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GROWING

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Supporting social-emotional development all year long

2017 CALENDAR

STRONG

SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

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JULYTelling toddlers “no” too often can limit their curiosity and lead them to give up too easily on challenging tasks. Try these alternatives:

• Offer choices

• Explain reasons

• Teach words of self-control

• Use words that help children anticipate what will happen and when

• Teach polite words and rehearse polite behavior

• Interpret another child’s facial expressions, body language, and behavior

• Make a game of it

• Give clear, explicit instructions

Adapted from Talk to Me, Baby by Betty Bardige, Brookes Publishing Co.

CONSIDER ALTERNATIVES TO

“NO”

Independence Day


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27 28 29 30 31

AUGUST Is your child starting preschool? This year, he or she should be learning to:

Negotiate and compromise

Be empathetic to the feelings and experiences of another person

Effectively join groups and initiate conversations

Use humor appropriately

Develop self-control

Use new emotional words

Accept that what is “right” or “wrong” may be based on more than just the immediate consequence of the behavior

Understand that how something appears is not always how it is

Adapted from Merrell’s Strong Start—Pre-K: A Social and Emotional Learning Curriculum, Second Edition, by Sara A. Whitcomb, Ph.D., & Danielle M. Parisi Damico, Ph.D., Brookes Publishing Co.

Help social skills B✽L✽O✽O✽M in preschoolers


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24 25 26 27 28 29 30

SEPTEMBER 5 classroom–wide practices that lead to better behavior for all children:

1. Use the five-to-one ratio of positive attention. Spend the majority of your time pointing out positive behavior and not challenging behavior.

2. Use predictable schedules so children can predict what comes next.

3. Establish routines within routines to provide more structure and minimize behavior challenges.

4. Directly teach behavioral expectations. Keep it simple—no more than 3 for any one routine.

5. Directly teach social skills. Arrange the environment to support peer interaction and use strategies like peer-mediated interventions and adult cueing and prompting.

Adapted from Prevent-Teach-Reinforce for Young Children: The Early Childhood Model of Individualized Positive Behavior Support, by Glen Dunlap Ph.D., Kelly Wilson B.S., Phillip S. Strain Ph.D., Janice K. Lee M.Ed., Brookes Publishing Co.

Labor Day

Better behavior for back-to-school!


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OCTOBERHere are 4 hallmarks of parent–child relationships that promote social-emotional (and overall) development:

Warmth: Parents who show love and physical closeness help the child feel close and connected in ways that support positive behavior outcomes.

Responsiveness: Responding sensitively to the child’s cues is related to more secure attachment, fewer behavior problems, and better emotion regulation and empathy.

Encouragement: When parents encourage children’s interests and self-direction, they promote greater independence, less negativity, and better social development.

Conversation: Verbal interactions with children help them practice their emerging language skills (which they’ll need to be successful in social situations).

Quote excerpted from and hallmarks adapted from Developmental Parenting: A Guide for Early Childhood Practitioners by Lori A. Roggman, Ph.D., Lisa K. Boyce, Ph.D., & Mark S. Innocenti, Ph.D., Brookes Publishing Co.

When the parent–child relationship

is positive, children develop

a sense of security,

explore with confidence,

and learn to communicate

effectively.

Columbus Day

Halloween


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26 27 28 29 30

NOVEMBER Here are 4 ways to tweak your schedule to support children’s behavior and social-emotional skills:

1. Decrease wait times. Behavior issues tend to increase during wait times. Identify children’s wait times during your day and reduce them by changing the routine or providing interesting activities while children wait.

2. Create a choice board. When kids can visualize and choose from activities and materials, they’ll be more engaged and more likely to cooperate.

3. Provide more self-directed play opportunities. Self-directed play is a great way to help children learn to manage their behavior and problem-solve.

4. Make a waiting list. Many young kids have trouble with turn-taking, a critical social skill. A waiting list helps them conceptualize the idea of waiting for a turn and provides a reassuring visual that helps them track their progress.

Adapted from Addressing Challenging Behaviors in Early Childhood Settings: A Teacher’s Guide, by Dawn M. Denno, M.Ed., Victoria Carr, Ed.D., & Susan Hart Bell, Ph.D., Brookes Publishing Co.

Use your daily schedule to support positive behavior

Veterans’ Day

Thanksgiving


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DECEMBERHolidays are fun, but they can also be stressful. Taking care of your social-emotional needs will help you be the best teacher or parent for the children in your life. Here are 5 self-care tips:

1. Don’t obsess about past slights. Think about the positive things you’re doing right now.

2. Make time for an activity that makes you feel competent. You’ll feel refreshed, uplifted, and in charge of your life.

3. Put on some music. Sing in the shower or while you do chores—perfect pitch not necessary!

4. Nurture another person. Helping someone who’s hurting will make you feel more competent and empowered.

5. Feed your body right. Keep stress at bay with a breakfast that lets your blood sugar level rise gradually (try juice, an egg, and whole-grain cereal).

