By Niyah Winston-Howard, Bay Path University.
Being the older sister has its perks, and so does being a parent. Being an adult means more than setting rules and keeping kids safe. It means you can have a lasting impact on a child’s life. I recently hosted a sleepover for my cousin and my sister and decided to try something different. As the sleepover facilitator, I tested some social emotional activities disguised as fun. It turned out to be more than fun. It helped us connect and manage our feelings in some pretty cool ways.
Social emotional learning, or SEL, is the process of developing self awareness, self control, and the interpersonal skills that matter for school, work, and life. Children with strong social emotional skills cope better with everyday challenges and do better academically and socially. That process can start today, through three activities: painting, baking a cake, and building a fort.
Activity 1: Painting
I gave each girl a sheet of paper and a paper bee cutout, which they promptly turned into butterflies. Painting fostered self expression as we explored and shared our feelings through art. It built self awareness as each of them reflected on their choices: which colors looked best on their insect, what to make on the blank page. Every creative decision was theirs, which built decision making. And when one ran out of a color, I did not hand over more. They had to talk to each other and figure out how to share the paint, which built communication and collaboration. Painting also gave us a relaxed hour that eased stress and let us enjoy each other’s company. As a parent, you have kept them busy for an hour while building skills they will use at school.
Activity 2: Baking a cake
I took them to the store to pick out their cake flavor, which gave them ownership and excitement about the project. At home, I split the instructions between them so each handled different parts. They had to communicate and coordinate to get the cake baked, which built teamwork. Each made choices that shaped the result, which built responsibility and decision making. Working toward a shared goal built problem solving and patience. Baking together built a stronger relationship and a shared sense of accomplishment. The ingredients may already be in your kitchen. It is easy and fun, until it is time to clean the pots.
Activity 3: Building a fort
The sleepover essential. Building a fort takes nothing but patience for the screams of excitement. I added a twist: they had to plan it first. How many blankets, pillows, and chairs would they need, and how would they arrange everything? That planning step pushed their thinking. They had to consider what would work best and how to use their resources well. Once they gathered their materials, they built their dream fort. I wish they could make their beds that easily. Fort building keeps kids active, feeds imagination and creative play, builds problem solving (What holds it up? How do I connect the sheets? How do I fix it when it falls?), gets them off screens, builds spatial awareness, focus, and patience, and gives them a small space of their own that helps calm and regulate emotions.
Conclusion
Bringing social emotional learning into everyday life at home does not have to be complex. Through painting, baking a cake, and building a fort, we found that simple activities can have a real impact on children’s social and emotional development. The next time you plan a family activity or sleepover, remember that the simplest tasks can be powerful tools for growth and connection.
References
Committee for Children (2023). What Is Social-Emotional Learning? https://www.cfchildren.org/what-is-social-emotional-learning/
Raphael, L. (2024). Art as a Tool for Social and Emotional Learning. MoMA Magazine. https://www.moma.org/magazine/articles/1019
LUNA Kids (2024). How Baking and Cooking Enhances Early Childhood Development. https://lunakidsmy.com/blogs/news/how-baking-cooking-enhances-early-childhood-development
Barnhill, P. (2022). All Kids Should Build Forts. Homeschool Better Together. https://pambarnhill.com/all-kids-should-build-forts/