How to Boost Self-Management Skills for Personal Development

Emotions serve as a helpful guide for humans in responding to different situations. For instance, happiness boosts confidence and influences a person to say "yes" more to possibilities. On the other hand, fear, worry, and anger lead to negative judgment and discourage one from seizing opportunities.

Understanding and managing emotions is crucial for a child's overall well-being.

That’s why, in addition to looking after a child’s physical and intellectual health, parents and schools must also focus on nurturing their emotional intelligence.

Emotional intelligence encompasses various skills, including self-management skills, social skills, self-honesty, and self-improvement. Equipping children with these competencies helps them respond positively to challenging situations, overcome difficult feelings, and take responsibility for themselves.

In this evidence-based SEL lesson, kindergarten students revisit their journey to the Land of Emotional and review the essential concepts about managing personal resources and achieving personal development. The goal of this review is to prepare them for an upcoming activity that will test their ability to apply these learned ideas to actions. More importantly, it will unlock the gates that conceal the secret to developing a positive self-concept.

The review is conducted through an adventure to Castle Self-Concept. Before it lies six gates that represent the Positive Action Units. To unlock these gates and enter, kindergarten students must first remember the positive actions they have learned and succeed in the tests prepared for them.

The young learners have succeeded in opening the first and second gates. Now, they stand before the third one and dive straight to remembering what the Jungle of Self-Management has taught them. Their puppet companions, Picks-It Raccoon and Nix-It Panda, join them and jog their memory.

Sooner, the kindergarten class remembers the eight gifts every individual must use wisely to practice self-management. The gifts are time, energy, possessions, money, talents, thoughts, feelings, and actions. Each of these gifts is introduced to students through stories. So, to reinforce the concepts further, a role-playing activity ensues.

Students act out the stories and portray how the characters have learned to use their gifts. For instance, they look back on the lesson of effective time management and enact positive habits to organize their schedule and priorities. To make it more fun, the other students guess the positive action being demonstrated.

As these young learners relive past stories and adventures, they are reminded of the power they hold to create better versions of themselves. Positive change is at the tip of their fingers; all they have to do is grab it. With this realization, they end the lesson feeling empowered and more determined to use their resources wisely and feel good about themselves.