Hey! Good news. We have a podcast. It’s still in its infancy and we’re working out the kinks, but we’d love for you to check it out. It’s called The Kid in Me and is hosted by Sherri O. and Olivia. The Kid in Me is a production of And I Still Fly and focuses on topics of interest that kids encounter daily, looking at them from an adult perspective – but with “the kid in me” in mind. Listen on our site at https://www.andistillfly.com/podcast, or at https://anchor.fm/andistillflyoffical/episodes/Episode-2-Social-Media-e4g657.
For our 2nd episode, the chat topic is about the pros and cons of social media – in honor of Social Media Day, June 30th.
We’re all about friendship in Kaleidoscope Garden and today is “Best Friends Day” – one of our favorite days of the year. Do you have plans to share the day with your best friend? Lulu Noire takes a moment to reflect on hers … check it out.
We really appreciate those who support us and were excited to see what a few Amazon customers had to say about I’m a Different Butterfly. For your support, we’re saying, “Thank you.”
Hi, everyone. Summer is almost here. The weather is so nice and because of this I decided to wander about my neighborhood. But, I went too far and got lost. Thankfully, along the way, reminders of my friends help me get back to Kaleidoscope Garden. National Scavenger Hunt Day was May 24th – right around the time I lost my way. So, I decided to treat each reminder like a clue and I made it home. Yay!!! See what happened below.
We’re at the end of our amazing and informative interview with Jennifer S. Miller – author and illustrator of the Confident Parents, Confident Kids blog – on incorporating social and emotional learning in summer camps. This last question sums up SEL in school districts and gives a few resources to reference.
LN: Nationwide, is SEL being incorporated in school districts like it should be?
JSM: Yes and no. Nationwide, there are numerous models of schools, districts, and states that are working thoughtfully to integrate what we know about advancing children’s academic, social, and emotional development into their curriculum, policies, and practices. Yet, this is not a passing educational trend. In order for our educational systems to genuinely meet the needs of children, social and emotional learning is essential – not a nice-to-have or add-on. These skills are fundamental to our children’s success. And so, every school, not a chosen, progressive few, need to have the advantage of learning about and advancing their agenda on the best ways to incorporate social and emotional learning into what they do. For example, in my area, it is the private, high tuition schools that integrate social and emotional learning in a focused way and not the public schools. This has to change. In fact, when schools do become intentional and focused on SEL, it not only contributes to child well-being, but also to teacher, staff, and family well-being so that the entire school community benefits.
To understand more about how SEL is fundamental to learning, check out the videos by Edutopia and the Aspen Institute entitled, “How Learning Happens.”
It’s day four of our interview series with social and emotional learning expert, Jennifer S. Miller. Here’s what she had to say about incorporating SEL in topic focused camps:
LN: There are general summer camps and camps that focus on specialized topics (i.e. STEM, art, music, dance, sports, etc.). Is it important for the specialized camps to consider SEL concepts? If so, what are some tips as to how these camps should go about incorporating SEL in their programs?
JSM: All camps whether general or specialized will better serve youth if they look at specific ways to integrate social and emotional learning (SEL) into their everyday operations. For example, consider how you can create a daily routine of helping campers build trusting relationships with one another and the staff, in enjoyable ways?
Check out the cooperative games listed on the Confident Parents, Confident Kids’ site. I also love the book Adventures In Peacemaking by William Kriedler for simple, fun, easy-to-implement cooperative games that promote skills. Another great resource is 99 Activities and Greeting by Melissa Corea-Connelly.
Also, all camps know that they will need to help children manage their big emotions as they go through their days. Prepare a plan for those big feelings?
For staff members, check out the Emotional Safety Plan, a one-page template for creating your own plan for calming down in those challenging moments. Additionally, staff can benefit significantly from reviewing the ages and stages/developmental milestones their campers are working on. Check out the NBC Parent Toolkit for age/stage information across academic, social and emotional and physical development areas. In addition, there are helpful pamphlets that offer ages/stages information by grade level – check out Yardsticks Guides.
