Create an Emotion-Rich Classroom

Book excerpt: Strategies and activity ideas to support emotional development in children. What is an emotion-rich classroom? Similar to how a print-rich environment exposes children to a variety of printed materials, an emotion-rich one intentionally surrounds children with a wide range of social emotional learning experiences and supportive interactions. Create an Emotion-Rich Classroom provides frameworks for planning and implementing strategies to support emotional development in children. This practical and easy-to-use resource helps early childhood educators develop the emotional literacy of the young children in their classrooms. Readers learn how to: increase children’s emotional vocabulary model how to recognize and cope with various emotions support self-regulation and reduce challenging behaviors discuss emotions in others and in storybook characters support and engage families in fostering emotional skills at home Experienced in emotional development in children and early childhood education, author Lindsay N. Giroux, M.Ed., shows readers how to effectively weave social and emotional instruction into the fabric of the school day. Create an Emotion-Rich Classroom focuses on individual skills, making social and emotional instruction specific and measurable. With consistently structured chapters, this book is easy to use and rich in ideas and strategies. Digital content includes checklists, planning sheets, and other materials to support educators as they build an emotion-rich classroom. A free downloadable PLC/Book Study Guide is available.