It’s Never to Early to Build Children’s Social-Emotional Skills and Mental Health
By Marchelle Mixson
A small, progressive preschool in Brooklyn, NY taught me the importance of focusing on young children’s mental health and that it’s never too soon to honor a child’s personhood and build the skills they’ll need for life.
My work shifted how I spoke to children, how I listened to them, and how I integrated social-emotional learning into the fabric of their play-based learning and the many predictable (and unpredictable!) teachable moments each day offered.
The transition from early childhood educator to school counselor made perfect sense for me. Working with children ages 2–5 illuminated the building blocks of what it means to be human: to be a part of a community, to follow familiar routines, to feel deeply, to advocate for yourself, to know you are safe, to make mistakes, and to identify your likes, dislikes, aptitudes, and challenges. My career in mental health advocacy began over a decade ago working with adults, but I was deeply struck by my work with young children. They showed a remarkable willingness to overcome challenges, problem solve creatively, and learn from those around them.
Today, I work as a School Counselor at a Pre-K–8th grade school, and I still have a special place in my heart for the youngest students. I’m often asked, “What do you do with younger children as a school counselor?” My answer is always the same: @hat you would do with older children. There may be more games, books, and songs woven into the approach, but they are still learning and practicing the same core skills of self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making.
Below is a recap of some of the Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) lessons and activities my school’s youngest students experienced this year.
Building Big Hearts With 4 Year Olds
The school year began with the 4s (Pre-K) focusing on building independence, easing separation, learning what it means to be part of a community, and developing self-management skills. Students were encouraged to reflect on what they enjoy at school, helping them associate positive emotions with the classroom experience. To support conversations about missing home, they read The Kissing Hand and explored how small acts of kindness can help us feel safe and connected even when we’re away from home. Group drawing and building projects created opportunities to practice cooperation, share materials, and work together as part of a classroom community. Students also began exploring what it means to pay attention and how it supports learning, strengthens relationships, and helps keep them safe.
Building Big Hearts With 5 Year Olds
As for the 5s (Kindergarten), their lessons were more focused on building self-awareness as learners, strengthening community, and continuing to develop self-awareness and social awareness and the impact their actions or inactions can have on others. They explored what it means to pay attention, learning that it involves thinking, listening, and watching, and that engagement can be shown through body language. This led to meaningful discussions about mistakes and how they can happen when attention drifts, but also when learning something new, and why they are a natural and important part of growth. To bring these ideas to life, students challenged themselves to write their names and draw using their non-dominant hands and telling themselves “It’s no big deal” when things didn’t work out as they wanted. This activity sparked conversations about self-acceptance, effort, persistence, and how practice leads to improvement. (Growing up, we may have heard that practice makes perfect, and that is not my ministry, as it does not align with the growth mindset I promote in my work with children.) It also introduced the idea that the brain grows stronger through challenges. Alongside this, students acknowledged that mistakes can bring up frustration and other big feelings, and they practiced strategies to manage those emotions.
Social and Emotional Learning is Fundamental to All Learning
This work reflects the belief that social and emotional learning is not separate from academic learning, but foundational to it.
A professor I once had said that students may be present in school each day, but it is important for them to be available for learning. Students are more likely to be available for learning when their social and emotional skills are nurtured and their needs in these domains are met.
By intentionally integrating SEL into daily classroom experiences, from play-based exploration to more structured lessons, students are better able to regulate emotions, build relationships, and engage in learning.
