CosmoKidz: An SEL Solution

Why is it important that children learn to live the acronym SOAR learned in CosmoKidz? Well for starters, children who learn these kinds of skills and abilities help make better social worlds. They are more pleasant to be around. They help the people around them feel respected and valued. They learn positive self-expression and self-regulation. And eventually, they grow up to be the kind of family members, employees, leaders, and citizens who help make positive communities and societies. In short, they become good citizens of the world; more specifically of the worlds they inhabit.

Two broad categories contribute to young children’s ability to make their social worlds.  One category involves the analytical skills of thinking, framing, weighing, and categorizing ideas and issues.   The second category comprises relational skills like deep listening, taking seriously the perspectives and views of others (empathizing), expressing oneself in ways that are useful for the group (productive agency), and recognizing who is not in the room and attempting to include their voices (compassion).

CosmoKidz helps develop these crucial relational skills in young children by providing opportunities, in brief increments, for them to talk about their social worlds in a particular way.  As adults, our social worlds consist of issues such as climate change, social injustices, and land use.  Children’s social worlds are different but just as important to them as land use, for example, is to us.  They are experiencing the complex social worlds of sharing, teasing, bullying, making new friends, and feeling left out.  These are the conversations that the activities in CosmoKidz provide for young children to explore together – within a safe framework set by an adult. The ways in which children deal with the issues in their social worlds have implications for how they will handle issues as adults and the kind of citizens they will become.

CosmoKidz is not curriculum nor does it add to a teacher’s burden. In fact, research has shown that a daily ten-minute conversation using CosmoKidz in the K-2 and special education classroom reduces conflict, disruption, and disengagement both in the classroom and on the playground as well as helps the teacher keep children’s focus on learning. CosmoKidz adds fun and reduces the stress teachers might be experiencing while developing healthy communication for both children and their teachers.

CosmoKidz: A communication based social and emotional learning solution

Contact Dr. John Inman to explore bringing CosmoKidz into your school district or working with me to do a longitudinal study of CosmoKidz in your school district now and start the creation of a school culture of working on relational competence. 541-497-3774 or john@learningexceptionalities.com