Al’s Pals Social Emotional Curriculum

To facilitate social emotional development, St. Alban’s Early Childhood Center uses the Al’s Pals: Kids Making Healthy Choices.

Al’s Pals is a comprehensive curriculum and teacher training program that develops social-emotional skills, self-control, problem-solving abilities, and healthy decision-making in children ages 3-8 years old. The program is nationally recognized as an evidence-based model prevention program. Through fun lessons, engaging puppets, original music, and effective teaching approaches, Al’s Pals:

• Helps young children regulate their own feelings and behavior, allowing educators more time for creative teaching by reducing the need for discipline
• Creates and maintains classroom environments of caring, cooperation, respect, and responsibility
• Teaches conflict resolution and peaceful problem-solving
• Promotes appreciation of differences and positive social relationships
• Prevents and addresses bullying behavior
• Builds children’s abilities to make healthy choices and cope with life’s difficulties
• With Al’s Pals: Kids Making Healthy Choices approach children learn how to:
• Use kind words
• Express their feelings appropriately
• Use self control
• Think flexibly
• Accept differences
• Make friends
• Solve problems peacefully
• Cope in a positive manner
• Make safe and healthy choices

The Way It Works

The Al’s Pals curriculum has 46 lessons lasting 10-15 minutes each. The Wingspan-trained classroom teacher conducts two lessons a week, in sequence, over a 23-week period. Designed specifically for the early childhood years, the lessons use guided creative play, brainstorming, puppetry, original music, role plays, and movement to delight young minds and engage them in the development of social-emotional competence.