Social Emotional Competence In Young Children

WHCC works to promote social emotional development in children ages Birth to 5. Social Emotional Competence is a process through which we all learn to recognize and manage emotions, care about others, make good decisions, behave ethically and responsibly, and develop positive relationships. The Social-Emotional area of development focuses on the ability of children to form close and secure relationships with adults and peers, and to experience, express and regulate their own emotions.

It has been proven that teaching social emotional skills leads to improved academic achievement, strengthens relationships, decreases challenging behaviors, and creates safe and caring environments.  

WHCC requests that teaching and administrative staff obtain some training in social emotional development, whether it be with Conscious Discipline, the Pyramid Model for Social-Emotional Competence, PBIS (Positive, Behavioral Interventions and Supports) or other training.   Staff implement supportive and responsive strategies as they plan their days, activities and interactions with the children along with the adults they work with each day.

In our work towards program Implementation of social emotional competence, the staff of Woods Hollow collaborated to identify four program wide expectations.  These expectations were created to guide us in how we work with children in our care along with how we work with other adults in the Center, including co-workers and parents.  The expectations are the foundations of how we make decisions in supporting social-emotional development and individualizing strategies to meet the needs of children and families.

WHCC’s Program Wide Expectations are:

·         Be Safe

·         Be Responsible

·         Be Kind

·         Be Respectful