Preschool is a time of incredible growth and learning. In addition to laying the groundwork for literacy and numeracy skills, preschool helps children develop important social skills at this very important developmental age. Probably the most vital kind of learning children engage in. One way that preschools teach social skills is by creating opportunities for young children to participate in small group activities.

Activities where children interact with peers goes a long way to developing many of the vital social skills that will serve the students not just throughout their educational career, but their entire life. Here are five reasons why small group activities are key to teaching social skills to preschoolers.

1. Communication 

One of the most important social skills that preschoolers learn is how to communicate with others. Being able to verbalize thoughts, feelings, concepts, ideas, and more is a critical life skill that will be important into children’s adult lives and careers. Small groups allow preschoolers to develop and grow their communication skills. By this point in their development, most preschool-aged children will have learned the basics of holding a one-on-one conversation and they grasp the fundamentals of a reciprocal conversation. Small group activities help them learn to apply these concepts in a group setting.

In a small group setting, children are tasked with using their language and communication skills to work as a team and accomplish a task. To do this, children develop all-important skills. Such as learning how to take turns while talking in a group and making eye contact with the person you are talking to or with the multiple people while addressing the whole group. Learning how to execute this type of group communication is the foundation for all the other social skills that children will develop in these small group activities.

2. Cooperation 

Another supremely valuable social skill that preschoolers learn through small group activities is cooperation. By definition, this is a skill that must be learned in a group setting. When young children learn to work together, it creates people who can be team players. Additionally it helps develop emotional skills such as empathy.

There are two general styles of small group activities that help teach cooperation. Both small group free play and small group structured activities help accomplish this in different ways. Structured activities help illustrate how cooperation is needed to achieve a goal. Students work together to follow directions and understand the concept of relying on others to accomplish a team goal.

In a free play situation, small groups still have to cooperate on following general classroom rules. But also have to cooperate by sharing, compromising, and being respectful of others in a more unstructured setting. Both types of small group activities lead to more cooperation among preschoolers.

3. Engagement 

One of the biggest social benefits is the opportunity for engagement. Engagement in a preschool setting means that preschoolers engage with their peers in a social setting. With small group activities, students have the opportunity for engagement on a level that they do not necessarily get with a large group situation. The level of engagement is more demanding and more intense. 

What preschool teachers are looking for in small groups as far as engagement goes is how children learn to talk to other students, how they make friends and create relationships, and how they learn to include others in joint activities. A small group is crucial to help children develop these engagement skills. You need interaction to develop these skills but all kids are not comfortable in large groups, so engagement in smaller settings often works well for young children.

4. Assertion 

This is a skill that comes much more naturally to some children than others. Asserting yourself in a group setting can be learned with practice and behavior modeling. In small groups, students learn to speak up and take their turn to talk as well as to share ideas and advocate for those ideas in the group. Teachers help facilitate this by encouraging children to speak up in a group. And children appropriately asserting themselves in a small group setting provide sound models for other children, who learn by watching and then modeling their own behavior after their peers. 

The other place where a small group activity can help preschoolers develop their assertion skills is by giving them rule-based, structured activities. In these activities, students learn to assert themselves by asking for help from each other or from the adults in the room when something is difficult or confusing. Also, when there are a number of rules involved, preschoolers can question rules they believe to be unnecessary or unfair. This is a big step in social development as well.

5. Mutually Beneficial Pairings 

Putting together small groups randomly in a classroom can have many benefits. In addition to the ones above, it also teaches kids how to get along and interact with all different types of people. A very valuable life skill! However, one of the most impactful things that teachers can do when putting together small groups in a preschool setting is to make intentional pairs.

Pairing students who have similar interests or similar skill levels helps encourage young children who may be more diffident or shy, promotes the development of cooperative play, and helps assure that kids do not feel left out or left behind by being in a group where others are further ahead of them developmentally. Pairing kids of different skill sets and developmental levels can also encourage peer to peer mentoring, which is beneficial for both sides of the equation. Kids who have fallen behind for some reason can be encouraged by and find models in their peers, which is sometimes very effective. Kids who are ahead can learn how to help and support their peers and share their knowledge and skills. This will help both groups develop more confidence and empathy, a critical emotional skill. 

Conclusion

Preschool is where children develop social skills that they will need for life. Working in small groups is such an important piece of that. It develops skills that can’t or won’t always be developed in other settings, and provides children with opportunities to develop intimate friendships that are supportive and empathic.

Author Bio

Sandra Chiu works as Director at Ladybug & Friends Daycare and Preschool.