I Need a Soft Place to Land: The Need for Therapeutic Preschool Settings for Children and Their Families

• Main Author: Bloom, Laura
• Format: Others
• Published: Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University 2020
• Subjects: social; emotional; development; early childhood; Development Studies; Early Childhood Education; Special Education and Teaching
• Online Access: https://dc.etsu.edu/secfr-conf/2020/schedule/37

Young children entering school without adequate social and emotional (SEL) skills may have a hard time learning. Knowing how to get along with others, following directions, managing emotions, and paying attention are all skills that fall into this area (McClellan, Thomas, Schmitt, & Duncan, 2017). With the growth of pre-K state funded classrooms under the Office of School Readiness (OSR) in Alabama, there has been a tremendous increase in the number of 4-year olds attending preschool as well as an increase in the number of children identified as having difficulty with SEL skills. Successful intervention engage children's families as they work through skills at home and at school. Therapeutic preschool settings would support children, families, and teachers facing this challenge.