Explore the SEL Blog

Despite Artificial intelligence changing education faster than almost anyone imagined, children still need to read people. How children read people is recognizing emotions; however, children have to be taught how to read confusing emotions like a person crying when happy. Students can now receive instant tutoring, personalized lessons, writing assistance, language translation, and feedback in […]

Discover how VNEC and MeMe SEL Academy teach emotional literacy through observation, visual clues, and social-emotional learning before labeling emotions. One of the first lessons children learn is to use words. “Use your words.” “Tell me what’s wrong.” “Explain how you feel.” Words are important, but they are not the beginning of communication. Long before

Children Learn More Than We Think From Animals Can pets help children build emotional intelligence? Learn why observing real rescue animals teaches empathy, observation, and emotional inference better than many traditional lessons. Anyone who has lived with a dog knows something remarkable. Dogs don’t use words. Yet we understand them. We know when they’re nervous.

Is Social Emotional Learning enough? Discover why simply naming emotions isn’t always enough and how observation, emotional inference, and visual literacy help children build lasting emotional intelligence. Walk into almost any classroom today and you’ll find some form of Social Emotional Learning (SEL). Children identify emotions. They match facial expressions. They point to emoji charts.

What if emotional learning began with observation instead of labels because the clues were there all along? Discover how VNEC helps children develop emotional literacy, visual literacy, and critical thinking by examining nonverbal clues before identifying emotions. When adults ask children how someone feels, many children immediately look for a facial expression. Is the character

Discover bravery tips for kids inspired by JJ from MeMe JJ & Friends. Learn how quiet courage, kindness, and confidence help children grow emotionally every day. When people imagine bravery, they often picture superheroes. JJ reminds us that courage can be much quieter. JJ is a small Chihuahua who has faced many challenges throughout the

Try simple social emotional learning activities parents can use at home in five minutes to build confidence, empathy, resilience, and emotional intelligence. A simple five-minute daily SEL routine helps children build confidence, empathy, resilience, and emotional intelligence through meaningful conversations. Parents don’t need hour-long lessons to teach emotional intelligence. Sometimes five intentional minutes can make

Discover why emotional intelligence is becoming every child’s greatest superpower and how stories help children build empathy, resilience, and confidence. Children today are growing up in a world unlike any previous generation. They can search for answers in seconds, communicate across the globe, and learn from artificial intelligence. While technology continues to become smarter, one

Children drawing sometimes communicate hidden feelings. Sometimes they use words. Sometimes they use actions. And sometimes they communicate through a simple drawing placed on the refrigerator, folded into a backpack, or handed to a parent with a proud smile. The question is: Are we really looking? Many parents glance at a child’s drawing and see

Why Animal Stories Help Children Understand Emotions Animal stories help children understand emotions by giving young readers safe characters, visual clues, and story moments to explore feelings, empathy, and friendship. Animal stories help children understand emotions because children can watch a character’s choices, body language, facial expressions, and relationships before talking about their own feelings.