How Authentic Family Involvement Can Support Social Emotional Learning (SEL)

Parents: How Our Songs, Poems, and Rhymes Support Social Emotional Learning (SEL) and Language Skills

• Emotional well-being is crucial for academic success. The foundation begins with both caring relationships AND an engaging curriculum. While educators nurture SEL in the classroom, meaningful family collaboration enhances learning.
• Social Emotional Learning underlies everything families and educators do: We want children to learn to be a good friend, work hard, be curious, practice kindness, and develop a positive “I can do it!” growth mindset.
• We give children opportunities to memorize, recite, and perform songs, poems, and rhymes with rich oral language experiences at home and in school. Their memory skills, broad vocabulary, and confidence in expressing ideas will soar!
• With happy hearts, we dance, sing, and memorize delightful language! A thoughtful art-rich curriculum nurtures capable, kind, confident young people. Parents and educators alike help plant these skills.
• Singing, dancing, dramatization, sign language, and art provide Total Emotional Body Response to Language (TEBRL). That’s how the brain learns best: It is the secret of accelerated learning and powerful SEL!
• Academic success requires a good work ethic: Students need to see themselves as good thinkers, problem-solvers, readers, writers, illustrators, storytellers, creative kids, and makers of things!
• We encourage teachers to send home SEL rhymes in the Poetry Notebook so families can talk about the rhymes and recite them together. The QR code supports this collaboration.