Renee Hawkins & Laura Nabors 
Promoting Prosocial Behaviors in Children through Games and Play [PDF ebook] 
Making Social Emotional Learning Fun

This ground-breaking textbook focuses on the use of play techniques and games to facilitate the positive behavioral, social, and emotional development of children with and without special needs. The chapters in this book center on the use of games and play to facilitate emotional expression, develop friendships and encourage appropriate behaviors in community contexts, such as schools, that are critical to children’s adaptation in the world. For example, there are chapters explaining the importance of playground interactions for children, role play to develop social skills and learn to express emotions, games to facilitate appropriate behavior and prosocial development in the classroom, and play as an outlet for the expression of emotion and development of children with special needs, including medical and mental health conditions. Readers will learn skills for coaching positive behaviors in individual and group settings, and will learn strategies to enhance social skills and help children develop emotionally in a variety of contexts (e.g., classrooms) and circumstances (e.g., having chronic illnesses or coping with mental health issues that make social engagement more challenging). Important "take-home" messages and critical techniques for fostering children’s skills will be presented, and the engaging material presented in the chapters will facilitate knowledge of what to do and how to improve young children’s social and emotional development through play techniques and games. (Nova)