How Pre-K Students Can Improve Themselves With Self-Honesty

Pre-kindergartners are about to set their last goal: to be honest with themselves to improve!

This does not signify, however, the end of their journey toward self-improvement. Even after the end of their lessons, pre-kindergartners learn that they can keep setting and reaching more goals. This is referred to as "continual self-improvement," and in this social-emotional learning lesson, the class discusses how to achieve it by practicing self-honesty.

Self-honesty is a crucial aspect of personal growth, enabling pre-kindergartners to evaluate themselves and provide accurate feedback. They also learn to respond positively to their limitations and use them to their advantage. For example, if they are not gifted with the talent of singing, but they are natural in evoking emotions with words, they can explore songwriting and create their success path around it.

To start this lesson, pre-kindergartners participate in a class discussion about the "To Be Honest With Ourselves" picture in the “Goals” poster. The picture shows a boy improving himself by admitting his mistakes. It can be a scary and difficult task, as the boy can get in trouble, but as the lesson explains, the boy can do it if he believes in his potential to improve, has the courage to learn, and turns his problems into an opportunity to correct his mistakes.

Afterward, the students look back on the social and emotional positive actions of being honest with themselves. As a reinforcing activity, they choose some of these positive actions to set as their goals to accomplish as a class and individually. They then mark their Positive Behavior Chart and promise to continue their self-improvement by setting more personal goals of self-honesty.

As a retention strategy, this lesson invites pre-kindergartners to recite the Clap and Say that they have learned from Mr. Jazzman in Unit 5. Then, another activity follows as a way to conclude the lesson. It asks students to create a "Star" pendant for their “I Am a Gem” necklaces as a creative way to help them remember the lesson concepts. The students cheered “I Am a Star” to themselves, feeling pleased to make improvements!

Practicing self-honesty helps pre-kindergartners in so many ways. Apart from developing self-awareness, it also helps them address challenging situations thoughtfully, realistically, and successfully. As they acknowledge and accept the obstacles before them, they can remain grounded in reality, allowing them to focus on realistic and achievable solutions. This can enhance their problem-solving and decision-making skills.