be flexible thinkers  Brainstorm with children possible outcomes  Ask children to reflect upon their ideas  Break problems down into smaller parts  Ask open-ended questions  Encourage children to express their ideas

Activity Problem Solving Scenarios