For children younger than 3 or 4 years old, an activities with a group parachute can encourage a cooperative effort and may require the children to synchronize their gross motor skills among peers. Simple tasks like, "making waves," with the parachute or "making a mushroom dome," show children how their individual actions affect the performance of the group. If one child lets go of her parachute handles before everyone else does, she sees that the parachute looks differently than if she had listened to the instructions and continued holding on tightly. Recognizing their ability to affect a greater outcome and the experience of their peers helps build a child's sense of empathy and understand teamwork.
One of the most effective ways for young children to learn behavior is through dramatic play. Kids don't need to understand all the intricacies of a game to improve their pro-social skills. For example, children playing, "house" or "animal hospital" apply caring, nurturing behaviors toward others and experience receiving similar caring, nurturing behavior from their peers. The reciprocal relationship of caring and helping others, even in a pretend setting, furthers a child's understanding of these pro-social behaviors.
Children struggling with pro-social behaviors often benefit from the guidance of a responsible adult who can identify and redirect pro-social behavior. If, for example, a child refuses to share, the adult can offer guidance by saying, "Josh, Dillon likes playing with the hammer too, just like you like playing with it. Let's give Dillon a turn so he can have fun with the hammer and then he'll give you a turn. That way you can both play with the toy you want." Such mediation shows both children how to look at the situation from the perspective of the other and encourages pro-social behaviors like compromise and sharing.
Baking a cake with a small group of three or four children fosters pro-social skills in a collaborative and structured environment. For example, it's physically impossible to have all four kids stirring the cake batter at one time, which offers an opportunity for the teacher to explain, or discuss, with the kids some ways they can all participate in making the cake. Younger kids will need a little more guidance, but older children will suggest taking turns. The children also enjoy the physical result of their sharing and cooperative effort when they get to eat the cake.