Encouraging Social and Emotional Learning in Preschool Children Through Carrying Out Musical Activities in the Daily Routine

In the context of kindergarten, the daily routine includes various activi­ties aimed at the holistic development of children. Carrying out musical activities in the daily routine plays an important role in encouraging social and emotional learning. For the present research, which included preschool children, we developed a plan for implementing elements of the children’s daily routine enriched with musical activities, monitored the effect of this routine on social and emotional skills, and verified the realisation of the planned musical goals. The results of the research con­firmed the effect of implementing musical activities regarding (1) self-awareness and self-management – children more often recognised their own emotions, they became aware of their emotions and regulated them, they expressed a feeling of joy, respected the agreed rules, understood what is right or wrong and asked for help if they needed it; and (2) social skills for establishing relationships and social awareness – children more often encouraged other children in the group to participate in activities, they successfully participated in common activities, shared things with other children, and recognised and empathised with the emotions of other children. Most of the children were also successful in achieving the planned musical goals.