Adopting an interpretivist perspective grounded in symbolic interactionism, this article explores the types of interactional strategies used by K-5 teachers to develop social and emotional learning (SEL) with their students in Aotearoa New Zealand. A case study design was followed using interviews, audio from lesson video recordings, field notes, and qualitative data analysis techniques. Three major themes demonstrated teachers' cultivation of SEL through the following interactional strategies: dialogic interaction, modeling behavior, and role-playing. Through interpreting teachers' experiences of implementing interactional SEL strategies, we can see that such teaching and learning requires deliberate attention to the social processes involved in every part of the overt and hidden curriculum of schools. We call on researchers to further examine the subjective nature of elementary teachers and students' SEL development through these intricate interactions to help students learn and apply SEL.