Social-emotional learning, or SEL, is an important area of your child’s development. This involves the way they identify and express emotions, interact with others, and navigate the world independently. While your child can learn valuable SEL skills in a school setting, you can reinforce these skills at home. This may sound like a daunting task for parents, but the good news is that you don’t need to be an SEL expert in order to guide and support your child’s social-emotional development. With the help of simple social-emotional learning resources, such as SEL books, SEL worksheets, art supplies, and an internet connection, you can explore a wide range of SEL tools and strategies. We’ve compiled this handy list of recommendations to help you get started.

Recommended SEL-building books for children and parents

If you’re already promoting literacy at home, this is the perfect place to start. Books can teach children powerful messages about character-building, self-esteem, conflict resolution, and many other social-emotional topics. In fact, . And since reading to your child from birth has been , too, you can keep your child’s bookshelf stocked with SEL-themed stories from early childhood to high school.

Great SEL books for infants and toddlers

  • by Todd Parr
  • by Margaret Miller
  • by Martine Agassi
  • by Leslie Patricelli

Great SEL books for preschoolers

Great SEL books for Kindergarteners to 2nd graders

Great SEL books for 3rd to 5th graders

Great SEL books for tweens

  • series by Jeff Kinney
  • by Barbara O’Connor
  • by James Patterson
  • by Rachel Renée Russell

Great SEL books for teens

  • (Ghost, Sunny, and Patina)
  • by Julies Murphy
  • by Vidal Annan
  • by Jack Canfield

SEL worksheets and activities

Although worksheets are often the subject of in the world of education, they can be effective teaching resources when used appropriately. The cons of using worksheets, some argue, is the lack of hands-on learning and an emphasis on rote learning (e.g. memorizing math facts or a list of words for a spelling test). However, don’t stray away from worksheets altogether as they can be very beneficial for learning and development areas, such as , writing, and comprehension. Here’s a few ways you can use worksheets to help your child build and strengthen their social-emotional skills.

  • Use to help your child explore emotions and facial expressions.
  • Help your child with words.
  • Read a and answer questions about the characters’ thoughts and feelings.
  • Play with facial expressions/body gestures and feeling words.
  • Help your child use a to describe traits, interactions, conflicts, etc. from a story.
  • Use or our writing prompts to encourage thoughtful writing tasks about various SEL topics.

In addition to (or in lieu of) worksheet activities, you can also engage in hands-on SEL activities such as crafts, our Feeling Words game, board games, and puzzles with your child. This could mean painting a picture of what happiness looks like, making a feelings collage, playing Sad-Glad-Mad libs, or playing emotion word charades.

Whether your strategy includes structured activities, creative art, play, or all of the above, the end result is key. All of these efforts can help contribute to your child’s social-emotional well-being, prepare them for healthy relationships with peers, and build the self-confidence they need for future success.

As you plan SEL activities for your child, keep in mind that social-emotional development can happen in the moment, too. Sometimes, kids learn social skills through daily interactions and routines without guidance from adults. Does your child like to help with chores? They’re learning cooperation, responsibility, and the importance of caring for themselves and their environment. Reading bedtime stories, eating breakfast together, and watching family movies are more examples of unplanned, yet effective, ways to help your child build SEL skills at home.

Exploring SEL topics online

Technology can open up a world of SEL resources for both you and your child. With the click of a button, you can gain access to videos, articles, digital games, ebooks and even online parenting communities. And search engines like Google and Bing can help answer all those burning SEL questions in a matter of seconds.

But always proceed with caution as you browse the web on your quest for knowledge. While there is lots of information out there about SEL, make sure that it comes from a reputable source. Be careful to avoid resources with underlying biases, unproven theories, and other ideas that may be contrary to the facts about SEL.

For example, The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning () offers evidence-based articles, reports, and resources to help you understand what SEL is and why it’s such an essential part of a child’s overall development.

On the other hand, resources created by can cause confusion as some of these details are based more on personal opinions and political beliefs than actual research.

Also, remember that children learn and develop social-emotional skills at various levels based on age and abilities. So, if you’re browsing worksheets for your preschooler, it’s best to stick with simple tasks such as matching, coloring, and sorting. Those complex reading passages and writing prompts are more appropriate for your school-aged kiddo. Plus, some SEL resources are not created by professionals such as teachers, social workers, and pediatricians. Try your best to fact-check and pay special attention to age-level recommendations, learning standards, etc. before you click to download or print.

Valuable SEL websites for parents

When in doubt, do a little research about each website before clicking your way through its SEL resources. Learn more about the company or creator, history, mission, philosophy, etc. as much as possible to determine how trustworthy the site may be. In the meantime, here’s a few reputable websites to help you head down the right path as you begin your search.

Websites for SEL articles and general information

Websites to find SEL worksheets and activities

  • K5 Learning
  • Pinterest

Websites with helpful parent communities and forums

Conclusion

Social-emotional learning is a critical area of your child’s development both at school and at home. As your child’s first teacher, you can help support and nurture your child’s SEL through research, planning, and using resources, such as SEL worksheets, books, activities, and games. Sometimes, your strategy may include nothing more than enjoying daily moments with your child, building their SEL skills authentically. The key is to find what works for you and your child as you watch them grow and make progress. You might also want to dig deeper into these results with formal or informal SEL assessment strategies. If you need further assistance or have any concerns about your child’s social-emotional development, check in with your child’s teacher, the school counselor, or your child’s pediatrician.