How to Express Pride in a Healthy Way? SEL Lesson for Kindergarten

Being a good friend, an academic achiever, and a responsible individual—all of these are reasons for children, such as kindergartners, to feel proud. Feeling a healthy pride nourishes their self-concept like a flower growing and blossoming into a vibrant and beautiful garden.

Not only does feeling proud help kindergartners grow a positive and strong self-concept, but it also waters their motivation to continue pursuing positive actions. In other words, pride provides a simultaneous feeling of internal satisfaction and desire for further accomplishment. This is why celebrating their achievements is so important, as it evokes happiness and feelings of success.

However, allowing pride to grow too much can poison thoughts, actions, and self-concept. Excessive pride can lead to arrogance, entitlement, and a distorted view of oneself and others. As a result, it hinders personal growth as one exaggerates appreciation of oneself and thus no longer finds room for self-improvement. It also damages relationships as it causes one to devalue others.

To help kindergarten students maintain a healthy sense of pride, this evidence-based SEL lesson teaches them how to express their proud feelings positively.

An interactive puppet play featuring Picks-It Raccoon and Nix-It Panda commences this lesson. In this play, they tell the class how proud they are of each student's improvement and growth. To evoke healthy pride, they call up each child's name, compliment their exceptional qualities, and shake their hands.

After the puppet play, the students engage in a class discussion. Here, the teacher explains that pride is a wonderful feeling experienced when one does something well and feels good about oneself. The teacher emphasizes that the healthy way to be proud is by taking positive actions without boasting. Having someone notice is only a bonus.

As a reinforcing way to end the lesson, the students play a musical game that honors their positive actions. In this game, the students form a circle, and one goes in the middle. The students hold hands and sing a song about being proud of the one in the circle. Once the child finishes their turn, the student selects someone else to replace them. They play until everyone has had a turn.

Taking pride in both small and significant victories adds depth and excitement to life's journey. The feelings of pride serve as a powerful reminder that one's actions and contributions have a meaningful impact, not only on one's own life but also on the lives of others.

For kindergartners, a healthy pride reinforces positive behavior, celebrates academic achievements, and fosters a desire for self-improvement. These proud moments are stepping stones for their personal growth that instill a sense of accomplishment and motivation to reach new heights.

To maintain a healthy pride, this lesson emphasizes the importance of developing self-management, one of the five core social-emotional learning competencies. By honing kindergartners' self-management skills, these young learners can prevent their proud feelings from becoming overwhelming and unhealthy. This enables them to strike a balance and ensure pride remains a positive and empowering force.