Al's Pals - Social & Emotional Developme

Social and Emotional Development is a crucial element in early childhood education. At K-Prep, our teachers are trained in a national program that is structured to directly teach a variety of social and emotional skills to young children. Al and his friends, Ty and Keisha, come visit the classroom every week and share a new problem and ways to cope and learn. Students are often engaged singing songs about healthy choices, or practicing the "calm down steps" to help them work through anger or frustration.

Take a moment to read about Al's Pals from the creators, Wingspan. During the COVID19 crisis, Al and his friends have created a support page with resources to help to help young children cope and understand the various emotions they may be experiencing. The videos can be seen below. Please feel free to share these videos with your child.

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 and received top rating by the National Center on Quality Teaching and Learning in their Social-Emotional Preschool Curriculum Consumer Report.

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
Conveys clear messages about the harms of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs
Builds children’s abilities to make healthy choices and cope with life’s difficulties

Letter from Al

Al wrote a letter to all the children! He'd love to hear back from them and see any of their pictures.

Please feel free to email letters and pictures to AlsPalsWingspan@gmail.com or to us at

info@k-prep.com and we'll get it to Al.

Video: Helping children deal with feelings about missing their friends and staying home

In this video, Al talks to children about feelings they might be having from missing their friends and teachers and staying home, and the importance of staying healthy. Al sings the “I’m a Healthy Child” song that reminds children that being healthy means taking care of their bodies and talking about how they feel.

Video: Encouraging children to talk about feelings from missing events and friends

In this video, Al encourages children to talk to a trusted adult about feelings they may have from missing fun events and friends due to the COVID-19 epidemic.

Video: Al helps children use the “Calm Down” steps to handle big feelings

In this video, Al talks to children about using the “Calm Down” steps to handle big feelings they may have from being home so much due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. As you know, self-regulation is an important social-emotional skill, particularly during this unusual time when feelings flare up because daily life has changed for so many.

Video: Al helps children deal with feeling scared when they see people wear masks

In this video, Al wears a mask and explains to children that many people are wearing masks to stay safe and healthy, and to stop the bad virus (COVID-19) from spreading. He tells them that it is ok if they feel scared or worried or any other feeling.

Video: Al helps children cope with being disappointed when plans are canceled

In this video, Al talks with the children about feeling disappointed when plans are canceled due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. He encourages them to think of other fun things they can do while staying home and to talk to a trusted adult about their feelings. Al sings the “Lots of Feelings” song to remind the children that any feelings they have are ok – there are no right or wrong feelings.