An important social skill for children to learn is sharing. Because preschoolers learn best through play, you can teach this social emotional skill through a well-planned game or activity. An easy activity that's fun and teaches children to share is crayon box sharing. Ask a group of children -- no more than eight -- to draw a picture with one box of eight crayons. Each preschooler in the group will receive his or her own piece of paper, but the entire group must share a box of crayons. Tell the preschoolers that they must figure out how to share the crayons in a fair manner. This activity can also be done with just the parent and child. After the pictures have been drawn, the preschoolers should take turns and talk about how they decided to share the crayons.
A social emotional skill that preschoolers need to learn is how to handle new experiences and situations without being scared. Fears normally develop during the preschool years, and preschoolers need to learn how to handle separation from their parents. An activity that will get your preschooler to try new things and not be afraid of new situations is to put on a puppet show.
Help your child make his own puppet. You can make sock puppets or puppets made from paper plates that are mounted on craft sticks. Using a puppet, tell your preschooler about a new situation that made you nervous or scared before it happened. Then, tell him how surprised you were when it ended up being a fun and happy experience. Ask your preschooler to share his own experience through the puppet. Was he scared at first, but then it ended up being a lot of fun?
Because fears start to develop in the preschool years, you'll want to help boost your child's confidence and get him ready for preschool. A good social emotional activity is to ask your preschooler to make courage cards. All you'll need for this activity is blank index cards and crayons. Ask your preschooler what helps him not be scared in frightening situations. This may be a favorite teddy bear or having mom and dad nearby. Ask your child to draw whatever makes him feel braver on the index card. You can laminate this card and give this to your preschooler to carry around in his pocket or jacket. He will always have a courage card to give him strength in scary situations.
Reading is a social emotional activity that both child and parent will enjoy. A good story can teach your preschooler about rules, what happens when you break the rules, and why using self-control is important from reading stories. There are a number of picture books and stories on the market that are aimed at teaching children lessons. After you finish the story, discuss what happened in the story with your preschooler.