Happy Wednesday, everyone. We’re on Part 3 of our interview series with Jennifer S. Miller, social and emotional learning (SEL) expert. An extremely informed and knowledgeable resource for the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), Ms. Miller outlines SAFE, an effective SEL approach that camps can utilize when incorporating social skills efforts.
LN: I saw something on CASEL’s site about effective approaches to SEL. They mentioned the acronym SAFE. Can you speak a little more about this approach and how it can be incorporated in summer programs?
JSM: Yes! SAFE is the four elements required for an effective social and emotional learning approach. They are:
Sequenced: Connected and coordinated activities to foster skills development. In other words, programs build social and emotional learning activities and experiences that are developmentally appropriate. Scaffold children’s current knowledge to build upon their strengths and introduce new skill building opportunities through modeling, practicing, and creating positive, caring environments for learning.
Active: Active forms of learning to help students master new skills and attitudes. As staff decide upon activities – how can they consider specific social and emotional goals for those activities? For example, instead of doing a solitary craft, have children engage in a collaborative craft? Perhaps they plan and craft a paper animal as a team with staff members’ guidance on how each child can play an important role. Summer camp offers numerous opportunities for campers to actively build social and emotional skills, if staff become intentional about them. Also, reflecting on the relationships, the feelings involved, and the goals set and worked toward, can offer an opportunity to boost the social and emotional lessons of any activity.
Focused: A component that emphasizes developing personal and social skills. Summer programs have the opportunity to set focused goals on social and emotional skill building. Think about…
What skills do you plan to focus on?
How will you exercise them in age-appropriate ways day-to-day?
Explicit: Target specific social and emotional skills. If summer program staff become intentional about building specific skills in planned activities, they can become explicit about targeting learning outcomes. For example, staff might plan a self-awareness activity in which a child works with another to trace his body and in addition to drawing how he looks, he can label various interests and personality traits.
LN: What is the difference between character-building and SEL?
JSM: Social and emotional learning (SEL) is character-building in that it prepares children with all of the vital skills they need to be kind to themselves and others and make responsible choices. Character-building is not social and emotional learning – though, in my mind, it can mean one instance of enduring a difficult situation and coming through it stronger. They do interplay with one another since character-building can be about resiliency and people are only resilient if they develop social and emotional skills. I think of social and emotional learning (SEL) as more comprehensive and intentional. It doesn’t just happen because of life circumstances. We, as caring educators and parents, have to become focused and intentional about offering our children many opportunities in a supportive environment to cultivate the skills that will help them become confident, caring, contributing, and responsible adults.
We’re continuing our conversation with social and emotional learning (SEL) expert, Jennifer S. Miller. She’s the author and illustrator of the Confident Parents, Confident Kids blog and she’s sharing tips on how to incorporate SEL in the summer camp experience.
LN: Summer is right around the corner and many children will be attending summer camps and programs. What can these programs do to incorporate SEL in their activities?
JSM: Summer camps and programs offer a unique opportunity to advance children’s social and emotional skills because of the spirit of exploration and fun that are expected to accompany the summer sunshine. Staff can:
Explore ways to play daily name games,
Offer regular personal sharing opportunities,
Play cooperative games offering ways to deepen trusting connections between, and among children and staff and to exercise teamwork and collaboration skills.
Some camps bring kids together from a variety of neighborhoods, offering them a chance to deepen their social awareness and relationship skills as they form new friendships and experiences through socialization with others they may not normally encounter in their own schools and neighborhoods. Exploring nature is another opportunity to build empathy. Staff can lead studies of trees, plants, and animals and how best to care for, and become, stewards for the environment.
One study compared a group of preteens who spent five days in nature with no screen time with a demographically similar group of preteens at home who engaged in regular activities including daily screen time. That study showed that the children who spent the time in nature after only five days were more skilled at taking social cues including nonverbals and understanding each other’s emotions. That short time spent with peers in nature enhanced their abilities to connect and communicate with one another.
Study Reference:Uhls, Y. T., Michikyan, M., Morris, J., Garcia, D., Small, G. W., Zgourou, E., Greenfield, P. M., (2014). Five days at outdoor education camp without screens improves preteen skills with nonverbal emotion cues. Computers in Human Behavior, 39, 387-392.