More tips at the Brookes Inclusion Lab blog: http://bit.ly/14SelfCare

Adapted from Little Kids, Big Worries: Stress-Busting Tips for Early Childhood Classrooms, by Alice Sterling Honig, Ph.D., Brookes Publishing Co.

Give yourself the gift of self-care

Christmas

Hanukkah Begins


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JANUARY

small children can have

Try these 8 stress-busters for young children in the classroom:

1. Set aside group time to talk about feelings

2. Be flexible during transitions and try to make them fun

3. Show kids that mistakes are okay

4. Encourage conversations with children from diverse backgrounds

5. Infuse the day with reassuring patterns and rituals

6. Invite them to express emotions through art activities

7. Use puppets to model conflict resolution

8. Empathize with outsized child fears—show them it’s okay to be afraid

Adapted from Little Kids, Big Worries: Stress-Busting Tips for Early Childhood Classrooms, by Alice Sterling Honig, Ph.D., Brookes Publishing Co. (Read more at the Brookes Inclusion Lab blog: http://bit.ly/HonigStress)

big worries, too.

New Year’s Day

Martin Luther King Jr. Day


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5 6 7 8 9 10 11

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26 27 28

FEBRUARY Here are some types of behaviors you can expect from your growing child:

6 Months: Your baby sometimes likes quiet; other times, she likes talking and playing.

12 Months: Your baby may seem “shy” and need time to warm up to new people and places.

18 Months: Your toddler may hand toys to other children, but he doesn’t understand sharing and wants the toys right back.

24 Months: Your toddler’s emotions can be very “big.” Brace yourself for temper tantrums!

30 Months: As imagination grows, your child loves role play with puppets and dress-up clothes.

36 Months: Your child is learning to follow simple rules, though he sometimes needs gentle reminders.

48 Months: Your child expresses extreme emotions and may be able to label her own feelings.

Adapted from The ASQ:SE-2™ User’s Guide by Jane Squires, Ph.D., Diane Bricker, Ph.D., & Elizabeth Twombly, M.S., Brookes Publishing Co.

Understandyour young child’sbehaviors

Valentine’s Day

Presidents’ Day


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MARCHTry this with your toddler!

Anticipate problems: Toddler-proof the environment frequently, removing dangers and irresistible temptations.

Be proactive and playful: It’s easier for toddlers to start doing something than to stop. Give them positive instruction: “touch gently,” “hold my hand.”

Calm yourself: Children pick up on your stress and often become more insistent on doing things their way.

Demonstrate appropriate behavior: Show children by your example how they should respond to others.

Support children’s problem-solving efforts: Encourage toddlers to use their words: “My turn,” “Please,” “No hitting.”

Adapted from Talk to Me, Baby by Betty Bardige, Brookes Publishing Co.

Learn the

of positive discipline

ABCDs


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APRIL Understanding the message behind challenging behavior is the first step toward addressing it. Here are some messages your child’s behavior might be communicating:

“I need attention.” Attention from others is a common desire of many children and is one of the most important messages they try to communicate.

“I want to escape.” Sometimes children misbehave to get out of doing things they don’t like.

“I want to get/do that.” Sometimes the goal of a child’s misbehavior is to get some object or activity he or she likes.

“I like how this feels.” Your child might act in a particular way simply because it looks, feels, tastes, or sounds good to do it.

For every behavior, ask yourself—what is my child trying to say or accomplish?

Adapted from Optimistic Parenting: Hope and Help for You and Your Challenging Child, by V. Mark Durand, Brookes Publishing Co.

WITH EVERY behavior,

YOUR CHILD IS TRYING TO

say something.

Good Friday

Easter Sunday


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MAY Here are 10 benchmarks critical to young children’s social-emotional competence:

1. Participating in healthy interactions

2. Expressing a range of emotions

3. Regulating social-emotional responses

4. Showing empathy for others’ responses

5. Attending to and engaging with others’ responses

6. Exploring hands, feet, and surroundings (infants)/demonstrating independence (toddlers/preschoolers)

7. Displaying a positive self-image

8. Regulating activity level

9. Cooperating with daily routines and requests

10. Showing a range of adaptive skills

Adapted from Social-Emotional Assessment/Evaluation Measure (SEAM™), Research Edition, by Jane Squires, Ph.D., Diane Bricker, Ph.D., Misti Waddell, M.S., Kristin Funk, M.A., LCSW, Jantina Clifford, Ph.D., & Robert Hoselton, Brookes Publishing Co.

