Create an Emotion-Rich Classroom

This practical and easy-to-use resource helps early childhood educators develop the emotional literacy of the young children in their classrooms. Readers learn how to:

• increase children’s emotional vocabulary
• model how to recognize and cope with various emotions
• support self-regulation and reduce challenging behaviors
• discuss emotions in others and in storybook characters
• support and engage families in fostering emotional skills at home

Experienced in emotional development in children and early childhood education, author Lindsay N. Giroux, M.Ed., shows readers how to effectively weave social and emotional instruction into the fabric of the school day.

“A necessary and easy-to-use resource for new and veteran early childhood educators alike. Giroux provides relevant and applicable information using real examples we have all experienced, while also considering children from diverse backgrounds and all abilities. I have 20 years of experience, but already know which chapters I will reread first!”—Amanda Vega-Mavec, Ed.D., Director, Academy for Children, El Centro, Inc.

“A wonderful resource written for teachers by a consummate expert. Through Lindsay Giroux’s extensive experience as a Preschool Pyramid coach, she developed classroom planning frameworks (DAPPER and ICARE) that early childhood educators can use to extend their intentional teaching around emotions into the incidental teaching throughout the day. The ultimate purpose is to help young children make sense of their emotions, give them the language to describe what they are experiencing, and teach them to regulate or manage their experiences. Giroux gives practical examples of how to insert social and emotional learning into academic learning experiences, and emphasizes the importance of tracking the data to ensure positive child outcomes.”—Vivian James, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, NC Preschool Pyramid State Implementation Leader (2007–2020), NC IDEA 619 Coordinator (Retired)

“Create an Emotion-Rich Classroom is a useful and productive tool that will act as a great resource for educators of early learners. Giroux is thoughtful and practical in her use of tips and strategies to assist educators in recognizing, validating, and responding to big emotions in little learners, as well as our own big emotions. The book provides ample opportunities for educators to reflect on and grow their current practices and offers something for every preschool teacher, those who have been teaching social emotional skills for years and those who are first shifting their focus. As early childhood educators, it is our responsibility to teach foundational skills to our students, including recognizing their emotions and the emotions of those around them. Create an Emotion-Rich Classroom offers real-world tips to help our early learners find success in the classroom and beyond!”—Leigh Anne Bosshardt, M.Ed., BCBA, Infant/Toddler Autism Support Teacher, Red Clay Consolidated School District

“Create an Emotion-Rich Classroom takes you, as an early childhood educator, into the world of emotional literacy as you have never been before. The instructional frameworks introduced in the book allow you to dive deeper into bringing emotional understanding to your young students. The author pulls it all together with frameworks, data tools, assessment, and individualization in a way that makes teaching emotions to young children for understanding so easy. Emotions matter!”—Beth Hudson, M.Ed., NBCT, Union County Public Schools (UCPS) PreK Pyramid Model Coordinator

“Create an Emotion-Rich Classroom emphasizes the need for young children to feel safe in experiencing and expressing emotions in early childhood classrooms. This book is a valuable resource for a wide audience of early childhood professionals, providing content to support teachers implementing instruction to create an emotionally rich environment and for professionals supporting teachers to implement best practices. Emotional skills are introduced along an early learning progression, with each chapter building to provide a developmental sequence to support children with recognizing, acknowledging, and regulating emotions. The frameworks used throughout the book support robust teaching, embedding emotional learning and exploration in all aspects of the early learning environment, with added resources to support differentiated instruction and building parent partnerships for a comprehensive approach to promote young children’s healthy social and emotional development.”—Kristine Earl, Ed.D., Regional Consultant, NC Early Learning Network, UNC Chapel Hill

“In Create an Emotion-Rich Classroom, Lindsay has developed an effective approach to promoting young children’s emotional development. The text is set out in a systematic manner that makes it easy to read and work through the concepts that Lindsay grounds with research. She has provided lots of activities, scenarios, and examples, with blank forms that can be downloaded. The reflection questions and ideas for engaging families make it a comprehensive approach for addressing social-emotional learning. This is a book that every early childhood teacher and coach should have in their library.”—Jolenea Ferro, Ph.D., BCBA-D, Department of Child and Family Studies Associate Professor, Florida Center for Inclusive Communities, National Center for Pyramid Model Innovations, University of South Florida

“Have you ever cared for a child who had such strong emotions that it made teaching them a daily struggle? If so, this book is for you—the adult who cares and strives to teach young children the foundational skills so that they may become more successful in school and in life. Throughout Create an Emotion-Rich Classroom, you will find relatable examples, practical strategies, and feasible applications to create spaces that support children on their lifelong journey towards emotional intelligence. What once seemed like a struggle becomes an opportunity to make a difference in the present and future lives of our children.”—Raquel Lima, M.Ed., Assistant Principal, Clifton Early Learner Academy, Clifton Public Schools