Friends & Feelings: Social-Emotional Development in Young Children – Selected Resources
Please note: Some resources may require a subscription or have restricted access due to a publisher paywall.
Books:
- Riley, D., San Juan, R.R., Klinkner, J., & Ramminger, A. (2008). Social & Emotional Development: Connecting Science and Practice in Early Childhood Settings. St. Paul, MN: Redleaf Press.
Children’s Books:
- Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations Early Learning (CSEFEL). Children’s Book List [PDF]. Selected titles include:
- Gigi and Lulu’s Gigantic Fight by Pamela Edwards (Ages 3-7)
- How Do Dinosaurs Play with Their Friends by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague (Ages 3-5)
- My Many Colored Days by Dr. Seuss (Ages 3-8)
- The Feelings Book by Todd Parr (Ages 2-4)
- We Are Best Friends by Aliki (Ages 4-7)
Articles/Tools:
- Autism Society and Indiana Resource Center on Autism. (nd). Growing up together (PDF). A booklet about people you may meet with autism and how you can be their friend. Retrieved from http://www.bridges4kids.org/pdf/Growing_Up_Booklet.pdf
- Center for Inclusive Child Care Info Modules. (2011). How Does Your Engine Run? Teaching Children to Know Their Engine [Presentation]. Retrieved from https://www.inclusivechildcare.org/resource-library/self-study/how-does-your-engine-run-teaching-children-know-their-engines
- Center for Inclusive Child Care Info Modules. (2010). Play Dates: Helping Parents Promote Peer Interactions [Presentation]. Retrieved from https://www.inclusivechildcare.org/resource-library/self-study/play-dates-helping-parents-promote-peer-interactions
- Center for Inclusive Child Care (CCI). On-line Self-Study Courses – These free courses offer an in-depth approach on many topics. Earn one CEU/10 clock hours ($25 processing fee) or college credit upon completion. CCIC just added the course, How to Teach Children to Know Their Own Engines: Developing Self-Regulation: This course will examine the important role that emotional regulation plays in a young child’s positive mental health. Impulse control is a key emotional milestone that is critical to a child’s self-esteem and social relationships with peers and adults. This course includes strategies that are part of a program’s physical and emotional setting as well as common interactions that encourage self-regulation. This course and all the courses are available online at http://www.inclusivechildcare.org/learning-self-study.cfm
- Greenspan, S. (n.d.). Six Stages to a Strong Self-image. Scholastic.com. Retrieved from http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/emotional-growth-and-its-link-learning-six-stages-strong-self-images
- Illinois Early Learning Project. (n.d.). Children’s Social Competence Checklist. Retrieved from https://illinoisearlylearning.org/tipsheets/checklist/
- Murray, D. W., Rosanbalm, K., & Christopoulos, C. (2017). Seven key principles of self-regulation and self-regulation in context (OPRE Report 2016-39) [PDF]. Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Retrieved from http://fpg.unc.edu/sites/fpg.unc.edu/files/resources/reports-and-policy-briefs/Seven%20Key%20Principles%20of%20Self-Regulation%20and%20Self%20Regulation%20in%20Context.pdf
- National AfterSchool Association (NAA). (n.d.). SEL to the core: building from foundational youth development to support social and emotional learning. Retrieved from https://childcareta.acf.hhs.gov/ncase-resource-library/sel-core-building-foundational-youth-development-support-social-and-emotional
- National Scientific Council on the Developing Child (2004). Young Children Develop in an Environment of Relationships; Working Paper No 1. Retrieved from http://developingchild.harvard.edu/resources/wp1/
- National Training Center on Inclusion: Kids Included Together (n.d.). Supporting Social-Emotional Needs. Retrieved from http://kit.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/2012_social_emotional_booklet_general_audience.html
- Ostrosky, M. M. & Medan, H. (2010). Helping Children Play and Learn Together. Young Children, 3(2); 104-110. Available online at https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283382802_Helping_children_play_and_learn_together
- Sesame Street in Communities. (n.d.) Exploring Emotions. Sesame Street with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Available online at https://sesamestreetincommunities.org/topics/emotions/
- Singer, D.G. (n.d.). The Power of Playing Together. Parent & Child. Retrieved from https://www.scholastic.com/parents/kids-activities-and-printables/activities-for-kids/arts-and-craft-ideas/power-playing-together.html
- Social Emotional Tips for Families with Infants (PDF) was developed for the Center for Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development. This document provides a set of (5) one-page posters that families can refer to during specific daily routines including: dressing, meal times, play time, resting and diapering. Each poster has (5) simple tips that parents can try with their child such as: following a child’s interests during playtime.
