Guest author: Courtney Cooper, ASM Learning Specialist
Social-emotional learning (SEL) plays a crucial role in the development of children, as it equips them with the necessary skills to manage their emotions, build healthy relationships, and make responsible decisions. By fostering emotional intelligence, empathy, and self-regulation, SEL empowers children to navigate their social environments more effectively and handle life’s challenges with resilience. Research shows that SEL in schools leads to improved academic outcomes and reduces stress and anxiety. As we embark on a lifelong journey of emotional growth, we focus on fostering strong connections between our students and their wider community.
As ASM’s Learning Specialist, I have the privilege of visiting the Children’s House and Lower Elementary classrooms to introduce our social-emotional curriculum, Slumberkins. Slumberkins is an emotional learning program designed to help children build confidence, resilience, and empathy. The curriculum emphasizes SEL in a way that encourages positive connections among students, teachers, and the greater ASM community, helping students understand they are not alone in their emotional development.
During our time together, we focus on recognizing, naming, and embracing our emotions, and we explore how these feelings influence our decisions and actions. Slumberkins takes a “Connect-to-Grow” approach, promoting a more mindful and compassionate world by supporting children to:
- Recognize, accept, and learn from their emotions, both big and small
- Strengthen relationships through meaningful interactions in everyday life
- Embrace their true selves and appreciate the diversity of the world around them
- Build a foundation for a lifetime of confidence, empathy, and resilience
At ASM, we place great importance on social-emotional learning, in line with Maria Montessori’s belief that children should have the opportunity to understand and explore their emotions as part of their learning journey. We are proud of the progress we continue to make in this area.
