Teaching Kindergarten students about empathy is hard. By nature they are self-centered at this age. This is not a bad thing. They are exploring their world and how to live in it. As a Kindergarten teacher, I am responsible to them to help broaden their world. Teaching empathy is the best place to start. While they are not all ready at the beginning of the year, I see a need to learn empathy during the winter months. Honestly, it is perfect because it goes right along with Valentine's Day.
How do you teach 5-year-olds to care for others? You talk about it! This month at our community circle, we are working on real-life situations in which children can relate. I have attached the situations we discuss as a class. I state the situation and we go around the circle discussing our feelings on the topic. Some can relate. Some can't. The goal is to imagine what this feels like and share.
We are reading a variety of books that relate to empathy. The first book we read is Stand in My Shoes by Bob Sornson. In this story Emily learns what it means to think about how others are feeling.
Finally, I want to give you the 5 ways to teach your children or class empathy. More and more students spend time with the tablet or phone. Less and less spend time with other people. Without these interactions, we are responsible to teach them how to relate to others.
With all the academics we are required to teach please think about this quote:
Imagine what your child can be if they learn this skill in Kindergarten? Amazing. The answer is AMAZING!
That's true and I know this very well as a kindergarten teacher. Thanks for sharing your tips and I will apply i soon. I used to follow https://typicalstudent.org/ where I found really good resources for students.
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