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January 8, 2026
Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) – What It Is & Why It Matters
Kate Puzan, Education Specialist
Did you know that most of a child’s brain development happens by the time they turn five years old? By five, 90% of a child’s brain has already developed. The other 10% gradually continues to develop over the next 20-25 years! That makes those first five years incredibly crucial for healthy brain development. All connections made and the experiences a child has during these years will ultimately shape the architecture of their brain and lay the foundation for future cognitive, emotional, and social health and well-being. This is why it becomes especially important for parents and caregivers, to support and nurture children’s brain development in these early years by integrating social-emotional learning into homes and classrooms when children’s brains are most receptive to it.
Social-Emotional Learning 101
Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) is the process of developing essential social and emotional skills needed to understand and manage emotions, make responsible decisions, set goals, and establish and maintain healthy relationships with others throughout life. As teachers model and teach social-emotional learning, children acquire skills and become equipped with tools and strategies that will help them become increasingly competent in five core areas of social-emotional development:
- Self-Awareness
- Self-Management
- Social Awareness
- Relationship Skills
- Responsible Decision-Making
Studies have shown that competency across all five of these areas improves emotional, behavioral, and mental health, and leads to future academic and social success. When children acquire these skills, they’re better equipped to recognize and manage their emotions, as well as handle challenging situations and demonstrate resilience throughout these moments. As an added bonus, building social-emotional skills also boosts cognitive functioning and academic performance in school!
Integrating SEL into our Bravo! Curriculum
At Doodle Bugs!, nurturing and responsive relationships are at the heart of our educational program. In fact, “relationship-building” is the first thing teachers are asked to focus on at the start of a new school year or when a new child starts in a classroom. By establishing these positive relationships with children, teachers are creating an environment where children feel safe to express their needs and emotions. This kind of environment is essential for social-emotional (and all!) learning to be successful.
While SEL has been a consistent component of the Bravo! curriculum, this past year our Education Team recognized the need for improving this curriculum component after becoming increasingly aware of the importance of a strong social-emotional program in the early years and its positive impacts on children. Our team worked together to revamp the curriculum for the 2025-2026 school year with specific goals in mind:
- Ensure a balanced focus on the core competencies of SEL (Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Social Awareness, Relationship Skills, and Responsible Decision-Making)
- Provide a resource (guide) to teachers within each age group that contains developmentally appropriate strategies, tips, and tricks
- Provide teachers with a physical “toolkit” that would complement suggested strategies (books, mirrors, puppets, musical instruments, breathing exercise tools, etc.)
- Maintain a strong focus on relationship-building (teacher-child, child-child)
- Be flexible so teachers can freely choose strategies that best meet the needs of the children in their classroom when they need them vs. having to wait for a strategy to be introduced in lesson plans
The updated curriculum successfully differentiates social-emotional learning for children enrolled in our Infant program all the way through our Pre-K program. To further enhance the SEL guides provided to teachers, additional resources were developed and linked within them for teachers to use as well – a Song and Rhyme Guide, a Transitions Guide, a Calming and Refocusing Guide, & a Brain Breaks and Movement Guide.
Conclusion
By integrating social-emotional learning into homes and classrooms during these early years, we are helping little ones build a strong foundation for future academic and social success and are positively impacting their overall development. They will be more likely to demonstrate empathy towards others and will be better equipped to manage their emotions, communicate effectively, navigate challenging moments, make responsible decisions, and establish healthy relationships with others (both personally and professionally) throughout their life.
Sources:
The Importance of Social Emotional Learning in Early Childhood Education
Why Social Emotional Learning is Important in Preschool
Brain Science and the Role of Parents & Caregivers in Early Childhood Development
