Teaching social-emotional learning (SEL) to PreK students is, arguably, even more important than academics! But, doing so can be intimidating for elementary school counselors with our little friends’ short attention spans, fidgety and squirrely nature, and lack of foundational skills. These little learners are just beginning to understand their feelings, build relationships, and interact with the world around them. They are little sponges who are so eager to learn…as long as we adjust our teaching style to meet them where they are.

Use these 9 tips for teaching PreK classroom guidance lessons and feel confident you’re providing engaging, interactive, and memorable learning for your littlest learners!

Is Teaching SEL Reallllly Important in PreK?

Social-emotional learning is absolutely critical to healthy development. For our PreK friends, they are just starting to develop foundational skills like emotional regulation, self-awareness, and social skills.

Research shows that early SEL instruction leads to greater academic performance, better emotional health, and less behavioral issues throughout the school years. 

All of these skills (and more!) will carry students through the rest of their school experience and well into adulthood. By introducing SEL early on, you’re giving students a head start in life!

 9 Tips for Teaching PreK SEL and Counseling Lessons

Use these 9 practical tips to make your PreK classroom guidance lessons more effective (and fun)!

1. Establish Routines

First, focus on establishing routines. Young learners thrive in structured environments! 

Establishing routines from the beginning helps students feel secure and know what to expect when you enter their classroom for a classroom guidance lesson. 

Consider beginning each lesson with a song or greeting. I loved starting my lessons with the “freeze dance” to get my kiddos up and moving, and get those “wiggles” out! Closing each lesson with a “goodbye song” or “farewell chant” is another great way to bring consistency to your lessons.

This sense of familiarity and stability go hand-in-hand with a positive learning experience.

2. Use Visual Aids

Next, use visual aids. Kiddos at this age are very visual learners, so using posters, cards with pictures, storybooks, or interactive charts and activities is essential!

Visual aids help little learners understand abstract SEL concepts in more concrete ways.

PreK Pro Tip: Use a feelings chart when teaching about emotions and allow students to point to how they’re feeling.

Here’s a FREE one that is very PreK friendly and includes a coloring page, too!

3. Keep It Hands-On

With this age group, keep learning hands-on as much as possible. Kids learn best when they’re actively involved. 

Use hands-on activities like sensory play (play-dough, sensory bins), finger painting, role-playing, blocks, other manipulatives, songs/chants, centers, and games while teaching PreK SEL. Bring in realia to make their learning come alive.

PreK Pro Tip: Use puppets to act out scenarios that involve different SEL concepts like sharing, turn-taking, using kind words, and problem-solving. Puppets are great story-telling tools, too!

4. Encourage Exploration

Knowing that PreK kiddos are naturally curious, plan your counseling sessions accordingly. Let them explore different ways to express themselves and solve social problems. 

Vary your instructional methods and tools/materials you bring. One lesson may involve a story book, the next puppets, and the next a dance/song. This variety keeps kids interested, excited, and engaged!

Ask open-ended questions like, “What can we do if a friend is feeling sad?”. Avoid questions that expect a yes/no or one-word response.

Allow space and time for free and dramatic play.

Reinforce students’ curiosity by saying things like, “I love how you’re trying so many ways to solve that problem!”

This encourages them to begin to problem-solve and build important critical thinking skills. 

5. Allow Time for Play

Remember, playtime is learning time for our little learners! Play-based learning is essential for cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development. Integrating play into your counseling lessons and sessions makes them more engaging and impactful. 

According to research published in Front Psychology, children learn essential social-emotional skills through play such as:

• Cooperation
• Empathy 
• Communication 
• Emotional regulation

Including time to play is a wise choice for our PreK friends!

6. Break Tasks into Smaller Steps

Another helpful tip for teaching PreK classroom guidance lessons is to break “to-do’s” into smaller steps. With their limited attention spans, children this age can easily become overwhelmed by tasks with multiple or complex steps.

Highlighting manageable steps helps students focus and successfully complete a task on their own. This fosters independence and self-esteem!

PreK pro tip: Provide visuals that show students the steps you are asking them to take to complete the task. For example, if they need to get out their scissors and markers to complete a project, display a picture of scissors and a picture of markers on the board so they can easily follow along. “First,” “Then” visuals are very helpful, too!

7. Be Patient and Flexible

Patience & flexibility are so important when working with this population. Most PreK friends lack foundational skills and background knowledge, so it takes them longer to complete tasks and understand concepts. Be flexible and give yourself permission to adjust your methods and materials based on your students’ needs. 

Keep in mind the “Rule of 7:” research shows that people need to encounter new information about 7 times in different contexts before it is fully learned and committed to long-term memory. Our PreK friends are babies and a lot of the material you teach may be new to them!

Ways to Practice Patience:

• Revisit topics more often than you do with older children
• Give multiple examples to ensure students understand
• Repeat directions
• Reword questions and use concise language

Every child, no matter what age, learns at their own pace— and that’s okay!

8. Incorporate Movement

Don’t forget to consider PreK students’ energy level and short attention span as you plan your counseling lessons. 4-year-olds have an average attention span of 8-12 minutes, but this varies greatly from child to child, and also depends on their level of interest in the activity.

Incorporating movement into SEL lessons keeps little ones engaged and helps them absorb material better! 

PreK Pro Tip: Use songs, charades, chants, dances, centers, and role-play as movement-based activities.

9. Use Concise Language

Finally, choose age-appropriate language when communicating with PreK students. Their language skills are still developing and their vocabularies are limited, so it’s important to use simple, clear language. Here are some tips for you:

• Use short sentences
• Repeat yourself often
• Avoid complex words
• Speak slowly and clearly
• Use gestures and visuals
• Get on their level: kneel down and make eye contact
• Use a calm, friendly tone
• Ask questions to check for understanding

For example, instead of saying, “Show empathy to your friends,” say, “Let’s think about how our friends feel.”

Simply rewording conversations and lesson prompts can make it easier for little ones to understand and apply what they’re learning!

Use Engaging Resources to Teach PreK Counseling Lessons

To go a step further, use tried-and-true resources that are specifically designed for teaching PreK SEL and classroom guidance lessons.

Making Good Choices Lesson

This fun lesson helps even the littlest learners understand expected behaviors and classroom rules. It uses simple visuals, bright colors, and very little text, making it ideal for PreK. And I love using a pocket chart to make learning interactive!

This lesson makes applying the 9 tips you just learned easy, breezy!

Friendship Lesson

This cute lesson teaches children the qualities of a good friend and how to make and keep friends.  

It uses an adorable story about a rainbow that teaches kiddos 5 ways to be a good friend: one for each color of the rainbow!

Your students will love the rainbow craft! It also makes for great coloring and cutting practice.

Teaching PreK SEL and counseling lessons can be one of the most rewarding parts of your job as an elementary school counselor. By establishing routines, using engaging resources and hands-on activities, and keeping things playful, you can help your students develop skills they will use for life. Happy teaching!