- STRIVE for 5! Early Childhood Educator Bootcamp is a hand-on program designed to give you instant tools and ideas to promote children’s early brain and language development and improve the quality of your early learning environment.
- U.S. Departments of Education and Health and Human Services & Too Small to Fail. (2017, January). Social and Emotional Toolkit on social and emotional development. All of the resources feature examples of simple actions to take, some of which caregivers might be doing already.
Videos and Learning Modules:
- Center for the Developing Child at Harvard University (n.d.). InBrief: Executive Function: Essential Skills for Life and Learning. Available online at: http://developingchild.harvard.edu/resources/multimedia/videos/
inbrief_series/inbrief_executive_function/.- Being able to focus, hold and work with information in mind, filter distractions, and switch gears is like having a sophisticated air traffic control system to manage information at a busy airport, In the brain, this mechanism is called executive function and self-regulation, a group of skills that, with the right formative experiences, begin to develop in early childhood and continue to improve through the early adult years. A new evidence base has identified these skills as essential for school achievement, success in work, and healthy lives. This two-page summary outlines how these lifelong skills develop, what can disrupt their development and how supporting them pays off in school and life. The brief is available in print and video format.
- Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations of Early Learning (CSEFEL) [Producer]. Practical Strategies [Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h973WVZ9eAw
- Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations of Early Learning (CSEFEL) [Producer]. Promoting Social and Emotional Competence [Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTl7rfcIhvM
- Talking is Teaching: Small Children have Big Feelings – this website provides videos and tipsheets to support a child’s social and emotional development. While they are resources aimed at supporting parents, these can be useful to early care and education professionals as well. check out their new resources with tips for understanding and managing your child’s behavior, and taking care of yourself during the challenging moments, too?
Websites:
- Early Head Start National Resource Center @ Zero to Three. – A web site from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families providing information on Early Head Start.
- National Association for the Education of Young Children. NAEYC is dedicated to improving the well-being of all young children, with particular focus on the quality of educational and developmental services for all children from birth through age eight. NAEYC publishes two periodicals, Young Children and Teaching Young Children. NAEYC is the largest professional membership association for early childhood educators.
- National Center for Cultural Competence. The Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development Web site. The mission of the National Center for Cultural Competence (NCCC) is to increase the capacity of health and mental health programs to design implement, and evaluate culturally and linguistically competent service delivery systems. http://nccc.georgetown.edu/
- The National Center for Pyramid Model Innovations (NCPMI) – The goals of the Center are to assist states and programs in their implementation of sustainable systems for the implementation of the Pyramid Model for Supporting Social Emotional Competence in Infants and Young Children (Pyramid Model) within early intervention and early education programs with a focus on promoting the social, emotional, and behavioral outcomes of young children birth to five, reducing the use of inappropriate discipline practices, promoting family engagement, using data for decision-making, integrating early childhood and infant mental health consultation and fostering inclusion.
- Sesame Street in Communities – Sesame Street’s new initiative which aims to help young children cope with adverse Childhood Experiences, or ACEs. Available online at https://sesamestreetincommunities.org/topics/traumatic-experiences/
- Shanker Self-Reg® Knowledge Series – The Shanker Self-Reg® Knowledge Series is an ever-growing collection of printable, shareable information sheets based on blogs and other materials developed by Dr. Shanker and The MEHRIT Centre Team.
- Zero to Three – A web site offering the “Nation’s Leading Resources on the First Years of Life”.
Updated: 09/11/2023
Funding for the 2011 update of the Growing Ideas Resources for Guiding Early Childhood Practices has been provided by the Maine Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Child and Family Services, Early Childhood Division.