Seasonal Crafts to Support Social-Emotional Learning in the Elementary Classroom

As teachers, the ongoing balancing act of managing academic demands and social-emotional learning can be tricky. We know that it is beneficial for our students to engage in activities that build upon both their cognitive knowledge and social-emotional competencies and yet integrating such activities into a daily routine isn’t always straightforward. Through these seasonal crafts, you can easily bring fun into your classroom while supporting your student’s overall well-being throughout the year. Explore engaging craft projects that are great for all elementary grades – ready, set, get crafty!

January Seasonal Crafts for Social-Emotion Learning

January is a time for new beginnings and fresh starts, and as such it’s the perfect opportunity to focus on social-emotional learning in the classroom. With the start of a brand new year comes an abundance of opportunities to discuss goal setting with our students, helping them develop the skills to express themselves emotionally, problem solve effectively, show compassion and kindness towards their peers, foster a sense of self-worth, and form strong relationships. It’s never too early to begin instilling these important life lessons into our classrooms – by doing so we are equipping students with invaluable social-emotional skills that will serve them throughout their lives.

For the month of January, I have two crafts that focus on goal setting.

New Year Goal Setting Flap Book

Are you looking for a fun and interactive way to jumpstart your students’ post-holiday learning? This New Year Goal Setting Flap Book is perfect for the first few days back from winter break!

Not only will this activity help your students reflect on their past experiences, but it will also give them a chance to set realistic goals for the year ahead. Getting back into the swing of things after winter break can be tough, but with this craftivity, you’ll be able to spark excitement and motivation in your classroom. Time to inspire your students and help them kick off the New Year!

The New Year Craft includes years through 2039, so you’re set for the foreseeable future!

Goal Setting Craftivity for Any Time During the School Year

Helping students to express and practice their goal-setting skills can be a fun and creative experience for the entire class! From kindergarten to 5th grade, this Goal Setting Craftivity is a great way to bring excitement into setting goals at any time of the year. Not only does it provide an artful and creative opportunity for your students but it becomes a beautiful display for your classroom as well.

Furthermore, parents will love having the keepsake of their child’s goal-setting masterpiece! These thoughtful and lively projects help capture the pride that comes with setting goals. This craftivity helps make goal setting an enjoyable and memorable experience for both students and teachers alike.

Included in the Goal Setting Craft are open-ended pages as well as sentence frames and fill-in-the-blank templates. This craft can be used with a wide range of learners.

February Seasonal Crafts for Social-Emotion Learning

The month of February is a great time of the year to incorporate social-emotional learning (SEL) craft activities into your classroom. SEL crafts provide a safe and enjoyable way for teachers and students alike to express their creativity. Not only are these types of crafts incredibly engaging, but they also have the potential to help build various social-emotional skills like self-awareness, relationship-building, empathy, and problem-solving.

Valentine’s Day Flap Book

Get ready to make Valentine’s Day extra special this year with a Heart-Shaped Valentine’s Day Flap Book! This interactive craft project allows students to think about why they love and care for their friends, family, and even themselves. It can foster thoughtful conversations, help them articulate and reflect on their feelings in a meaningful way, and add a touch of creative fun.

March Seasonal Crafts for Social-Emotion Learning

As the winter season begins to wrap up and unpredictable weather reigns, fill those long spring days indoors with social-emotional learning crafts. Kids of all ages will love expressing themselves through creative activities that help form positive relationships and cultivate empathy while they develop valuable skillsets related to self-awareness, stress management, problem-solving, and healthy communication habits. Here are two March crafts that are perfect for SEL.

St. Patrick’s Day I am Lucky Clover

As we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day this year, why not have some fun and really embrace the theme of luck? With this easy-to-assemble craftivity, your students can reflect on their own luckiness! All they need to do is grab the included clover base, as well as the prewriting graphic organizer to get started on thinking about all the special things that make them feel lucky.

From families and friends to a delightful snack you found in the pantry – there’s never a shortage of ways for your students to feel thankful and express it with this one-of-a-kind project. Get ready to open their eyes to all the wonderful blessings that surround them!

Pieces of Gold Craftivity

With St. Patrick’s Day around the corner, students can celebrate and commemorate the luck of the Irish by discovering what they are truly thankful for with the Pieces of Gold St. Patrick’s Day Craft activity! This craft encourages them to think about the intangible but invaluable elements of their life that they hold most dear and construct a craft that allows them to list these out.

