Young Children's Social Emotional Learning

Book excerpt: Young Children's Social Emotional Learning: The COPE-Resilience Program is a manual that is designed to support early childhood educators in the delivery of the COPE Resilience (COPE-R) program, an evidence-based program designed to teach empathy, resilience and prosocial skills to children. Grounded in extensive research and experience in psychology and early childhood, the program is built on a series of activities that help children develop their capacity for emotional understanding, caring for others, open communication, polite and respectful behaviours, and empathic sharing. The manual includes: Theoretical concepts underpinning COPE-R such as self-regulation, emotional intelligence, positive psychology, coping, resilience, and wellbeing in early childhood education. A "How-To" section to guide readers in the implementation of COPE-R. Over 40 activities templates (including examples of teacher’s adaptations) with easy to navigate icon legends. Facilitator notes and considerations for working with younger children and children of diverse backgrounds. Teaching tips for each of the topic areas and a feature piece on the insights from an early childhood teacher who is experienced in implementing COPE-R. Supplementary materials, including a set of situation and coping images. Each activity includes directions for children as well as guidelines for educators, and is designed to be used flexibly in various early learning contexts, enabling educators to select activities that best suit their setting.