SOCIAL AWARENESS

AND SOCIAL
RESPONSIBILITIY IN Explorations of Self,

THE EARLY Family and Community

CHILDHOOD
BY THE END OF THIS
LESSON, YOU WILL BE
ABLE TO:
- Defining Social Awareness
- Exploring self and others (Family &
Community)
- Designing activities/experiences for self,
others (family, community) &feelings
WHAT IS SOCIAL AWARENESS?

Social awareness and social responsibility is the study of

how people relate to one another, their environment,
and to the world they live in.

Socials awareness in the ECE curriculum focuses on

activities that help children explore ideas about SELF,
FAMILY, and COMMUNITY.
SELF AND OTHERS
An awareness of others cannot occur until a child is aware
of the separation between self and other. A good starting
point with young children in social studies is SELF
AWARENESS
EXPLORING SELF
What I look like. In what ways am I similar to others? Different
from others?

My feelings. What makes me happy, sad , scared, calm, worried…..

What foods I enjoy. Which foods I do not enjoy.

What I enjoy playing. What things I enjoy doing during the day.

What is my name ?
 WHO AM I?
Activities , both formal and informal, that help children explore
concepts related to understanding all that make each of them
individuals.
 EXPLORING SELF: IDEAS FOR
PLANNING YOUR CURRICULUM
Read books about self identity: “I Like Me” or “ I’m Like You and
You’re Like Me.” Then, ask open ended questions or provide
drawing materials that help children explore their ideas about
what they each like to do, or what they think they do well.
Have mirrors available and encourage the children to explore
their similarities and differences in their appearance. Provide a
variety of flesh-coloured paints and crayons.

Favourite things: Have children chose items from home or in

the childcare setting to show or tell about the things that they
like.

Provide opportunities for children to explore the names of

different emotions and gain experience talking about their
feelings: Singing Songs like “ If You’re Happy and You Know
it..”
Create a chart about what makes us happy, sad, angry…
WHAT IS MY NAME?
Write the child’s name on her work beginning with the left
and moving to the right.
Say her name aloud often and use the child’s name in songs
and activities.
Encourage children to use each other’s names.
 EXPLORING FEELINGS:
For young children, learning to recognize their own feelings
and others is essential to the development of empathy.

Books, songs, pictures and mirrors can all be conversational

tools for talking about feelings.

Role playing with puppets or felt board stories can provide an

opportunity to explore feelings.
EXPLORING FAMILY: WHO IS IN
MY FAMILY? WHERE DO I LIVE?

Families can look very diverse. Each child’s family is

unique and special to them.
Every family has a culture.
Culture is defined by the sum total of ways of living
built up by a group of human beings and transmitted
from one generation to another.
 WE ALL HAVE A FAMILY
Families come in many shapes and sizes.

A family is a group of people that feel connected and

who may or may not live together.

Children who live in the same family

are called brothers, sisters or cousins.
 MANY PEOPLE HAVE
HOMES
A home is a place where a person or group of people live , sleep,
eat , work and play.
It may be a room, and apartment, a small house or a large
house. It may have rooms for different things, like bathrooms ,
kitchens and bedrooms. Or it may have only a few spaces.
 EXPLORING FAMILY:
IDEAS FOR PLANNING
YOUR CURRICULUM
Provide open ended construction materials for children to make
homes for animals, make their favourite rooms or create an
innovation or invention for a home.

Read a book about families . Todd Parr’s, “ The Family Book”

is a book about diversity among families. After reading the
book, invite the children to draw or paint pictures of their family.

Invite children to bring in a picture of their family for the

children to share during circle.
When a child enters his early childhood environment, it is
the first time he is interacting inside a community that is
outside his family unit and home.
 CHILDCARE AND
BEYOND: MY
COMMUNITY
Childcare, preschool or school is often the first community outside the
home and family for a child to expand his or her concepts and
relationships.

Bumping up against others, peers who have their own need, their own
feelings and their own individual personalities, can be an amazing
revelation of learning about “others” for a young child.

Conflicts, negotiations, sharing and collaboration....

These everyday experiences shape our social skills.

WHO ARE MY FRIENDS? HOW
TO BE A FRIEND.
WHO WORKS IN MY
COMMUNITY? RESOURCES IN
MY COMMUNITY.
HOW TO CARE FOR MY
COMMUNITY
EXPLORING COMMUNITY:
IDEAS FOR PLANNING THE
CURRICULUM
Community walks to explore surrounding community. Pick up
litter or sweep the sidewalk.

Visits to community helpers such as grocers or fire halls. Arrange

for community helpers to visit the centre.
Go for a walk and then create a map of the walk. ( May need to
explore other maps for context first…)

How else can you help children explore the idea that
they are a part of a community?
EXPLORING CULTURE
BEWARE OF TOURIST
DEVELOPING A RELATIONSHIP WITH EACH FAMILY IS ESSENTIAL TO LEARNING ABOUT EACH UNIQUE CULTURE.

MUSIC, LITERATURE, OBJECTS, FOODS AND CELEBRATIONS PROVIDE AN OPENING TO A DIALOGUE THAT ENRICHES EVERYONE’S UNDERSTANDING ABOUT OUR LIVES AND WHAT IS SPECIAL TO EACH OF US.

APPROACH
Socials studies experiences for children may include
making handprints, reading stories and creating art
about family or faces, feelings and homes.
Children can explore their names by colouring name
tags, singing or participating in name songs,
songs/fingerplays about family and friendship.
The experiences you help to create will focus on
open ended exploration supported by the
caregiver. Explore play-based experiences
focused on SELF, FAMILY and
FRIENDSHIP.
 SONGS
I AM SPECIAL
(Sung to the tune of Frere Jacques)
I am special, I am special (point to self)
If you look, you will see
Someone very special, someone very special,
It is me, it is me!! (Point to self)

TWO LITTLE FEET

Two little feet go tap, tap, tap, (tap feet)
Two little hands go clap, clap, clap. (clap hands)
A quick little leap up from my chair, (stand up)
Two little arms reach high in the air. (stretch arms)
Two little feet go jump, jump, jump, (jump)
Two little fists go thump, thump, thump. (pound fists)
One little body goes round and round, (twirl around)
And one little child sits quietly down. (sit down)