The Leading Program in Israel to Advance Social-Emotional Learning Functions in Preschools

Recommended by the Israeli Ministry of Education – Program 4753

The I Can Succeed (ICS) program is a systemic, evidence-based SEL program to promote social-emotional learning and school readiness among preschool children. The program has been operating and continues to operate successfully in preschools and schools throughout Israel. The program also is suitable for remote learning thanks to its digital formal and enrichment materials for participants’ parents.

The program has three main interrelated goals:

  • Instilling and nurturing emotional and interpersonal competencies
  • Improving and nurturing learning skills
  • Improving the atmosphere in the preschool

The program is based on extensive research showing that emotional state, interpersonal relations, and learning are the three interrelated points that influence one another along with children’s executive functions. This approach is expressed in the ICS triangle, which is the ICS program’s base and first stage.

Social-emotional learning begins in preschool

The Main Topics the Program Addresses:

  • Enhancing self-awareness, connectedness, and self-image
  • Developing executive functioning: self-control, working memory, and flexible thinking
  • Developing emotional competencies – expressing and understanding my feelings and those of others; emotional regulation
  • Developing communication and problem-solving abilities
  • Fostering school readiness

What Do You Receive in the ICS-Preschool Program?

  • Program manual: includes rationale, tools, and activities for each topic. Facilitates convenient implementation of the program throughout the school year, while leaving plenty of room for flexibility and each teacher’s creativity.
  • Series of ICS stories accompanied by illustrations and coloring pages
  • Instructions on leading discussions
  • Arts-and-crafts activities
  • Bodywork via sports tracks and physical games
  • Board games
  • Explanatory letters to send parents that include recommendations for followup activities at home
  • ICS kit with stickers, cards, and more

Research on ICS for Preschools