The market for printable products aimed at kids is huge. Teachers and parents are always looking for ways to engage and excite kids and make them eager to learn. While there are already thousands of products designed to teach kids math, grammar, and history, there’s one category of printables that’s surging as we learn more about how kids learn and what they need to excel in the classroom. We’re talking about social-emotional learning, or SEL.
Creating SEL printables is easy, but you may need some guidance. That’s why we’ve created this quick and easy guide to creating SEL printables for kids.
What is SEL?
Social-emotional learning is a framework to create a safe and healthy environment for kids in school. Casel.org defines SEL like this:
The process through which all young people and adults acquire and apply the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to develop healthy identities, manage emotions and achieve personal and collective goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain supportive relationships, and make responsible and caring decisions.
When kids, parents, and teachers all understand how to manage their emotions and work with others, they’ll have the best possible chance of thriving.
What Are SEL Printables?
Before we reveal the steps to create SEL printables for kids, here are a few examples of the types of things you might want to create.
Emotional resilience workbooks- Affirmation cards
- Self-care planners
- Emotion identification worksheets
- Self-esteem worksheets
- Positive coloring pages
- ADHD reward systems
These are all examples of SEL printables that we found on Etsy, and they illustrate that there’s a real demand for SEL printables of all kinds.
Your Guide to Creating SEL Printables for Kids
Now, let’s walk through the steps to creating SEL printables for kids. The process is similar to creating any printable product, but you’ll need to give special thought to your target audience.
Step 1: Choose a Product
The first step is to identify the type of SEL printable you want to make. Some options take longer to design than others. For example, a simple journal page or checklist will take less time to create than a detailed coloring book page or a full workbook. Starting small is the best way to overcome any doubts you might have about the process.
If you’re stumped for ideas, try searching for SEL printables on Etsy or Teachers Pay Teachers. Seeing what’s already on sale can help you identify niches and subniches and give you some inspiration to get started.
Step 2: Find the Right Tools
There are tons of design tools you can use to create SEL printables. Here are a few of our favorites. As always, we recommend that you check out each tool’s Terms of Use to ensure that your intended use complies with the tool’s requirements.
Canva has free and paid options and uses easy, drag-and-drop technology. Even with the free version, you’ll get access to thousands of images and templates, and that number grows to millions of you choose the premium option for $15 per month or $120 per year.- Creative Fabrica is a site where you can get access to tons of templates, graphics, clipart, fonts, and more. You can use Creative Fabrica Studio to create your own designs. You have the option to buy products one at a time or subscribe for $47 per year to get access to their huge library of millions of graphics and fonts.
- PicMonkey is a tool owned by Shutterstock. They offer plenty of templates and design tools to help you create appealing SEL printables. They offer two paid tiers at $7.99 or $12.99 per month. The more expensive option includes a background eraser and access to their premium stock photo library.
If you already have Adobe or PowerPoint, you can also use those. Just remember that you don’t need to invest in expensive software to create SEL printables to sell.
Step 3: Identify Your Audience
The next step is to identify your target audience. Remember that your printables must appeal to buyers, who’ll most likely be parents or teachers, while still being kid friendly. You may want to start with a specific grade or age group and build from there.
For example, you might start with SEL printables for grades one through three. You can create bundles after you have a few products ready to sell. After that, you can expand into additional products or additional age groups.
Step 4: Choose Your Brand Fonts and Colors
Whether you’re opening a new store or planning to add SEL products to your existing store, we suggest choosing and using consistent fonts and colors to build your brand. Any of the design tools we’ve listed will allow you to create custom templates that incorporate your branding.
You may also want to consider designing a brand logo to put on each SEL printable you create if you don’t already have one. Including a logo on your products makes it impossible for people to forget your shop—and makes it more likely they’ll buy from you again!
Step 5: Design Your Product
Now it’s time for the fun part: designing your first SEL printable! This is where you can let your imagination run free.
As you design, be sure to include plenty of white space, use readable fonts and colors, and leave plenty of room for kids to work.
Step 6: Pick an Online Marketplace
You have several choices when it’s time to sell your products. You may want to wait until you have 5-10 products ready before you list them, but you can be doing marketplace research at the same time. Here are some of our favorite places to sell SEL printables.
Each of these marketplaces has its own fee structure, so you’ll need to decide which option is best for you.
Step 7: List Your Product
The final step is to list your products for sale. Your product listings should include clear and professional-looking product images. You’ll need to do keyword research to learn how people will search for your products and then, incorporate those keywords into your descriptions.
Pricing for printables isn’t difficult to figure out. As a rule, your prices should be in line with what other sellers are charging. Bundling products is a good way to give sellers more bang for their buck.
Creating SEL printables is easy to do and, because SEL products are in demand, it’s a good way to get your printable shop up and running. If you need some help, check out my new product, Emotion EasyPrint!
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