And what about the big feelings that happen at summer camp — for both campers and staff members alike? There will be skinned knees and hurt feelings. So instead of merely packing a first-aid kit, why not plan for those big feelings? Questions to keep in mind…
Is there a comforting-spot where campers can choose to go when they feel upset and need some time to calm down? Is there a buddy plan between camp staff in which one staff member who is frustrated can call on their buddy to take over while they take a moment to calm down?
Planning ahead for the big feelings that happen when we are
working with children is not a sign of weakness but of strength. We’ll be ready
to respond with our best, most emotionally intelligent selves in those tough
moments. Introduce campers to those plans so that they are aware in advance and
can build their self-management skills by self-selecting the calm down spot and
taking care of their needs.
LN: Can SEL be incorporated in to play (playtime)? If so, what are your suggestions for doing so?
JSM: The mere setting of a collaborative goal with children helps set a mindset for teamwork. The same is true for competition, if that goal is set by adults. So why not build the ability to work together by reflecting on what collaboration looks like in play and setting a goal for it? Then, when playtime is over, reflect on what they did well and what they could improve upon for next time. Play naturally involves the building of social and emotional skills so while children are playing – aside from providing imaginative tools and toys and a safe environment – staff can stand back and let children do their thing.
This week, And I Still Fly is focusing on social and emotional learning (SEL) at camp. The objective of our children’s book series, Lulu Noire’s Black Butterfly Tales®, is to promote positive social interaction among children. The current school year is coming to an end and many of you plan to have your kids attend summer camp. While some of you are hardworking, fun-loving camp facilitator’s who want to create a warm, exciting, and inclusive environment during those few weeks. Well, our 5-part interview series with SEL expert, author, and illustrator Jennifer S. Miller shares answers to all of your questions on the subject.
Meet Jennifer S. Miller, a social and emotional learning (SEL) expert.
JSM: Social and emotional learning (SEL) is how we come to more deeply understand who we are and how we can relate to and understand others, including those we view as different from us in ways that strengthen relationships and do not harm. These skills — including self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision-making — allow us to set and advance toward our own goals and authentically collaborate with others. We never stop engaging in our social and emotional learning from childhood through our adult lives.
LN: List some benefits of SEL.
JSM: Social and emotional skills serve as the foundation for all of our relationships, including the one we have with ourselves. We require these skills in order to accomplish positive, healthy goals we set and to grow and sustain our most important relationships with our family, friends, work colleagues, and more.
LN: How long has this form of learning been around and when did it start becoming popular? Is it popular?
JSM: Social and emotional learning has always existed. Every time a parent chooses a reaction in response to a feeling, they are teaching their child about their values. Every time a teacher reacts to a child’s big feelings in the classroom, they are teaching that child about appropriate reactions to that moment. The field of research and specific term “social and emotional learning” was coined in 1994 when national thought leaders came together to form CASEL – the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning with the charge of defining what SEL is and looks like. Since that time, there has been a robust research and practice knowledge base that has been established and shared by multiple organizations and stakeholders to show how SEL has a direct impact on academic achievement, on child well-being factors, and on children’s future success in higher education, career achievements, and sustained, healthy family and community relationships.
TO BE CONTINUED…
From Confident Parents, Confident Kids – Jennifer S. Miller has more than 20 years of experience working with educators and families to help them become more effective with children through social and emotional learning (SEL).
To all the camp directors and counselors out there, this is for you… Are you ready for summer camp to begin? Are you working on program details, setting up field trips, and finalizing your camp attendees’ lists? As you put together free-time ideas for the young ones, keep Lulu Noire’s Black Butterfly Tales® in mind?
Our free-access printable activities sheets include coloring pages, matching, crossword puzzles, word searches, and word play. To view and download all of our activities sheets for fun free-time, visit our Pinterest page. For a sampling of the sheets, see below or click on the “Printable Activities” link at the top of this page.
Lulu Noire, Behind the Tales 