Teaching Social Skills with Preschool Games

EI Editor Posted On Dec 21, 2022

Did you know you can teach social and emotional learning skills with games?

The pandemic interrupted a huge part of preschool learning: social skills! Without the opportunity to learn and develop social and emotional skills, many young kids today struggle to take turns, develop friendships, manage emotions, and more.

How can you help your child develop these skills? With preschool games!

Games inherently include SEL (social and emotional learning) concepts within their gameplay, which make them the perfect tool to help teach your kids the skills they need to succeed. Some SEL skills you can learn in games are:

Document

Taking turns
Sportsmanship
Managing and regulating emotions
Teamwork
Empathy
Patience
Goal setting and achieving
Resposible decision making
Memory and attention skills

Plus, our preschool games also teach key early learning skills like color matching, patterns, and fine motor skills to set them up for school success.

We’ve put together a list of some of our preschool games paired with what SEL and early learning concepts they teach so you can find the perfect tool for your kids! Check them out:

1. The Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel Game®:

This award-winning game teaches color matching and fine motor skills as kids use the squeezer to grab color-coded acorns. It also practices taking turns, sportsmanship, and managing emotions!

2. Pancake Pile-Up!™ Relay Game:

Fine motor skills, balance, pattern matching, and coordination all take a front row seat in this relay-race game! Plus, practice teamwork and collaboration, taking turns and patience, and good sportsmanship. More of a tea party family? Try Teacup Pile-Up!™ Relay Game(game pieces double as a tea set)!

3. Pete the Cat® I Love My Buttons Game:

Spin to win and practice shape recognition, color matching, and fine motor skills. Key SEL skills in this game are taking turns, managing emotions, and goal-setting. (Also try Pete the Cat® I Love My White Shoes Game.)

4. Raccoon Rumpus™:

Two games in one! Practice math, matching, and fine motor skills and then use the cards to play a memory matching game! Kids will also practice SEL concepts like memory and attention skills, decision making, and goal-setting and achieving!

5. Robot Face Race™:

This fast-paced memory game practices visual discrimination, fine motor skills, coordination, and memory-matching! Plus, learn to be a good sport, win and lose gracefully, be empathetic, and manage emotions

We hope this was helpful! SEL is an important part of school readiness and we want to help you prepare your kid for success.