Recess: Social Skills Activities

Social Skills Activites & Development for Children is Crucial

Feb 25, 2009
bubble 6 comments
Submitted by: Ginny Deerin

According to a story in the New York Times, “New research suggests that play and down time may be as important to a child’s academic experience as reading, science and math, and that regular recess, fitness or nature time can influence behavior, concentration and even grades.”

WINGS is the only organization in the United States focusing solely on teaching social skills to children within after school programs.  We think it’s a great place for the social development of children because it allows us to use social skills activities to teach small lessons while kids are playing and socializing.

According to the Times, “Young rats denied opportunities for rough-and-tumble play develop numerous social problems in adulthood. They fail to recognize social cues and the nuances of rat hierarchy; they aren’t able to mate. By the same token, people who play as children “learn to handle life in a much more resilient and vital way,” said Dr. Stuart Brown, the author of the new book “Play: How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination and Invigorates the Soul” (Avery).

Read all about it and make sure the kids you love get recess!

Visit WINGS: Learn more about our social skills activities, read about our life skill curriculum and our social and emotional intelligence development program.

Relational activities

On September 26th, 2010 Huan Pedro says:

Relational activities encourage the child to reference other people's faces in very rewarding teaching methods. Simple cause-and-effect activities work really well with this approach. Peek-a-book is a great example because it deliberately prompts the child to look at the other person and it reinforces object permanence. There is an element of cause-and-effect as well. Other relational activities include:

Interactive Activities
  • Modeling
  • Face games
  • Reading
  • Musical instruments

Humans need social skills activities

On March 13th, 2009 Tony Smith says:
Humans need social interaction for survival. Therefore, it would be accurate to say that those with a strong social and emotional education will live better lives. Recess is the best time to reinforce this education. At first glance, recess is a simple and meaningless time for kids to run around. If you dig deeper, you discover that kids learn about team work, friendship, personal strengths, and more. An example using a common social skills activity - in kick ball strong kickers go first, each individual adds to the team's score, and team mates high five to share happiness.

Kids act different in different settings

On March 4th, 2009 cristy mccrery says:
WINGS is great for many reasons, but one in particular, it incorporates social and emotional learning skills to be taught within 4-5 different areas (Community Unity, Freeplay, WINGSWorks, Academic Time, and Choice Times) in 4 hours. Kids are all unique and special in their own way. I think kids often respond and react to the environment that they are in. For instance, a kid who might be shy in a classroom setting could be loud and boisterous during Freeplay (recess). Or the opposite could happen. WINGS allows program directors and WINGSLeaders to see how kids react in different settings, which in turn, helps us see how and what social and emotional skill kids may need to work on and what social skills activities the might best benefit from. The quiet kid in the classroom could be wreckless on the playground. Or, the wreckless kid in the classroom might be a lonely kid on the playground. Not only is running around healthy, but it helps us see what SEL skill a kid might need to brush up on by watching them interact with others, or the lack of interaction they might be experiencing.

Standing on the Fence

On February 27th, 2009 Nicole Lovecchio says:
It never fails, each time I pass the playground during recess, I see a long line of kids standing on the fence watching everyone else play. I usually know many of them because they also attend WINGS. These are always the kids that are full of energy. I always think to myself, they are probably on the fence because they were super excited in school and couldn't sit still. Then they have to stand on the fence for the entire 20 minute recess period while other kids get to run off their energy. I wonder what happens to them the second half of the day. I'm sure they continue to get in trouble because they didn't get any exercise. The kids who are playing at recess are usually with their friends, but all the adults are sitting and watching them play. There's no interaction between adults and kids and I'm sure there is no social skills activities planned or being taught. While at WINGS, we have Freeplay time for 20 minutes two times as week. This is time for the kids to play around, be with their friends, and burn off energy. If kids have to "sit out", it's only ever for 5 minutes. Any longer and the kids would get restless and cause problems for the rest of the day. During this time, all WINGSLeaders are fully engaged with the kids. No one is standing around watching. We are totally involved in what the kids are doing. It is the easiest time to incorporate our social skills activities and teachings. This is where we see kids living their lives, making their choices, and can catch them making mistakes. When we are on the level of the kids, playing football, shooting hoops, swinging on the swings, they respect us and are more willing to listen to the life lessons we are sharing with them. Nicole Lovecchio Program Director WINGS @ Chicora Elementary

Agreed - Social Skills Activities are Crucial

On February 27th, 2009 Liz Mester says:

One of my favorite quotes from Ginny Deerin was featured in a Charleston Business Review article.  "A little league coach teaches kids how to hit a baseball.  A little league coach with WINGS also teaches them how to handle it if they miss," said Deerin.  Recess is a great place to put social skills activities and what WINGS teaches into action.  So many of life's teachable moments happen on the playground, and a school with WINGS and strong social and emotional skills is equiped to handle these moments with ease. 

More teachable moments

On February 25th, 2009 Bridget Laird says:

I think play time also offers many more opportunities to teach social and emotional skills to kids. At school kids have to sit in their seats and learn all day. During play time, natural opportunities arise to have fun with social skills activities and teach SEL skills. For example, two kids leave a third child out of their activity. A great opportunity to work with the two kids on "getting inside the shoes" of the child that has been left out. The social skills activities we do with the kids are also a lot of fun and let the kids play with each other and have lots of fun while learning important lessons.

Bridget Laird