By focusing on things such as family, good health, and friendship, this project provides an opportunity to reflect on all the gold in their lives despite possible adversity this holiday season. It is a fun and meaningful way for students to celebrate St Patrick’s Day while finding joy in acknowledging what really matters in life.

April Seasonal Crafts for Social-Emotion Learning

April is here and with it comes the opportunity to bring social-emotional learning into your classroom through crafts! These activities will help your students hone their skills for lifelong success in a fun, interactive way. Introducing creative crafts and projects that focus on growing emotional intelligence can be an invaluable asset this month. Here are two crafts that are perfect for spring!

Look How I Have Grown Open House Spring Craft

The Look How I Have Grown Spring Craftivity is a great way for students to showcase the hard work and effort they put into learning throughout the school year! It’s an engaging way for them to reflect on how much they have grown and turned into stronger, smarter individuals.

With just some construction paper added, you can create an entire garden of their educational accomplishments. Everyone will love seeing these gorgeous flowers at the Open House! Not to mention, this is a perfect activity to promote a growth mindset and instill confidence in students’ new skills. The Look How I Have Grown Spring Craftivity is sure to be a hit with everyone!

Seeds of Kindness Spring Craft

Need a fun way to teach kids the importance of kindness? Look no further than the Seeds of Kindness Spring Craftivity! This project is a great way for children to recognize and celebrate acts of kindness, in and out of your classroom. Through this craftivity, students can create a kind-filled spring message that will be sure to inspire anyone who sees it. Plus, with its creative design and inspiring words, it makes for a perfect bulletin board or Open House addition!

May Seasonal Crafts for Social-Emotion Learning

It’s May, and that means summer is almost here! As teachers, you know this time of year can often be a difficult one to manage. But it doesn’t have to be all stress and worry – there are so many fun ways to bring social-emotional learning crafts into the classroom during this month!

End of the Year Memory Flap Book

This End-of-the-Year Memory Flap Book is the perfect activity for students to look back on their academic year! The fun craftivity allows kids to revisit fun memories and reflect on how far they have come. This activity sparks nostalgia in students as they take a trip down memory lane and reminisce about all of the wonderful moments from the past year. It’s a great way to look back and appreciate just how much was learned over the course of this school year.

June & July Seasonal Crafts for Social-Emotion Learning

Summertime can be a great opportunity for students to reconnect and build relationships with friends as well as family. If you’re looking for creative activities that will get your class engaged while teaching them valuable SEL skills this summer season, this Summer Bucket List is great for the last week of school and summer vacation!

Summer Bucket List

Nothing brings more smiles to a classroom of students than the last week of school and the prospect of summer vacation! To make it even more exciting, I have all my students create a Summer Bucket List, which allows them to think of ways they want to spend their free time.

It’s amazing the different activities the students come up with – sometimes they become even more excited for summer just by writing down all their ideas! The project also allows each student to plan and imagine what their “perfect” summer could look like and gives them something concrete to work towards. Making a summer bucket list is always one of my favorite activities and I know that my students look forward to it every year!

August Seasonal Crafts for Social-Emotion Learning

It’s August and that means back to school for students! Whether you’re a newly-minted teacher or an experienced veteran, it can be daunting starting the new academic year. But as teachers, we each have the opportunity to make learning a colorful and engaging experience right from day one. One way to kick off the semester is by incorporating social and emotional learning crafts into lesson plans – they’ll provide an inviting atmosphere while instilling confidence in your student’s ability to succeed.

Back-to-School Bus Flap Book

It’s back-to-school time and what could be better than a craft activity that helps students get to know each other, understand the classroom rules, and have some fun? My Back-to-School Craft – Bus Flap Book is perfect for those first days of school and keeps kids engaged while ensuring they understand the expectations. It’s an easy way to make sure everyone knows how wonderful the upcoming school year is going to be!

Getting to Know You Craft

Making connections with classmates can be daunting for many students. Thankfully, this Getting to Know You Small Group Craftivity is a great way for them to get to know each other in a fun and low-stress setting. The activity is ideal for small groups, table groups, or the whole class and encourages everyone to ask each other questions that will enable deeper connections between each other. This craftivity is sure to spark some conversations and lead students toward building friendships they might not have previously formed!

