Relationship Skills
Skills like communicating clearly, listening, cooperation, resisting negative pressure, resolving conflicts, supporting one another
As we all settle into new routines – learning from home, working from home (thank you essential workers!), and spending endless hours together in shared spaces – we have a sneaking suspicion you’re experiencing a full range of emotions. We are, too! This is normal, healthy, and expected. So, what better time to intentionally practice – and grow – our social emotional skills?
We’ve put together a list of resources for you and your kids, broken down by grade level. Below you will find a book to read with follow-up questions, discussion prompts for family mealtime, and a hands-on activity – all centered on relationship skills.
We hope these social emotional resources find a place in your new routine and allow you and your family to have fun while checking-in with each other’s emotional health. #We’reAllInThisTogether
For Grades K-2
💡 book to read
The Crayon Box That Talked by Shane Derolf and Michael Letzig | Read-aloud version
Four Follow-up Questions:
- What does the crayon box need to work on in order to be a better team?
- What did the crayon box get better at by the end of the story?
- What are some ways the crayons could be more kind and caring to one another?
- What teams have you been on? What did you do to be a good teammate?
💡Table talk & dinner prompts
Use mealtime intentionally as a check-in time
- What is one thing you can do to be a good teammate?
- What is a compliment you could give to someone else?
- What is one thing you can do to help out around the house?
💡ACTIVITY
Move It, Move It
Goal: To practice working together, even when it’s tough
Supplies: Miscellaneous items around the house
Instructions:
- Explain to your child that you two must work together to get an object from one side of the room to the other.
- The trick is that you both can only use one finger to carry the object.
- Anything around the house will work as the object but some ideas include a ball, book, or water bottle, etc.
- To make this more challenging, you can incorporate obstacles along the way, a bench you have to step over, a towel you have to hop over, a rope to walk on, etc.
For Grades 3-5
💡CLIp to watch
Count on Me by Bruno Mars | Clip here
Four Questions for Follow-Up:
- How did this video make you feel?
- How do you show your friends that they can count on you?
- What are some things you look for in a good friend?
- What was the last kind thing a friend did for you?
💡Table talk & dinner prompts
Use mealtime intentionally as a check-in time
- What has your best friend done to earn your trust?
- Give praise to someone else at the table for something they’ve done this past week.
- Think of a time you were on a team. Tell me something you did to help your team succeed.
💡 ACTIVITY
Thank You Card
Goal: To practice showing gratitude for others
Supplies: Art supplies like paper, markers, crayons, etc.
Instructions:
- Help your child think of people they would like to thank and have them write them a thank you card.
- This could be a friend or family member; it could also be the helpers during this difficult time, like medical professionals, grocery store workers, or farmers.
- Encourage them to include positive feedback in their card that includes what the person did or is doing and how that made them feel.
- Help them address the envelope and mail it to the person or take a picture and email it to them.