Adam and Leo were playing together during their free playtime at the kindergarten. Both of them got excited over the new kitchen set and started talking about making pancakes. Adam selects the ingredients and Leo sets out the pan and tools. Everything is fine, until Leo gets the only apron they have in the class and says he is the chef. Unfortunately, Adam also wants to be the chef, and both boys begin to fight over the apron. Ms. Dana, the teacher, intervenes and peacefully suggests that they can both be chefs and take turns with the apron. Before she finishes her sentence, Leo smacks Adam on the head with a cooking spoon and Adam starts crying. With a sense of frustration, Ms. Dana pictures herself yelling at Leo: “See what you have done now!” However, she takes a deep breath instead and solves the conflict between the two boys peacefully. This example demonstrates a failed self-regulation in both boys who began to argue about the apron instead of using words or other methods that would lead to a compromis. Leo also caused problems when he could not stop and listen to the teacher’s words before reacting and hitting Adam with the wooden spoon. For the teacher, this scenario is an example of successful self-regulation as she did not allow frustration to overcome her, and she was able to calmly guide Leo through individual steps to think about his actions, apologize to a friend, ask him if he is alright and make a correction.

Ela is 4 years old. She’s sitting at a table together with her classmates and her teacher Linda. She’s making various shapes out of modelling clay. Ela reaches out and takes a piece of clay from Ondřej, who is sitting right next to her. He immediately expresses his dissatisfaction. The teacher says: “Ela, I saw you take Ondřej’s modelling clay. Give it back.” Ela shakes her head, but the teacher insists: “Give it back right now. I told you to stop doing that. You’re finished at this table. Go away and play with something else.”
The teacher has told Ela what she shouldn’t do instead of offering her an alternative way of getting the clay she wants. Ela lost an opportunity to practice self-regulation, to look at the situation from a different perspective and try to resolve the issue.
Let’s look at another approach the teacher could have taken. Ela reaches out and takes a piece of Ondřej’s modelling clay. He expresses his dissatisfaction. The teacher tells Ela: “Ela, it looks like you need some more modelling clay. Are you annoyed that you don’t have enough? How do you think Ondřej feels after you took his clay?” Ela looks at Ondřej and answers: “Sad.” The teacher asks Ela what she could do to make Ondřej feel better. Ela gives him back the modelling clay, Ondřej smiles and carries on working. The teacher continues: “I wonder what else you could do when you don’t have enough modelling clay. Do you have any ideas?” Ela shakes her head. “Look around the table, is there any leftover modelling clay? Can you see any more?” Ela shakes her head again. The teacher suggests: “Maybe you could ask Ondřej to give you some of his clay when he’s finished with it.” Ela does that and Ondřej hands her his clay as he leaves the table to do some painting instead.
In the second case the teacher helped Ela verbalize her actions, evaluate the reasons for her behavior and the consequences, alongside Ondřej’s feelings (a different viewpoint) and resolve the situation in a prosocial manner. The teacher provides Ela with the basis for taking these steps on her own the next time. The more often Ela practices this kind of scenario with the teacher, the more capable she will be at self-regulating her behavior in the future.

Lenka is a teacher planning next week’s activities. She would like to follow up on the “At the Doctor’s” topic which came up in the class when one of the children brought a picture they got at the doctor’s. The teacher has gone through the educational plans and thought about how to integrate various parts of the curriculum into activities surrounding this “At the Doctor’s Office” topic.
On Monday she decided to spend time on a dramatization of “At the Doctor’s” using doctor’s clothes and toys – medical briefcases, and incorporating the development of social and emotional skills into the topic. As part of the morning circle she read the children a story about a person who was afraid to go to the doctor. She discussed why it’s important to visit doctors and what the children can say or do when they are nervous about it.
In order to support pre-literacy she planned on giving the children the task of writing or otherwise depicting the relevant signs (“ambulance”, “scale”, “please wait”). The children practiced their pre-mathematical and critical thinking skills while playing the “What’s Missing?” game, using toy medical briefcases.

Matyáš, a four-year-old boy from a single-parent household, in a less socially stimulating environment. )
Every morning he rushes into the classroom where children aged 3–4 years are playing. Some of them still have difficulties adjusting to the classroom. Matyáš is nervous on arrival, moves from child to child: hitting them, knocking down their buildings, pulling their hair, etc. He doesn’t look any of the children in the eyes, his outburst is sudden, accompanied with shouts. The teacher however suspects that this behavior is masking the child’s desire to play with the other children, to be like them.
Based on observation and personal experience she takes the following approach. She tries to get the boy’s attention as soon as he comes into the changing room, in order to prevent his wild rush into the classroom. She suggests they could go in and greet the children together. She takes him by the hand and walks around the groups of playing children. She starts by greeting each of the children individually, patting them, working as a communication bridge. After several days of practicing this skill, Matyáš has become accustomed to the new situation and greets the children himself, sometimes even showing a smile. Breaking the ice has made the next phase possible – cooperative play. The situation has calmed down. Matyáš, the other children and their parents are satisfied.