September Seasonal Crafts for Social-Emotion Learning

Welcome to September and the start of a new school year! As teachers, we’re often so busy just getting through the curriculum that it can be tough to find time for social-emotional learning activities. But with a little bit of creativity and planning, you can easily incorporate fun SEL crafts into your lesson plans this month!

Fall Leaves Craft

This Fall Leaves Classroom Craft is a great way to get your students to think about their mistakes and how to view them from a growth mindset. Through the craft, students can write or draw about what they do when they make a mistake or “fall down”. Not only does this encourage reflection and learning but it also builds empathy toward others, plus looks great as classroom decor! This activity helps students understand that mistakes are part of the learning process – and gives them an opportunity to talk openly about it with each other (and maybe even with you!) – setting up a great environment for real growth and development.

October Seasonal Crafts for Social-Emotion Learning

October is the perfect month to have a little fun with social-emotional learning in the classroom! With candy corn, ghosts, and haunted houses on everyone’s minds, this spooky season is a great opportunity for teachers to incorporate crafts related to SEL into their lessons. Pull out your craft supplies – construction paper, crayons, markers, and googly eyes – because we’re about to explore some exciting SEL activities that will make October both fun and educational.

Halloween Bag Treat Others with Kindness Craft

Your elementary students will love this imaginative Halloween Craftivity that invites them to show kindness to each other this season. This craftivity encourages acts of compassion, thoughtfulness, and awareness that help turn tricks into treats. Students can create their own personalized treat bags with memories of kindness and ways to be kind to others. It’s a great hands-on activity for kids, offering a creative way for them to focus on giving this Halloween!

The Real Me Halloween Craftivity

Halloween is a time to dress up in costumes and be someone else for a night! But the Real Me Halloween Craftivity encourages students to reflect on what they really like about themselves. This fun activity combines creativity with self-discovery, as students choose a costume cover that represents them and then explain why they’re even better than their costume. This craftivity offers an exciting opportunity for development, allowing students to gain insight into who they are and build confidence in the real them!

November Crafts for Social-Emotion Learning

November is a great time to bring social-emotional learning into the classroom with some fun crafts! As teachers, it’s important to emphasize lessons that build essential communication and problem-solving skills among students. With these easy crafting ideas, you can help your students practice empathy, collaboration, and positive self-expression while having fun in the process.

Thankful Tree Craft

The Thankful Tree Craft is a wonderful way to get students in the Thanksgiving spirit! It’s a simple craftivity to put together, making it perfect for elementary-aged children. Not only does it help reinforce the importance of being thankful during November, but with each leaf showcasing something that makes kids grateful, it creates lasting keepsake memories that parents and families will always treasure.

Thankful Flap Book

Introducing our kiddos to this Thankful Craftivity Flap book is the perfect way to bring the joy of giving thanks into our classrooms, homes, and daily lives. With a combination of writing and drawing, this craft lets kids express their personal gratitude and reminds them of the gifts they have in their lives. Let’s get our kids crafting for the holidays and allow them to appreciate all that we have!

December Crafts for Social-Emotion Learning

Welcome to the holiday season! For teachers out there, this time of year can be both exciting and stressful. Between helping your students get ready for end-of-year assessments and managing their expectations during the holidays, it’s important to make sure you carve out some extra time to focus on social-emotional learning (SEL) activities. December is a great month for SEL crafts since many classrooms have a festive feeling this time of year; here are some ideas to help your students build crucial social skills while incorporating SEL into wintery activities!

Christmas Tree Flap Book Craft

Looking for a fun and engaging way to get to know your students this holiday season? Why not have them create a Christmas Craft Flap Book! This activity is sure to put a smile on everyone’s faces as students become creative and write or draw about their favorite Christmas memory, Christmas tradition, an act of kindness they will do, and a gift they want to give. Not only does this activity allow you to learn more about your students, it also serves as a meaningful reminder to spread holiday cheer through acts of kindness. Have fun flipping through each unique book and get in the spirit of the season with your class!

All the Holiday Crafts that Support Social-Emotional Learning

Would you like to purchase these holiday crafts? They can be purchased on my website or on Teachers Pay Teachers.