KNOW YOUR

socia l-emotional SIGNPOSTS

Mother’s Day

Memorial Day


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JUNE

Adapted from The ASQ:SE-2™ User’s Guide by Jane Squires, Ph.D., Diane Bricker, Ph.D., & Elizabeth Twombly, M.S., Brookes Publishing Co.

BOOST SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT WITH

FUN ACTIVITIES

Father’s Day

Try these activities as your child grows:

6 Months: When your baby makes a sound, imitate it. Go back and forth as long as possible.

12 Months: To help your baby feel secure, talk to her about your routines and what will be next.

18 Months: Teach your child about emotions. Make happy, sad, mad, and silly faces in front of a mirror.

24 Months: Stay nearby to teach your child about taking turns during play.

30 Months: Invite a friend with a child over for a short playdate.

36 Months: Create a pretend argument between stuffed animals. Talk with your child about how to work out problems.

48 Months: Introduce and describe a new feeling each day, using pictures, gestures, and words.

Social-emotional development is one of today’s hottest topics in early childhood—and with good reason. Ensuring that every child has strong social-emotional skills will help:

RESOURCES FROM BROOKESASQ:SE-2 Parent Activities: Share these fun and effective activities with parents to help them promote their child’s social-emotional skills. http://bit.ly/ASQSEactivities

Sample lesson for preschoolers: Help kids use “happy talk” with this free lesson from the Strong Start Pre-K social-emotional learning curriculum. http://bit.ly/HappyTalkLesson

Parent tip sheet: 17 practical ways parents can support the social-emotional development of their young children. http://bit.ly/17ParentTips

Blog post: 9 Stress-Reducing Strategies for Young Learners, from Brookes author Alice Sterling Honig. http://bit.ly/HonigStress

Newsletter article: Discover how to improve behavior in early childhood classrooms by fostering three types of positive interactions: between teachers and children, teachers and parents, and children and parents. http://bit.ly/EC3types

Why is soc ial-emot ional development so important in early ch ildhood?

• Get students ready for school. Promoting early social and emotional skills is a crucial part of getting kids ready for school; Head Start, for example, lists social-emotional development as one of the pillars of school readiness*.

• Stop the bullying epidemic. Studies show** that the roots of bullying take hold in early childhood. To reduce the high incidence of bullying in schools, educators and parents should focus on promoting social-emotional health and positive, prosocial behaviors when children are very young.

• Set every child up for future success in life. Social-emotional skills are a predictor of future success and achievement—a recent study*** found significant associations between stronger social-emotional skills in kindergarten and better life outcomes in the areas of education, employment, criminal activity, substance use, and mental health.

The significance of social-emotional development is being recognized more and more in our legislation and by key early childhood organizations. The 2016 Mental Health Reform Act included new Infant and Early Childhood provisions recognizing the vital importance of early social-emotional development. Top

*Head Start web page on Infants & Toddlers and School Readiness: http://bit.ly/HSschoolreadiness**Social-emotional research from Child Trends: http://bit.ly/CTSocEmo***“Early Social-Emotional Functioning and Public Health,” American Journal of Public Health, November 2015, Vol 105, No. 11: http://bit.ly/AJPHarticle

FREE Social-

Emotional

Development

Resources!

RESOURCES FROM EARLY CHILDHOOD ORGANIZATIONSNAEYCYou’ll find a wealth of information on social and emotional skills at the NAEYC site. Check out “Making Peace in Kindergarten,” an article from NAEYC’s journal Voices of Practitioners, filled with real-world tips on how teachers can support children’s social and emotional learning. http://bit.ly/NAEYCMakePeace

Head Start Head Start’s dedicated page on Social & Emotional Development gives you practical tips, articles, webcasts, and more. http://bit.ly/HeadStartSE

ZERO TO THREE A treasure trove of resources await you at the ZERO TO THREE site. Get podcasts, videos, and parenting resources on social-emotional topics like empathy, friendships, and cooperation. http://bit.ly/Zt3SocEmo

PromotePrevent Part of the Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC), PromotePrevent has a fantastic 13-chapter online resource on how to prevent bullying in early childhood and teach strong social skills. http://bit.ly/PPbullying

organizations like ZERO TO THREE and NAEYC feature social-emotional health prominently on their websites. And Brookes has been a longtime champion of social-emotional development, publishing the gold-standard screener ASQ:SE-2™ and many other resources from experts on child mental health and behavior.

On the next page, you’ll find some practical free resources—from Brookes and some key early childhood organizations—to help you encourage strong social-emotional development in the young children you nurture and support.

This calendar includes tips and insights from some of the best Brookes books on social-emotional de-velopment. Use it all year to help you understand your growing child’s behaviors and support the skills they’ll need to succeed in school and in life.

Visit www.brookespublishing.com to learn more about the books quoted in this calendar:

1-800-638-3775 www.brookespublishing.com

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