ERIC Number: EJ1379773
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2022
Pages: 7
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1068-6177
EISSN: N/A
Teacher Tools to Support Calm, Self-Control, and Resilience in Preschool
Cutler, Carrie; Johnson, Adrienne
Dimensions of Early Childhood, v50 n3 p26-32 2022
The psychological and cognitive impacts of COVID-19 on children are still unfolding; however, several researchers have noted negative effects of quarantine on youth (Orgilés et al., 2020) and parents (Fontanesi et al., 2020). The abrupt departure from preschool due to social distancing and potential family disharmony associated with financial and health concerns put children at risk for toxic stress--the type resulting from prolonged activation of stress response systems in the body. Because consistently high levels of stress affect children's brain development by impairing neural connections related to higher order thinking and problem solving (Harvard Center on the Developing Child, 2020), teachers must actively support children's social and emotional health. Teachers already do many things to help mitigate the negative effects of traumatic situations. These supports include communicating frequently with families, creating safe physical and emotional classroom spaces, offering compassion and support, allowing children to express emotions, and using positive guidance techniques (Hill & Adesanya, 2019). The authors believe these strategies are important foundations for shielding children from the effects of toxic stress, but because they are also widely used, our article directs teachers to some lesser known helpful approaches. This article presents a five-piece toolkit for bolstering feelings of calm, self-control, and resilience based on the following: "Movement," "Mindfulness," "Sensory Experiences," "Acts of Kindness," and "Children's Literature."
Descriptors: Preschool Education, Preschool Children, Educational Practices, Self Control, Resilience (Psychology), Psychological Patterns, Emotional Development, Stress Management, Movement Education, Metacognition, Sensory Experience, Well Being, Mental Health, Emotional Experience
Southern Early Childhood Association. PO Box 8109
Jacksonville, AR 72078. Tel: 501-221-1648. e-mail: info@seca.info; Web site: www.seca.info/dimensions
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Early Childhood Education; Preschool Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A